The forest should have felt safe.I told myself that again and again, clinging to the words as if repetition could make them true. The Hollow was behind us. The Warden’s grip had shattered. The endless whispering voices were gone. But even in the open night air, even beneath stars sharp as glass, I could not silence the dread that coiled in my chest.The trees seemed alive with memory. Each groan of their trunks, each rustle of their branches carried the echo of collapsing stone. The air tasted faintly of smoke, and no matter how the wind shifted, it carried reminders of ash and ruin.Every sound set me on edge. A fox’s paws brushing the undergrowth made me flinch. The crack of a branch under our weight made my heart seize. My body had not yet learned we were free; it braced with every step, waiting for the cavern to fall again.Kieran walked beside me, his arm firm across my shoulders, guiding me forward. But even his touch betrayed the truth, I felt the tremor in his grip, the uneve
The world felt quieter than I'd expected.It wasn't silent as per say, roots still groaned, stones still shifted, water still bubbled somewhere, but the roar that had lived in my chest, my head, my bones was gone, the shadow was gone, the Warden was gone too.What I had left was ash in my mouth and the girl's shaking body in my arms.I dropped to my knees, every muscle screaming. My burned hands stuck to her dress, skin peeled and raw, but I wouldn't let go. She was crying, and the sound was just human, like a normal human and that was enough."Kaia!"I looked up fast.Through the broken cave mouth, Kieran stumbled toward us. His body was covered in blood, his shirt ripped, one arm pressed tight to his ribs, but his eyes found me, wild and desperate and alive.I tried to talk but only made a scratchy sound. He closed the distance anyway, falling to his knees in front of me. His hand touched my face like he needed to make sure I was real."You're…" His voice broke. He pressed his foreh
The Hollow's heart wasn't a cave. It was alive.The walls pulsed like veins under skin; black glass split by red cracks that glowed like wounds. The air felt thick, burning my lungs with each breath. Even my fire struggled against it.At the center stood the Warden.It wasn't shadow anymore nor smoke. Here, it had its real body; a giant made of fire and rage. Its shoulders spread wider than buildings. Its arms ended in blazing claws. Where its face should be was just searing light, and inside that light burned two pieces of coal filled with endless hate. Every breath it took warped the air around us.Kieran swayed beside me. His body was burned and raw, shaking. But his hand held mine tight, his golden fire flickering weak but steady.The girl clung to my other side. Soot covered her pale face, but her eyes glowed faint silver, like the Hollow had tried to break her and failed."We're not enough," she whispered.The words hit hard. Against that wall of flame, we looked like sparks try
The tunnel squeezed us tight. Stone walls dripped with heat, and every breath felt like swallowing fire. Behind us, that red glow kept pulsing slowly, then faster. Like a heartbeat, but wrong. Nothing human about it.Kieran leaned into me, still burning hot from whatever that thing had done to him. His grip on my hand was solid though. Real. I kept checking, kept squeezing back, making sure he was still there."I'm not going anywhere," he mumbled, reading my thoughts.The girl beside us moved like she had lead in her boots, but she didn't stop. Soot streaked her face, sweat dripped from her hair, but those eyes of hers glowed. Faint, but there. Like she'd stolen some of that fire for herself."Where exactly are we going?" I asked her."Deeper." She didn't even turn around. "Away from it."The way she said it made my skin crawl. "Stay with me," I whispered to Kieran when he stumbled.He managed a weak smile. "You giving me orders now?"My throat closed up. "Don't you dare leave me."H
The tunnel squeezed us tight. Stone walls dripped with heat, and every breath felt like swallowing fire. Behind us, that red glow kept pulsing—slow, then faster. Like a heartbeat, but wrong. Nothing human about it.Kieran leaned into me, still burning hot from whatever that thing had done to him. His grip on my hand was solid though. Real. I kept checking, kept squeezing back, making sure he was still there."I'm not going anywhere," he mumbled, reading my thoughts.The girl beside us moved like she had lead in her boots, but she didn't stop. Soot streaked her face, sweat dripped from her hair, but those eyes of hers glowed faint, but there. Like she'd stolen some of that fire for herself."Where exactly are we going?" I asked her."Deeper." She didn't even turn around. "Away from it."The way she said it made my skin crawl. "Stay with me," I whispered to Kieran when he stumbled.He managed a weak smile. "Are you giving me orders now?"My throat closed up. "Don't you dare leave me."
The cavern didn't just shake, it screamed.Stone groaned like something alive. Dust poured down from the cracked ceiling. The heat hit us like a punch, making the air itself feel sharp. I held Kieran tighter, my heart torn between joy and terror. I had him back, finally, but the fire we'd broken wasn't finished with us."Kieran…"The word came out broken.He leaned against me, his skin burning hot, his breathing rough. Even weak, even barely standing, he felt solid in my arms. His eyes found mine, those golden-brown flames I knew by heart, dimmed but still fighting."You shouldn't have come here," he said, his voice like gravel.I almost laughed. It came out more like a sob. "Too late now."The ground split next to us. Red fire poured out, thick and angry. It spread across the stone like blood, creeping toward us. The girl cried out and stumbled back, covering her face with her hands. I grabbed her arm and pulled her close.This wasn't random. The fire was hunting.Something moved in