The clearing was too quiet.
Aira's breath rasped loud in her ears, the thud of her pulse deafening. No crickets, no owls. Even the trees had stilled, as though holding their breath.
She turned in a slow circle, chest tight. The branches overhead were interwoven, sealing off the stars. Only the pale smear of moonlight filtered through, falling across the clearing like a spotlight. It pinned her there, alone, exposed.
"Little flame…"
The voice wasn't a voice. It rippled through her bones, brushing the back of her skull like cold fingers, too soft to place, too sharp to ignore.
She swallowed hard, throat raw. "Show yourself," she whispered. But part of her begged it wouldn't.
The silence stretched. Then, faintly, the trees groaned as if leaning closer. Bark creaked. Roots shifted. The air pressed heavier on her lungs.
Aira's skin prickled. Something was here. Watching. Listening. Breathing.
The shadows at the edge of the clearing quivered. Not movement just the suggestion of it, as though her eyes caught what wasn't there. The longer she stared, the more it seemed to lean forward, reaching.
Her mind screamed to run, but her legs locked. If she moved, it would move too.
A dry laugh hissed through the leaves, so faint she almost thought she imagined it.
Her heart seized. "Kieran…" The name slipped out unbidden, a desperate tether.
The shadows stirred in answer. Not him. But something that knew him. Something that carried his shape in its silence.
Her breath broke. She clutched her chest, nails digging in, trying to anchor herself against the swell of panic. The oak's faint voice stirred again, but weaker now, frayed at the edges: Stand, child… hold…
But how could she stand when the ground itself seemed to pulse beneath her feet? When every blink painted a darker shape at the edges of her vision taller than any man, thinner than any branch, always closer when her eyes opened again?
She spun, hands raised, light sparking weakly in her palms. "Stay back!"
The forest didn't obey.
The shadows recoiled slightly, but not from fear,from amusement.
Leaves rattled though there was no wind, carrying a whisper that skated across her ears, impossible to catch but heavy with intent. You will follow. Or you will break.
Aira's light flickered. She bit down hard, teeth cutting her lip, forcing herself to hold it, to keep it alive.
But the darkness didn't advance. It didn't retreat. It only lingered, circling, testing the edges of her will.
By the time her knees buckled, she realized the truth.
The trap wasn't claws or fire. It wasn't bones or hunger.
It was waiting.
The forest could outlast her.
And unless she found a way out, it would.