The sky was gray that morning, heavy with rain and something else Elara couldn't name. The kind of sky that made everything feel quieter, like the world was holding its breath.
Elara stood by the window in her old room, arms wrapped around herself. Rain tapped against the glass, soft but steady. The air was thick, as if something was waiting.
She couldn't stop thinking about Kaelin.
Last night had left a bitter taste. There had been too many smiles, too many soft words that didn't match the truth in her eyes. Every second she spent with Kaelin only confirmed it—something was hidden beneath that smile. Something Kaelin didn't want her to see.
"Elara?" Lani peeked in. "Lady Kaelin's asking for you."
Elara turned. "What does she want?"
"She said she wants to take a walk. Just the two of you."
Elara hesitated. Every part of her screamed 'don't trust her'. But she had to stay close. She had to see beneath the surface.
"I'll be there," she said.
They met in the west garden, where the roses were damp from rain and the trees whispered softly in the wind. Kaelin stood beneath the arbor, her hood pulled up, a distant look in her eyes.
"You came," she said, a small smile on her lips.
Elara didn't answer. She just watched her. Studied her.
"I thought we could walk by the old stone path," Kaelin said. "We haven't been there in years."
Elara frowned. "The one that loops through the woods?"
Kaelin nodded. "Unless you're scared of a little rain."
Elara raised an eyebrow. "Scared of rain, no. But I'm cautious of strange company."
Kaelin chuckled, but her eyes flickered with something unreadable.
They walked in silence for a while, the only sounds were the soft squish of wet earth beneath their boots and the low rustling of the trees. The path wound deeper into the woods, where the branches grew close and the light dimmed.
Elara felt it first.
A shift in the air.
Subtle—but real.
The smell of rain faded, replaced by something older. Something 'wrong'. It wasn't just the cold. It was a feeling—like the trees themselves were watching. Like the wind was carrying secrets it didn't dare say out loud.
"Do you feel that?" she asked suddenly, pausing.
Kaelin didn't answer.
She was staring ahead.
Elara followed her gaze.
A little farther down the path, a faint shimmer danced between the trees. Like heat over stone—but the air was freezing. The kind of cold that sank into your bones and stayed there.
She stepped closer, slowly.
The shimmer pulsed once, then vanished.
Kaelin said nothing. Her face had gone pale.
Elara looked at her sharply. "You saw it too."
Kaelin's voice was quiet. "We shouldn't be here."
"What was that?"
Kaelin turned away. "Nothing. Just… tricks of the forest. Let's go back."
Elara grabbed her arm. "No. That wasn't a trick. That was magic."
Kaelin's eyes met hers. Something flickered there—fear, guilt, something deeper.
"Elara," she said slowly, "Some things are better left untouched."
Elara's heart thudded. Her voice dropped. "You know what that was. Don't you?"
Kaelin pulled away. "Come on. It's not safe here."
But Elara's eyes stayed on the trees. The shimmer had vanished, but the feeling hadn't. The forest was quiet now too quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing.
Then, from deep within the trees, a soft whisper floated out.
So faint she almost thought she imagined it.
"Elara…"
Her blood turned to ice.
She stepped back.
"What was that?" she breathed.
Kaelin's face was pale. "We need to go. Now."
Elara looked back once more. She could feel it, something had seen her.
And it remembered.
They didn't speak the entire way back.
Kaelin kept glancing over her shoulder. Elara kept looking at her.
When they reached the edge of the garden, Kaelin stopped and turned to her. Her voice was low, urgent.
"Don't go back there alone."
Elara didn't answer. Her heart was still racing, but it wasn't just fear.
It was curiosity.
Something in that forest had called her name.
Something ancient.
Something alive.
Back in her room, Elara dried off and sat by the fire, her thoughts racing. Her fingers trembled as she opened her journal and wrote.
Day Two.
The forest remembers me.
There's magic still in these woods—and it's not sleeping.
Kaelin knows more than she says.
She was afraid. Really afraid.
But of what? The forest? The magic? Or me?
She paused.
Then added:
It called my name.
Not like a warning. Like a welcome.
She shut the journal and stared into the fire.
Her thoughts drifted to ten years ago.
The night it all fell apart.
She remembered sneaking out into the same woods, barefoot and shivering, chasing the sound of voices no one else could hear.
The memory was blurry, like smoke—but it had always haunted her. There had been a light. A strange one, just like today. And whispers. Too many whispers.
She had never told anyone.
Not even Kaelin.
Especially not Kaelin.
Elara stood and walked to the mirror, staring at her reflection.
Her eyes looked different lately. Sharper. As if something old was waking up inside her.
She touched the center of her chest—right where the cold had settled during that whisper in the woods.
It still lingered there. A small, pulsing chill.
What if the forest wasn't just haunted?
What if it was connected to her?
And what if that shimmer was only the beginning?
That night, Elara dreamt of silver trees and voices that spoke in riddles. She saw herself as a child, standing in the woods, a glowing mark on her palm she'd never noticed before.
And in the distance…
A door of light, half open.
She woke with a start, breath ragged.
The mark was gone.
But her skin still felt warm, as if it had been touched by something not of this world.
She lay there in the dark, staring at the ceiling.
Sleep wouldn't come again.
Because deep inside her, something had started to stir.
And she knew this time whatever magic was calling her wouldn't wait much longer.