Chapter 20

"Preva!" Freya exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement as she practically skipped to catch up. Her face lit up, and her eyes sparkled with admiration.

Vid thought she was pretty cool, but this? Standing up to Sophia Bennett and her mean-girl posse? That was like karma in action. After all, she and Sophia had been mortal enemies forever, and—

She suddenly stopped, spinning around to fix Freya with a sharp look. Her piercing gaze was so intense that—

Doing something dumb, she picked up a heavy suitcase. It felt like it weighed a ton; she dropped it with an audible thud and doubled over, panting. Her pale face flushed, but she insisted everything was fine. She straightened, shaking, then noticed Stellan and Selah exchanging weird looks, their faces stiff as if they were trying not to laugh.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" she demanded, her voice tinged with irritation. "Do I have something on my face or what?" She searched around in her bag for a mirror.

A strange, tingling sensation crawled up her legs. She froze, her blood turning to ice. Staring at her legs with a deadpan expression, Freya slowly looked down—and nearly passed out. Wrapped around her leg, its body coiling upward as if it owned the place, was a snake.

"Oh my God!" she whispered, her voice trembling. The snake raised its head as if it had heard her and flicked its tongue in a slow, taunting motion. "Oh my God! There's a fucking snake on me!" she screamed, her voice shooting up several octaves.

This threw the entire group into motion. The other contestants came running, their curiosity quickly turning to horror. Meanwhile, the camera zoomed in for a close-up. Freya’s entire body trembled like a leaf in the wind. Sweat poured down her forehead as if she’d just run a marathon.

The snake hissed and raised its head higher before lunging straight for her face. Stellan grabbed a stick from the ground and sprinted toward her like a man on a mission. Selah was right behind him, ready to shove Preva out of the way if necessary.

Freya's legs felt glued to the ground, and her brain screamed at her to run, but nothing happened. She could only watch as the snake darted toward her, its tongue ticking inches from her nose.

A sharp knife cut through the air. The snake's body jerked violently, and it fell to the ground, writhing. Freya gasped as the creature was swiftly grabbed and pinned to a tree by a gleaming knife, its blood splattering against the bark.

Odalys stood beside her, her tone calm but her eyes scanning Freya for injuries. Freya was too stunned to respond. Slowly, she touched her cheek where the snake's tail had slapped her. Her fingers trembled as she looked from Odalys to the snake, still wriggling but securely pinned.

"I… I…" she stammered, her voice cracking. Tears welled in her eyes as the memory of the snake coiling around her leg sent fresh waves of terror. Her knees wobbled, and she felt like she might collapse any second.

"Unremarkable," Odalys said casually, as if she hadn’t just saved Freya’s life in the most cinematic way possible. She strode over to the tree and, in a swift motion, chopped the snake into pieces. Kicking the remains aside, she turned back to Freya.

Sophia watched Freya’s freakout, convinced this was finally her chance to rise. She’d been relishing the thought of Freya’s humiliation—or worse. But Odalys had to step in and ruin everything. Sophia clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. She’d despised Freya ever since she snagged the lead role Sophia had been gunning for. If Odalys had stayed out of the picture, everything would’ve fallen perfectly into place. This whole row had destroyed her plans. Sophia’s jaw tightened as she shot Odalys a glare sharp enough to cut glass. Why the hell did she have to play hero? And why, why, did she have to save Freya? she thought bitterly.

2:46 PM

Chapter 20 (Continued)

It was like the universe was hell-bent on making Sophia’s life miserable.

"Thanks," Freya’s voice came out shaky as she clutched Odalys’s arm like a lifeline. Her grip was tight, her fear obvious, but she managed to muster those words even as her knees threatened to buckle.

Odalys glanced at her and smirked, her sharp gaze softening just enough to make room for amusement. She reached out and gently wiped the lingering tears from Freya’s cheek. "What’s this? Afraid of snakes?"

