The road stretched before them, winding like a serpent through the darkened hills. Shadows danced under the pale glow of the twin moons, their light casting eerie shapes upon the rocky path. Elira pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, the night air biting against her skin as she pressed forward. Beside her, Kael walked in measured silence, his sharp eyes scanning the path ahead, while Tavin trailed behind, his small feet shuffling against the dirt.
"We should stop soon," Kael murmured, his voice barely audible over the whispering wind.
Elira nodded, though a deep unease coiled within her. The further they traveled from the village, the heavier the air became, as if the very land could sense the weight of their purpose. Each step took them closer to the ruins of the First City, where answers awaited—but so too did dangers they could not yet fathom.
Tavin let out a heavy sigh. "Are we going to walk all night?"
"We don't have a choice," Elira replied. "The Watcher stirs, and we cannot afford to linger."
The boy huffed, but he did not argue. He understood, just as they all did, that there was no turning back.
They traveled for hours, the silence between them thick with unspoken fears. The further they went, the more the landscape began to change. The trees grew twisted, their gnarled branches clawing at the sky. The air grew thick, heavy with an unnatural stillness. No crickets sang, no owls hooted—only the wind remained, whispering through the grass like a voice half-forgotten.
Then, just as the first light of dawn threatened to touch the horizon, Kael stopped abruptly.
"Something's wrong."
Elira felt it too. A weight in the air, pressing against her chest, making it harder to breathe. She reached for the dagger at her hip, her fingers curling around the hilt as she scanned the darkness. Tavin edged closer to her, his wide eyes darting nervously.
The shadows shifted.
From the trees, a figure emerged.
Tall and cloaked in black, its face obscured beneath the hood. It moved without sound, as if it were a specter rather than flesh and bone. A single hand, pale as moonlight, reached outward, fingers curling as if beckoning them forward.
Elira's pulse thundered in her ears. "Who are you?"
The figure did not speak, but a whisper slid through the air, threading through their minds like poison.
You should not have come.
Kael moved first, unsheathing his sword in a single fluid motion. The blade gleamed under the moonlight, a stark contrast against the encroaching dark.
"We don't have time for this," he growled. "Step aside."
A low chuckle echoed from beneath the hood, and then the figure raised its hand.
The air shattered.
Dark tendrils erupted from the earth, snaking toward them with unnatural speed. Elira barely had time to react before she was yanked backward, Kael's grip the only thing keeping her from being swallowed by the void. Tavin screamed, scrambling away as the darkness surged forward, twisting and writhing like living shadows.
Elira raised her free hand, summoning the power that pulsed within her veins. A burst of light erupted from her palm, slamming into the approaching tendrils. The darkness recoiled, screeching as it dissolved into nothingness.
The cloaked figure tilted its head, as if in amusement.
Starborn.
Elira clenched her jaw. "Leave, or I'll destroy you."
The figure simply laughed. And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished into the night.
Silence settled once more, but the air still trembled with unseen forces.
Kael sheathed his sword. "We need to move. Now."
Elira nodded, but in her heart, she knew the truth.
The Watcher was already watching.
And the longest night had only just begun.