CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE THE TROPHY, THE WILL, THE RACE

DAPHNE'S POV I just kept running, each step fueled by the thought of Javion waiting for me, needing me. Branches whipped against my face, but I didn’t care. I could feel my lungs burning, my legs screaming in protest, but I pushed on. I couldn’t let them catch me again. I couldn’t go back. I veered off the main path, plunging into the thickest part of the forest. The underbrush clawed at my clothes, slowing me down, but I hoped it would slow the rogue down too. I needed to lose him, to find a place to hide and regroup. My mind raced, searching for any place that could offer me cover. I remembered a hollowed-out tree I’d passed earlier and made a beeline for it, praying it was close enough. The rogue’s footsteps were still behind me, closer now, his angry shouts cutting through the night air. “There’s nowhere to hide, girl!” he yelled, but I ignored him, my eyes scanning the forest frantically. There it was—the tree. It loomed ahead, its trunk wide and gnarled with a hollow big