Into The Woods
229 Words
Episode 4
The forest pressed against Ravenwood like a shadow that never lifted. From her bedroom window, the treeline looked like a wall—tall, black, and unyielding. Locals warned against wandering there after dark, but Aria’s curiosity gnawed at her until she couldn’t ignore it.
One evening, with the sun sinking behind the hills, she slipped on her jacket and followed the winding dirt path that led between the trees. The deeper she walked, the more the town fell away. The air grew colder, heavy with pine and damp earth.
She thought about the howls, the whispers, and most of all—Lucian. Something tied him to this place. She could feel it.
Then she stopped dead. A figure moved just ahead, stepping into a shaft of moonlight that cut through the branches.
Lucian. His dark shirt clung to him with sweat, his chest rising as though he had been running for hours. His hair was damp, sticking to his forehead. And his eyes—when they snapped toward her—burned with a gold that didn’t belong to this world.
Aria’s breath caught. Her body screamed at her to run, but she couldn’t. His gaze held her still, sharp as claws.
The silence between them pressed heavy, broken only by the sound of Lucian’s ragged breathing.
Then he growled softly, “You shouldn’t be here.”
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