******HARPER
The hospital at night was unnervingly still.
The daytime buzz of hurried footsteps, echoing announcements, and clattering carts had faded into a silence so deep it felt like the walls themselves were asleep. I sat curled up in the chair by my mother's bed, my head drooping toward my knees.
Luna was sprawled on the narrow couch against the wall, breathing steadily, strands of her hair spilling over her face. Elias had gone home hours ago. Chris and Hay hovered faintly near the window in their usual quiet way, their glow dimmed as though they, too, had settled into some kind of rest mode.
My eyelids were just beginning to sink shut when I felt it.
A shift.
Not in the room's temperature, not in the light, but in the air itself—like the world had inhaled and was holding its breath. I lifted my head slowly, and that's when I saw him.
The Gamekeeper.
He stood in the middle of the hospital hallway just beyond the open door, his tall frame cloaked in darkness that seemed to eat away at the fluorescent glow. His eyes locked on mine immediately, as if he'd been standing there for far longer than I'd noticed.
Before I could speak, something rippled out from him—a wave of invisible force.
Luna slumped deeper into sleep. Every nurse, patient, and visitor in the hallway seemed to sway or sink in their chairs. Even the low hum of machines in the distance seemed to hush. But Chris and Hay remained unaffected, still faintly glowing near the window, watching.
My heart gave a nervous thud. "What are you doing here?" I asked, standing slowly.
The Gamekeeper stepped closer, his boots silent on the tile. "I know you have questions for me."
"What if I don't?". I asked instead.
"I know you do".
I folded my arms, not entirely convinced this wasn't another trap. "Alright… if we're really in your realm like you keep claiming, then why haven't I seen any supernatural beings except you? And where are these 'brothers' you keep talking about?"
He tilted his head slightly, as though the question amused him. "This is still the first entrance, Harper. You haven't crossed the border yet. Once you do, you'll see other realms. But not now." His tone hardened. "If you try it now, you'll be walking into danger you're not ready for. Demons and witches will kill you without hesitation."
I exhaled slowly. "That's all I wanted to know."
He arched a brow. "That's all?"
"Yes."
His gaze sharpened. "Then let's talk about what I want. You still haven't agreed to help me."
My eyes narrowed slightly. "What exactly do you want?"
"I want you to help me find our elder brother—Zareth."
The name was unfamiliar, but the way he said it made it sound heavy with history.
"And what do I get in return?". I asked him.
"I'll help you find your true origin".
"Why do you need my help anyways. Shouldn't you look for someone who is more competent?".
"I've told you before Harper, you are not human. I can help you find your true self"
"What if I don't want to know? What if I just want a quiet life with my mother and family?"
"You know that is impossible. One thing you should know better than anyone is to be er get too attached. You'll put those around you in trouble. Didn't you have strange dreams recently?"
How did he know that?
'It's probably the game playing tricks". I said to him even though I didn't believe my own words.
"You know it's not, Harper. I can help you find answers to your questions. Trust me". He sounded so convincing.
I glanced toward my mother's bed. "I'll help you… but not until I know she's safe."
He followed my gaze. "I can help you with that."
He lifted one hand, and his fingers traced a shape in the air—lines and arcs of light that shimmered faintly gold before bursting outward in a quiet wave. The walls seemed to hum, and for a moment the entire hospital glowed with a faint protective sheen.
I stepped into the hall, looking around. The light lingered a moment longer, then faded until I could barely sense it. "What did you do?"
"A shield," the Gamekeeper said. "Nothing will enter here except humans with good intentions."
"Can I trust you on that?" I asked, keeping my voice skeptical.
He smiled faintly. "Of course."
He extended a gloved hand toward me. "Now… we're going to the Realm of Timekeepers. There's a superior there who may know where my elder brother is."
I stared at his hand. "The Realm of Timekeepers?" The name sounded like something out of a storybook, yet the gravity in his tone made it feel far too real.
"Yes," he said. "And the sooner we go, the sooner you'll have your answers."
Part of me wanted to refuse—wanted to keep my feet firmly planted on this side of the so-called border. But another part, the one that hated being left in the dark, leaned forward.
I placed my hand in his.
The world tilted.
The sterile smell of the hospital dissolved into something older, stranger. The fluorescent lights blinked out, replaced by a spinning whirl of gold and shadow. My stomach lurched as if gravity had forgotten me entirely. The last thing I saw before everything blurred was Chris and Hay, their glow sharpening like a warning flare.
"Can't they come too?". I asked hoping to at least have someone familiar with me.
"They can't unless you want them to dissipate".
I didn't know what that meant but I didn't argue further.
Then the Gamekeeper's voice was in my ear.
"Hold on."
And we were gone.
---
********
Far away from hospitals and protective shields, the Realm of Witches breathed under a moon the color of silvered blood.
Natalie inhaled deeply, her boots crunching against the thick carpet of moss beneath her. "Finally," she murmured, "home."
The forest stretched around her like a living labyrinth, the trees bending slightly toward her as if in recognition.
"Anyone here?" she called into the stillness.
Silence answered. Not the silence of emptiness, but the kind that hides in the spaces between heartbeats—full, expectant.
Natalie kept walking, her eyes sharp, every sense open. She'd grown up here. She knew better than to believe she was alone.
Her instincts were right.
Shadows slipped across the ground in a way that didn't belong to the trees. They closed in without sound, circling her with patient precision.
She stopped, planting her feet. "Show yourselves."
The shadows hesitated, then peeled away to reveal two women stepping into the moonlight. They were tall, their hair cascading in waves of midnight blue, their eyes bright as sapphires. Identical in every feature except for the way one tilted her head and the other smiled with half her mouth.
"Well, well," one said, her voice like velvet.
"If it isn't the infamous Natalie," the other added, her tone dripping with amusement.
"Or should we say…"
Both spoke at once, their voices weaving unnervingly together: "Seraphae, the Silver Fang."
Natalie's expression didn't flicker. "What do you want?"
The twins exchanged a glance, their smiles deepening. "Lord Vaelthor left something in our possession. We're to give it to you."
Natalie scoffed. "Vaelthor does like to surround himself with women, doesn't he?"
They giggled—high, sharp, and echoing just a little too long.
"Give me the item," Natalie said flatly.
"Oh no, no, no…"
The shift in their voices was immediate. Playfulness drained away, replaced by something sharper, colder.
"You have to fight us for it," they said together, perfectly in sync. "That's Vaelthor's command."
Natalie let out a long breath. "Of course it is." She rolled her shoulders, and the faint shimmer of magic curled around her fingers. "Fine. If you want to play, I'll play."
The air behind her rippled, and a blade shimmered into existence in her hand—a weapon forged from light and shadow both, its edges humming with quiet menace.
She twirled it once, her smirk curling upward.
"Your move."
The twins' eyes flashed, their forms beginning to blur at the edges. The forest's shadows leaned in, drawn to the power gathering between the three of them.