The forest had not left Asher's mind since that night. He tried to convince himself it was a trick of exhaustion, or the stress of his grandmother's warnings. But no explanation silenced the memory of that man's eyes—strange, luminous, and heavy with something he couldn't name.
Two nights later, the locket burned hotter than ever, as if urging him back. Asher resisted, but when the whispers began again—Amara… soon…—he found his feet carrying him once more beneath the canopy of trees.
The forest welcomed him like an old friend, though every instinct screamed danger. His breath clouded in the cool air, his boots crunching against fallen leaves. Then, he felt it: that presence. Strong, magnetic, suffocating.
"You came."
The voice was low, smooth, carrying both command and sorrow. Asher froze, scanning the shadows. The man stepped forward at last—this time fully revealed in the moonlight. His beauty was otherworldly, sculpted features too precise to belong to mortal blood.
And then, Asher saw them.
Not silver this time. Not the illusion of moonlight. But deep, smoldering crimson, like embers that refused to die. His breath caught at the sight, fear twisting with a strange, unshakable pull.
"Who… who are you?" Asher demanded, though his voice trembled.
The man's gaze softened, almost imperceptibly. "Someone who has waited far too long."
Asher's grip tightened on the locket. "You keep staring at this. What do you know about it?"
Lucian's eyes flickered. For a moment, the weight of centuries seemed to hang between them. "That locket… is not yours. Yet it has chosen you."
"What are you talking about?"
Lucian took a slow step closer, and though his voice was calm, it rang with an ancient gravity. "You should not be here, boy. The forest is no place for the blessed."
"Blessed?" Asher echoed, startled by the word.
Before Lucian could answer, the air shifted. A branch creaked overhead, and the distant cry of a raven split the silence. His eyes narrowed. "They are watching."
"Who?"
Lucian's crimson gaze locked on him, intense and unyielding. "If you value your life, leave. Tonight will not be the last time we meet."
And just like that, he dissolved into the shadows, gone as though the night itself had swallowed him.
Asher staggered back, his pulse thundering. The locket glowed fiercely, warm against his skin. He didn't know who that man was, or what this all meant—but he knew one thing for certain.
This was only the beginning.
To be continued...