Mag-log inRiverThe witch's little workplace smelled a bit different every single time I visited.So far, that was five times now.Sometimes it had this sharp and green smell, like crushed leaves and rain-soaked bark. On other days, it leaned into warm and sweet, honeyed with desin and dried flowers that hung from the ceiling beams.Today, it had this clean and bright smell, like something was about to begin. I couldn't even explain it if I tried.The sunlight came in through the small, circular window that was high above the shelves, catching on the glass jars and the bundles of herbs tied with twine. The room felt more alive in a way I was still trying to recognise. With all the magic humming low and steady, no form of aggression. It was just there.I stood beside her at one of the shelves, scanning the neatly arranged jars."That one," I said, pointing to a jar. "You shouldn't keep it close to the moonroot. They leach into each other."The witch paused mid-grind and looked at me. "They do?"
RiverEverywhere was warm.Not in the way fire was warm, or blood was warm. This warmth was slower, and deeper. It sank into my bones and settled there, familiar as breath.Kael’s hands were on me.I could feel them without seeing them. Those large, smooth hands, sliding up my back, with his thumbs pressing gently at the dip of my spine as if he knew exactly where I carried my tension.He seemed to always do.The workd around us was blurred, with the edges melting into this sort of soft light, as though nothing existed except the space between our bodies.Kael rested his forehead on mine. "You're so real," he murmured.I couldn't help the smile. I could feel it happen, that little pull at the corner of my mouth. "So are you."Kael let out a laugh, the sound vibrating straight through my chest. His hands shifted, one of them cradling my jaw, while the other curled possessively at my waist. He leaned in slowly, like he was trying to give me a chance to pull away.I didn't. Our noses br
RiverThe entire place was silent, but I could still hear voices. Softer voices, mixed with laughter that was quite different from the people I had gotten used to.Thank goodness my feet was on solid ground, though I was still blindfolded, with my hands bound behind me. My wrists ached fiercely from the clamps that had been locked there hours ago.My shoulders burned.My calves cramped painfully from being dragged forward and forced to keep pace long after my strength had gotten exhausted and bled out of me."Wait," I rasped. "Please... just..."The world tilted slightly as whoever held me adjusted their grip, then stopped altogether. Someone untied the blindfold.Light flooded my vision immediately, so sharp and sudden that it made me hissed and squeezed my eyes shut on instinct. When I opened my eyes again, blinking rapidly just so I could get use to it, the world swam a bit before slowly settling into focus. We were definitely far from the forest, and this was not the set up of a
KAELThe whole place reeked of blood.Leaves were crushed into the mud, bark of trees filled with claw marks that was not natural in any way.“Here,” someone shouted from ahead.I broke into a sprint. They were scattered through a small clearing, with their bodies slumped against the trees or just sprawled across the forest floor like some sort of discarded weapons.Warriors.My warriors.At least a dozen of them, some were still unconscious, some groaning as they dragged themselves upright. A few were already shifting back into their human forms, limbs shaking, with their faces drawn tight with pain.Brent was sitting against a fallen log at the edge of the clearing.Oh, he was alright... shit, he wasn't. Brent’s arm hung at a rather unnatural angle, his jaw clenched as he braced his shoulder against the wood."Don't move," I barked, already crossing the distance. Brent snorted through clenched teeth. “Too late.”With a sharp, muffled grunt, Brent shoved his shoulder forward. There
RIVEREverything felt… wrong.That was the first coherent thought that struggled its way through the fog in my head. The second was movement.The ground was no longer beneath me, and the air above shifted around my body in this steady rhythm, swaying in a way. Urghhh... my stomach lurched unpleasantly, and there was this dull ache behind my eyes, as if someone had taken a hammer to my skull and kept going until boredom set in.I couldn't help but groan.It was all blurry. Blurry shapes with smears of red and black and silver. The canopy of trees rushing overhead. We were... moving.And I was being carried!Bile rushed up my throat at the thought. I tried my hardest not to move too much, though it was hard for me to feel my legs properly. Whoever held me had pinned my arms in an awkward position. “That one’s awake.”The voice came from somewhere above and to the left. Feminine. I sucked in a breath, bile rushing to my throat. "Put me..." my voice cracked a bit, my throat all dry lik
RIVERThe red wolf stood like a nightmare turned flesh.I had never seen one as large as him... her? Massive, and towering, the fur that impossible shade of blood, lit from within like there were embers in him.Brent and the other wolves moved backwards a bit, raw, instinctive fear taking them back. Nothing in the pack lands should radiate that kind of dominance that was not Kael.It took me a while to remember how to breathe.For a second, there was no forest, no Rhea trembling behind me, no single form of pounding of boots or growling warriors around us. There was only the red wolf, with those bright eyes fixed on Rhea and I, and filled with an intelligence I couldn't even start working around.Yeah, there was something definitely going on here that I couldn't even start thinking about.The wolf stepped forward a bit, placing itself between Rhea and I and Brent. It was protecting us."What.. the... hell..." I found myself whispering once more.I didn't get to finish though, before B







