Night crept over the forest like a heavy shadow pulling the world shut 🌲🌑.The wind shifted suddenly 🍃.The sounds vanished.No insects 🦗.No birds 🐦.No wolves 🐺.
Even Ember felt it 😰.The air was wrong.Too still.Too aware 👁️.
King stopped beside a dead, hollow stump 🌳⚰️ and dropped his backpack with a dull thud 🎒💥.
"We camp here," he said calmly 😐.
Ember's stomach answered first 🤢.It growled loud and helpless.She hadn't eaten since morning 🍞❌.
King tossed a small metal pot at her feet 🥘."Make food."
Ember glared up at him 😠."You made me dig with frozen ground! My hands are wrecked! I can't—"
"Your hands are fine," King interrupted coldly ❄️."You're just weak."
Her teeth clenched so hard her jaw shook 😬.But she didn't argue.
She gathered sticks 🌿, fingers trembling 🫨.She chopped vegetables with the dull knife King tossed her 🔪.Her hands burned.Her shoulders ached.
She tried striking the flint 🔥.
It slipped.
Scraped her palm ✋🩸.
A sharp sting shot through her fingers.
"Ah—!" 😖
A bead of blood formed and slid down her skin 🩸.
King watched.
No reaction.No concern.Absolute zero ❄️.
"Don't cry," he said flatly."It's just skin."
"I'm NOT crying!" Ember snapped 😤, blinking fast to prove it.
"Good," King replied."Tears attract predators."
Ember froze 🧊."…Pred— predators?" 😨
King didn't answer.
He sat by the firepit sharpening his axe 🪓🔥.Steel scraped against stone.The sound crawled through the trees like a warning ⚠️.
Finally, after several tries, the fire caught 🔥✨.Weak flames flickered.The pot bubbled quietly.
The stew was thin 🍲.Uneven.Barely warm.Made by shaking hands and fear.
King tasted it.
Once.
He nodded."Edible."
Ember stared."That's… a compliment?" 😐
"No," he said."Just a fact."
They ate in silence 😶.
The forest watched.
Trees twisted overhead like skeletal arms 🌲💀.Half-buried bones jutted from the snow 🦴❄️.Cracked.Old.Marked by claws.
Ember hugged her knees, shivering 🫂🥶."King…" she whispered."Where are we?"
He finished the last spoon of stew and set the pot aside 🍲➡️❄️.
"The Deep Dead Forest."
Her heart dropped 📉💔."Dead…?"
"Yes."
The wind wailed suddenly 🌬️👻.Not like wind.Like something crying.
No animals answered.Nothing alive dared speak here 🚫🐾.
Ember swallowed hard."Why would we stay in a place like this…?" 😰
King leaned back against a tree, adjusting his shield for sleep 🛡️🌲.
"Monsters don't come here anymore."
Her breath caught."…Why?"
"Something killed them."
Her blood turned cold 🧊🩸."…Something?"
"Many somethings," King said calmly."But not tonight."
He lay down, eyes closing 😴.
Then, without looking at her, his voice came again.Low.Warning.Sharp.
"If you try something stupid…""If you scream…""If you wander…"
The fire popped loudly 🔥💥.
"The things in this forest will find you before I do."
Ember's throat went dry 😨."W-what kind of things…?"
King's voice softened.
But it was colder than snow ❄️.
"Things even I don't bother fighting."
Her legs went weak 🫠.
Her voice cracked."S-so what do I do…?" 😢
"Sleep," King said.
"And stay close.""Even if you hate me."
Ember curled into a tight ball beside the fire 🔥🫂, her back against a log 🌲.The rope was tied to King's arm 🪢.So she couldn't wander.Not awake.Not dreaming.
The forest stared with hollow eyes 👁️🌲.The night breathed 🌬️.
And Ember finally understood something terrifying 😨:
King was not the scariest thing in this forest.
He was just the only thing keeping her alive 🖤❄️.