Lucas replied. "It's called the valley of desires. I'd heard the name once before, in passing. A place that offered you whatever you wanted most—but at a price."
Lucas nodded grimly. "It's a trap. Everything here… it's meant to keep you."
I swallowed hard. "It won't work on me."
He looked over his shoulder, giving me a faint smile. "Of course it won't."
But the way he said it sent a strange prickle down my spine.
We stepped into the valley, the ground soft beneath our feet. The deeper we walked, the heavier the air became. Like walking through honey, thick and cloying, each breath harder to take than the last.
I kept my focus on the path, ignoring the tempting flashes of things in the corners of my vision. Home. Jesse's face. My pack running free beneath the full moon. My family, alive and whole.
None of it was real. I knew that.
But then Lucas faltered.
He slowed, his steps uneven. I caught up to him just as his sword slipped from his fingers and clattered to the grass.
