Elara
The forest swallowed us whole.
One moment, I was in the noisy town, the smell of bread and smoke clinging to my clothes. The next, it was just silence, broken only by the crunch of leaves beneath our steps and the steady thrum of my own heartbeat.
The woods were different this time.
Last time, they had swallowed me whole—dark, endless, a maze of shadows I’d stumbled through with fear clutching my throat.
But now, with him beside me, it felt… changed.
Alive.
The air hummed around us, thick and heavy with a strange electricity. My heart raced so loudly I wondered if he could hear it.
We walked in silence, his steps steady, mine uneven as I tried to keep pace. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to demand answers, yet my lips trembled with the weight of words I wasn’t sure I s
