Chapter 15: The Hunter’s Eyes
426 Words
The scent of blood clung to the air, thick and inescapable. Aurora couldn’t tear her eyes away from the word carved into the dead man’s chest.
“Dreamweaver.”
It wasn’t just a warning. It was a promise.
Someone—something—was hunting her.
Lysander shifted uncomfortably. “Okay. I vote we get the hell out of here.”
Celeste ran a finger over one of the glowing symbols on the bodies. The moment she touched it, dark magic crackled, making her flinch. “This isn’t normal. This is old magic.”
Darius stood, scanning the treetops. “We’re being watched.”
Aurora’s stomach twisted. “How do you know?”
Darius’s grip on his weapon tightened. “Because they’re not trying to hide.”
Then she felt it.
A presence—cold, ancient, and patient.
Slowly, she turned toward the tree line.
There, just beyond the dying sunlight, a figure stood between the trees. Tall, cloaked in shadows, its eyes glowed like embers in the dark.
A voice, low and taunting, slithered through the air.
“You are not ready, Dreamweaver.”
Aurora’s breath caught.
The others saw him now, too. Lysander stepped forward, sword raised. “Who the hell are you?”
The figure didn’t move. But the air hummed with unseen power.
“Turn back,” the voice whispered. “Or be consumed.”
Aurora’s fingers clenched around the book. “Who sent you?”
A pause. Then, a slow, chilling answer.
“The one who waits in Ravaryn.”
The trees behind the figure seemed to bend unnaturally. Shadows curled around its body like living smoke.
Then, before they could react—it vanished.
A heavy silence followed.
Celeste let out a shaky breath. “That was… unsettling.”
Lysander ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Let’s review: Shadeborn are after us. Some cryptic nightmare just threatened us. And now we’re walking directly into whatever is waiting in Ravaryn?”
Darius met Aurora’s gaze. “Do we keep going?”
Aurora’s heart pounded. Every instinct screamed at her to run. To turn back.
But she couldn’t.
This thing—whatever it was—it wanted her to be afraid.
She lifted her chin. “We keep going.”
Darius gave a nod.
Lysander groaned. “Of course we do.”
Celeste smirked. “At least it won’t be boring.”
Aurora glanced at the place where the figure had stood, a chill still curling through her veins.
The hunter had shown itself.
And now, the real game had begun.
- Writer
