The clearing didn't feel real.
Lorian thought that, then immediately lost the thread of it. Everything was too loud. Too close. Heat pressed against him and didn't let go. His head rang. His thoughts kept starting and then dropping off halfway through.
At some point, he stopped trying to think.
His body kept moving. It didn't wait for permission. It didn't care how he felt about it. Turn. Swing. Burn. Violet light tore out of him in ugly, uneven bursts. Too bright. Too close. It shook his arms so badly his fingers went numb.
The magic hurt. It always hurt. Tonight it hurt in a way that felt personal, like it was punishing him.
Everything hurt.
His shoulders burned deep, not sharp, just heavy and wrong. His legs shook when he landed, boots slipping on ground that had gone soft. His lungs burned every time he tried to breathe, like he was doing it wrong. He noticed all of it. He pushed it down anyway.
He couldn't stop.
The shadows didn't slow. They didn't hesitate. They just kept coming, one after another, like the forest had decided he wasn't allowed to rest.
The things he hit didn't stay solid. They broke apart too fast. Smoke. Ash. Nothing to focus on. Ash stuck to his mouth and tongue. He gagged once and swallowed it back down. His mouth tasted bad. Like blood. Like fear.
Don't stop.
Behind him, Sylvera stood inside the circle and hated herself for standing still.
Her heart was racing so fast it hurt. It felt like it was climbing into her throat. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She tried clenching them. Pressing them together. Digging her nails into her palms until it stung.
It didn't help.
Magic flickered at her fingertips, weak and jumpy. It sparked and died. Sparked again. Like it didn't trust her. Like it knew she wasn't steady.
She couldn't stop watching Lorian.
Blood ran down his side, dark and wet. It soaked his clothes. It dripped onto the ground. Her stomach twisted. Her mouth went dry.
Move, her body begged. Please.
But his voice was there in her head. Clear. Firm. Stay inside.
Fear wrapped around her chest and squeezed. Fear of stepping out. Fear of breaking the circle. Fear of being in the way. Fear of being the reason he didn't get back up.
Something slipped through.
Lorian felt it before he saw it.
Pain ripped through his side. Sharp. Wet. His breath left him in a rough sound he didn't recognize. Fabric tore. Skin tore. Warmth spilled down his hip, too much and too fast.
His knees gave.
For a second, the world tilted and went quiet.
Oh.
That was the thought. Just that.
Anger hit right after. Hot and ugly. It shoved him back upright.
He forced his body to move. Pain screamed at him, loud and insistent, but pain wasn't new. Pain wasn't what stopped him.
Pain meant he was still standing.
The shadows laughed.
Not out loud. Something worse. Something that crawled into his head and brushed against things he didn't want to remember. Times he failed. People he lost.
His vision blurred. His magic felt thin, like it might slip away if he wasn't careful.
Then the ground moved.
Sylvera felt it in her feet. Straight up her legs. Her breath caught so hard it hurt. Her stomach dropped.
She didn't want to turn.
She turned anyway.
The thing that stepped out of the trees made her whole body lock up.
It was too big. Too solid. Too real.
Those gold eyes found her immediately.
No.No no no.
She knew it. She knew that shape. That weight. The same thing that had chased her through the cursed forest. The thing that still showed up when she closed her eyes.
"Lorian!" she screamed. Her voice sounded wrong. Thin. Small.
He turned.
Just long enough.
Something inside him snapped.
There was no thought. No plan. He just ran. Violet magic tore out of him, wild and messy, as he threw himself at the creature with everything he had left.
The creature reached out.
Lorian struck its wrist.
The blade slid.
Didn't cut.Didn't even slow it.
His stomach dropped.
The hit came right after.
The world broke apart. Pain everywhere. Noise everywhere. Trees shattered. His spine screamed. For a second, he didn't know where he was. Everything hurt at once.
"No!" Sylvera screamed—and ran.
She barely made it two steps.
The creature's hand closed around her ribs. Crushed. The air left her lungs in a sharp gasp. She screamed again, kicking, twisting, magic flaring out in useless bursts.
It didn't matter.
She was lifted off the ground like she weighed nothing.
Lorian forced himself up. Blood ran from his mouth. His ears rang. His vision shook. He saw her.
That was it. That was everything.
"PUT HER DOWN!" he shouted.
The words came out wrong. Too loud. Too desperate. Broken.
The creature turned.
It looked at him.
And it smiled.
Something inside Lorian cracked and didn't settle right again.
Then it turned away.
Sylvera's screams tore through the night until they were gone.
Something inside Lorian went empty.
Not calm. Not numb. Just gone.
The shadows came back at him. Claws. Teeth. Pain. He barely noticed. His body fought because it remembered how. Violet fire burned anything that got close.
They're taking her.
The thought landed slow.
They won't stop.
To him.To the one who used her.To the one who killed Lyria.
"No," he whispered. His voice shook. "No. Not again."
His magic burned hotter now, sloppy and desperate. His muscles screamed. His breathing came out wrong.
She's not theirs.
Every strike said it. Every spell said it. You don't get to choose this.
Sylvera couldn't breathe.
The forest blurred past as the creature carried her. Every step hurt. Her chest ached. Her head spun. Panic clawed up her throat.
"Let me go," she screamed. Her voice broke. "Please—"
It didn't answer.Didn't slow.
Her magic flickered weakly—and then the mark burned.
Pain tore through her collarbone and spread fast. She cried out. Her body arched as control slipped.
Not now. Please.
Something inside her broke.
Power ripped out of her, wild and blinding. For a second, the creature staggered.
Her eyes burned violet and gold.
Then everything went dark.
She didn't feel herself hit the ground.
The creature picked her up again.
And kept walking.
When the last shadow faded, the quiet hurt.
Lorian dropped to his knees. Blood soaked into the dirt under his hands. His chest hurt too much to breathe right.
Sylvera was gone.
"I won't let this happen," he said. His voice didn't sound like him. "Not again."
The circle behind him flickered and died.
He stepped past it.
Pain almost dropped him. He stayed upright. One step. Then another.
"They think I won't come," he muttered. His words shook. "They're wrong."
Weak violet sparks crawled over his shaking hands.
"I'm coming," he said into the dark. "No shadow. No monster. No king."
The forest didn't answer.
He went anyway.
"Hold on," he whispered. His throat hurt. "Please."
And he would not stop until he found her.