Everwild (The Healer Series, #1) by Kayla Jo Page B

left!
    Without thinking, Willow took off running.
Blindly, she held out her arms, pushing branches and bushes out of
the way. She ran and ran and ran, the sound of running water
getting closer and closer. She heard Declan yelling for her in the
distance but she didn’t stop. If only she got to the river, maybe
they could follow it to the cave where her talisman was!
    Finally, she burst through the thicket into a
clearing. A massive tree stood in the middle of the open land. All
alone, it was standing by itself. The bright sun’s rays poured out
of the sky onto her and filled the clearing with light. The sudden
light blinded her momentarily. It was weird, how all of a sudden a
clear spot appeared, but Willow knew without a doubt that the river
was beyond that. She picked up speed, gaining ever closer to the
sound of rushing water.
    That’s when the sound of water abruptly died.
What Willow heard now wasn’t the sound of rushing water at all. It
was more like a strong, rolling wind. She circled around, listening
for the water. She knew the river was close. She heard it just
seconds ago! What way should she go? She turned in a circle trying
to pinpoint the river. What was going on?
    “Willow Tree!” Declan burst into the clearing
running full speed towards her. “Willow Tree! Willow Tree!”
    Willow whipped around to see Declan running
and shouting at her. Her blood boiled at hearing that stupid
nickname! She was sick of it! She HATED that name!
    “STOP CALLING ME WILLOW TREE!” She screamed
back at him. She was so furious that she accidentally sent a wave
of magic at him. It violently impacted him and he fell to the
ground five feet backwards. Declan jumped up faster than possible
and was sprinting towards her again pointing at something behind
her.
    “BEHIND YOU! WILLOW TREE!”
    Willow turned just as a large tree branch
whipped around and crashed hard into her abdomen before she could
even react. The branch picked her up throwing her high up in the
air. She was skyward, flying up and up until gravity thrust her
down like a rocket. She screamed watching tentacle-like branches
sway and swirl at incredible speeds below her. The tree was alive!
On the way down, a higher branch hit her roughly in the back,
sending her straight into the mass of waving branches.
    “DECLAN!” Willow cried for him. Her body felt
like it was shattering as each branch came crashing down on her,
pinning her down and whipping her with resilient force. Willow felt
every hit to her body like she was being stoned. Her flesh tore
open with gashes as she tried to claw her way out of the tree, but
she couldn’t even move an inch. The tree had her locked down tight.
She screamed and cried out in pain. “Help me Declan!”
    Just when she felt she couldn’t take the
beating anymore, a branch picked her up and shot her out of the
tree. She flew thirty feet away from it and watched in horror as
the ground came closer and closer. She was gonna hit! Her arms and
legs were flailing wildly as there was nothing that stood between
her and the hard, course land.
    Then, out of nowhere, Declan appeared and
jumped up, catching her before she could hit the ground. He gripped
her tight and they both careened to the hard Earth, Declan twirled
at the last second and landed on his back taking the brutal impact
of the ground. They slid several feet before they came to an abrupt
stop. Willow heard Declan gasp when she fell on his body and knock
the wind from him.
    Several heartbeats passed before anyone
moved. Declan had a death grip on her and held her firmly in his
arms. Her body screamed in agony. Willow felt blood seeping out of
her and she feared what she would find. Her body felt like it was
on fire. She trembled and buried her face in Declan’s chest as the
pain and adrenaline rush all surfaced at once. She couldn’t help
the tears that fell from her face, pouring out of her and drenching
Declan’s shirt.
    “Willow,” Declan’s voice was hoarse