Prologue

Prologue

She ran. As fast as her legs could carry her, she ran.

Away was the only thing going through her mind.

Her once black, long hair had turned gray and broken off.

Her skin felt rough, and even her frantic breathing made her chapped lips crack.

Fiercely, her heart pounded in her chest as she dared to leap over the tree trunk and advance further into the dark jungle.

The increasingly dense trees tore at her light dress, and her legs were already cut open by the roots. The mud burned in her wounds, but she would not let that stop her. It was better than the pain she had been in so far.

Stumbling, she lost her balance and crashed to the ground.

Panicked, she tried to pick herself up but slipped away several times before she succeeded.

Quinn tried to keep running, though the surroundings blurred before her eyes.

This time she had to succeed. She had to escape. It was probably her last chance. She hadn't succeeded last time, but this time she would. She was sure of that.

Driven by the will to survive, she ran on and on in a direction unknown to her.

Slowly the jungle cleared, and expectantly she rushed forward.

But what awaited her was not what she had hoped for.

Suddenly the ground was gone, and only a courageous grab for a vine saved her from falling into the void.

Panicked, she stared down the cliff and could make out clouds. At her feet, the ground was already crumbling, and she took a few steps back.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, and anger, but also deepest despair, spread through her.

How could she escape when she was on a flying island? She had never known that before.

Behind her, the sound of wings came closer. Relentlessly, it grew louder, and Quinn could already sense that it was very close. Closer than she had wanted it to be. A glimpse into the abyss and then back into the dense jungle. Jump or accept fate?

A screeching scream, which resembled an angry snarl, sounded from the air. A stone-gray figure loomed in the sky, swooping down, only to land behind Quinn moments later. The gust of wind emanated from its wings was strong enough to knock down more trees and cause the vines to sway. In the process, it almost caused Quinn to plummet as well, but she doggedly held on and used an unfallen tree as cover.

Mighty and pompous, the dragon was enthroned between the trees, which he had partly pushed down by his weight.

Slowly the dragon became a human, which actually didn't look that bad, but Quinn just embodied the monster in person.

"You dare to try again?" his angry voice rang out. Simultaneously, two strong arms grabbed her and pulled her away from the vine she was clinging to.

Since she had no other choice, she let it happen. Her only option was between abyss and the man who held her ironclad.

Quinn's heartbeat violently in her chest, and she stared up in panic. She did not yet have a death wish, but she hoped her fate would not be worse than death.

The dark gray eyes sparkled as he looked down at the girl from above. "Enough!" his voice thundered, reminiscent of a rockfall. "You have angered me enough," he said in a voice that could not bode well. "For this, you will get your just punishment."