Her tone was teasing, laced with a calm that only made Freya feel smaller. "If you’re that scared, you’ve got to toughen up. I’ll show you a real snake later—you might as well learn to deal with it."

"What?" Freya’s head snapped up, her wide, tear-streaked eyes locking onto Odalys. "Are you kidding me?" Her voice cracked somewhere between disbelief and outright panic.

Odalys chuckled under her breath, giving Freya’s nose a playful flick. "Relax, crybaby. Let’s keep moving." She clapped her on the shoulder and turned away, striding ahead like nothing had happened.

Behind them, Stellan and Selah were frozen, their arms still raised with makeshift weapons they hadn’t gotten a chance to use. They exchanged sheepish looks before finally lowering their hands.

"Damn," Stellan muttered, his tone half-admiring, half-defeated. "She’s on another level."

"Let’s go." Without waiting for a reply, he stepped forward, setting a brisk pace.

Freya, still visibly shaken, barely noticed Stellan reach down and grab her suitcase along with his own. Selah hesitated, then stepped closer, her voice low and careful. "Freya, you okay? Need a hand?"

Freya nodded quickly, her voice failing her. "Yeah, thanks," she whispered, leaning into Selah’s steady arm.

The group fell into a rhythm, with Odalys leading the charge. Stellan trailed behind her, carrying both suitcases with ease, while Selah kept a protective grip on Freya. No one wanted to linger in the eerie silence of the forest. The sooner they were out, the better.

"Pick up the pace!" Finnian called from behind, his voice tinged with impatience. He was juggling Sophia’s luggage, his earlier cockiness long gone. The forest was unnerving. Every sound—leaves rustling, twigs snapping—set his nerves on edge. The deeper they went, the more it felt like the place was alive, watching them. His confidence wavered with every step.

He glanced at Odalys ahead, her calm, measured strides cutting through the chaos. She didn’t look fazed in the slightest, and for a moment, he felt a flicker of respect. She’d grown up in the mountains—that much he’d heard. Unlike the rest of them, she actually belonged here.

"Ah!" A sharp cry from behind snapped him out of his thoughts.

He turned to find Sophia wincing, one hand gripping her ankle. "What’s wrong now?" he asked, his frustration barely masked by concern.

"Just a rock," Sophia said quickly, brushing herself off. "I stepped on one wrong. Let’s go. We’ll lose sight of them if we don’t hurry." She bit her lip, pushing through the pain with an air of forced resilience.

Atlas, still pale from the snake incident, silently quickened his pace. The image of the snake lunging at Freya had shaken him more than he cared to admit.

Lucian brought up the rear, his sharp eyes darting around as if he expected something to jump out at any second.

The production crew followed a short distance behind, their earlier carelessness replaced by cautious steps. The cameras never wavered, capturing every tense moment. They’d split into two teams to keep both groups in frame, ensuring the live-stream stayed as dramatic as possible.

The live chat was blowing up, a chaotic storm of opinions flying in every direction:

[Are you kidding me? What’s wrong with this production team? They didn’t even clear the trail! They knew there were snakes out here and didn’t bother to warn anyone. Poor Freya must’ve been scared shitless.]

[Honestly, with all that screaming, who even knows if it was real? What if the snake was just a prop they planted for drama?]

[Fake? Nah, no way. I just rewatched that part a bunch of times. That snake was 100% real. Plus, it’s a live stream—how the hell would they fake something like that!]

[Did anyone else notice how calm Odalys was? Like, girl didn’t even flinch. She looked like she’s been in the wild her whole life or something.]

[Sophia is over here acting like the world’s ending. She’s so damn dramatic—it’s embarrassing. Someone get her off my screen.]

Chapter 20 (Continued)

Odalys came to a stop, her eyes scanning the overgrown trail ahead. She looked like she knew this place intimately.

"There," she said, pointing. "That's a cave. If the wind picks up tonight, we’ll need to shelter there. I hope it holds up."

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