The ground felt strange beneath my feet as I stepped into the Market, warm, alive, almost like I was walking on a heartbeat. Elijah walked beside me, silent, his steps making no sound at all. He moved like someone used to walking in places that shouldn't exist, places that weren't meant for ordinary people. We passed stalls that felt older than time itself, a woman with silver braids sold jars filled with colors that swirled like liquid dreams, a quiet man carved shadows into tiny animals that blinked and stretched, a girl in a red dress whispered songs that made the air tremble.
Everything in the Market seemed to watch me, not the people, the place itself. Lanterns flickered when I walked by, the air tightened, then eased, soft whispers brushed against my ears, little shivers crawling up my spine. Finally, I asked "What is this place?" Elijah looked at me for a long moment before answering, "the Market comes only for those it calls." I frowned, "what does that mean?" He lowered his voice, "it wants something from you, something you lost." His words hit something deep inside me, a feeling I couldn't name, a memory just beyond reach, like a dream that fades the moment you wake. My chest tightened, my breath caught, before I could ask more, something tugged at me. A pull, soft but strong, leading me toward the far end of the Market. There stood a dark tent, alone. No lights, no sound, just a curtain that moved, though there was no wind.
Elijah stepped in front of me, his voice shaking for the first time, "Olivia… do not go near that tent," I had never seen fear in someone's eyes like that. Before I could answer, the curtain moved again, and a cold voice drifted out,
"You came back." My blood froze,
I didn't know what scared me more, the voice itself, or the horrible feeling that I already knew it.