The forest knew before them.
Not through visible signs.
Not through the wind, nor through restless animals.
But through the way time itself had settled crookedly.
The snow had melted by morning, but not because the light had come. The codrion had not let it remain. Large flakes had fallen over the leaves, over the roots, over their deep tracks, then melted slowly, like thoughts that never had time to become memories.
But the cold remained.
Not a biting cold, but a clear, almost sharp one that made the air harder to breathe. A cold that did not require shelter, but truth.
The small fire in the clearing was still burning.
It did not crackle.
It did not require wood.
It did not move.
It stood straight, stable, just like them.
The children had been awake for a long time.
Not out of anxiety.
But because something in them didn't know how to sleep like before.
After you see the shadows falling… sleep doesn't come easily.
Paul watched them without saying anything. He had already learned that, after big things, silence is sometimes the hardest lesson. Not because it hurts, but because it forces you to listen.
Oana stood with her palms outstretched towards the fire. Her light didn't light up. It didn't burst. It didn't pulse violently. And yet, the air around her hands vibrated slightly, as if she were holding an old breath, held back for too long.
— It's different… she said softly. I don't feel the need to call for the light anymore.
Paul nodded.
— Because now you know she's coming alone.
Alex stood a little further away, next to Ana. They weren't touching. But the distance between them was no longer one of fear. It was one of conscious choice.
Ana saw fire as something to be understood, not avoided.
—In my village, fire was always a bad sign," she said. Either something was burning… or it was going to burn.
"Not here," Alex replied. Here fire doesn't destroy. It just stays.
Ana looked at him.
Not much.
But enough to understand that he wasn't speaking from a vision.
But from a decision.
Vlad and Alexandra were standing on a thick root. The shadow between them was still there, but it wasn't heavy anymore. It no longer dictated. It tightened and widened like a breath learning to be calm.
—It's like it's not whispering to us anymore," Vlad said.
—Or maybe we won't let it anymore," Alexandra replied.
Paul stood up.
His movement was the signal.
— We're leaving.
No one asked where.
The forest had already opened the way.
They walked for hours.
No hurry.
No unnecessary stops.
The trees had gradually thinned out. The earth had become harder. The roots no longer came to the surface to hold them, but remained deep, letting them walk on their own.
— This is the limit, Paul said when they reached the edge of the Codrion.
Beyond, the fields stretched gray, wet, with patches of melted snow.
— The world… Ana murmured.
Paul looked at her.
— Yes. And it's no worse than the forest. It's just not as forgiving.
They didn't see the village right away.
They smelled it.
The smell of old smoke. Badly burned wood. Fear that had nowhere to run.
Alex stopped suddenly.
— Here.
Paul felt the direction in his chest.
— It won't be a big fight, he said. But it will be a dirty one.
The village wasn't destroyed. The houses were still standing. But the people stood still, like bodies left without purpose.
Shadows moved among the buildings.
Not big.
Not strong.
But enough.
— Remains, Vlad said.
— The most dangerous, Paul said. Because they don't seem important.
Alex stepped forward.
— Let me.
Paul didn't stop him.
Ana came with him.
The moon wasn't in the sky.
But it was present.
Alex drew his sword. Plain metal. Old. A weapon that had seen more silence than blood.
— Not like that, Paul said calmly.
—Then how? Alex asked.
Alex closed his eyes.
He breathed.
At first nothing happened.
Then the air tightened around him, as if someone had pulled the world closer to his chest. The sword vibrated gently in his palm, not like a weapon demanding blood, but like a vessel filling.
—Force the moon like water. Not like fire.
Paul's voice was no longer an order. It was an anchor.
Alex let his thoughts flow. He didn't try to gather strength. He didn't clamp it down. He let it move through him, through his arms, through his shoulders, through his spine, to the tip of the sword.
When he opened his eyes, near the trees on the side of the road, the light had gathered into a small, pale, almost shy point.
A mini-moon.
It floated slowly, like a reflection on the surface of a windless lake.
The shadows sensed it.
One of them turned suddenly, like an animal that senses cold water before it touches it. It tried to run, but the mini-moon wasn't running. It didn't need to.
It was slowly approaching.
When it touched the shadow, there was no explosion. There was no scream. The shadow thinned, its edges disintegrating, dripping into the ground like old smoke washed away by rain.
Alex felt a knot in his chest.
It was working.
But the price was coming.
A second mini-moon broke from the air, then a third. Alex's forehead was burning. His breathing was coming in jerks. He couldn't hold much more.
—Alex!" Ana shouted.
A shadow had broken away from the side, much faster than the others. Ana didn't wait.
She pressed her palm to the ground.
—Now.
The ground responded violently. The earth rose in a short, brutal wave, hitting the shadow from the side and knocking it to the ground. But it didn't stop there. Thick roots burst from the ground, gripping the shadow by its head, its trunk, its edges, pinning it down.
Ana felt the vibration rising through her arms, all the way to her jaw. Her teeth clenched.
— You're not getting away.
Alex's mini-moon slid over the trapped shadow.
The shadow fell apart completely.
Ana fell to one knee, breathing heavily.
— It's not like fire… she whispered. It takes your breath away.
— I know, Alex replied. But I can't stop it.
— Then don't stop. Steer.
Behind, Vlad and Alexandra had no time for discussion.
A shadow lunged directly at Vlad, hitting him in the chest with a force that pushed him back a few steps. The air left his lungs. He felt the cold seep under his skin.
Alexandra entered immediately.
Not with magic.
With her body.
She slammed into the shadow, using her weight, her knee, her elbow. The shadow had no flesh, but it reacted to the impact, to the will. Vlad stood up and struck again, close, leaving no space.
— Don't give it time, Alexandra said through gritted teeth.
The shadow between them reacted.
It didn't stretch.
It didn't rebel.
It tightened.
It gathered like a living knot between them, transforming fear into brute force. Vlad's blow became more precise. Alexandra's step more sure. The opposing shadow began to fall apart under their combined pressure.
— That's it, Vlad said. Together.
Another shadow attacked them from behind. Alexandra was hit in the shoulder and fell. Vlad felt panic bite him, but he didn't stop. He threw himself at the shadow, hitting it with his fists, his elbows, everything he had.
— I'm not touching you!
The shadow retreated, thinned, weakened.
But the fight was taking its toll.
Oana had turned to Paul.
He was leaning against a house, breathing hard. A shadow had hit him earlier, deeply, and blood was staining his clothes. Oana felt anger rising, but also fear.
— Paul…
He looked up at her.
— Not yet.
Oana reached for the medallion. The mark on her chest warmed. She closed her eyes.
The light didn't explode.
It tightened.
Like a breath held too long.
When she opened her eyes, a short, precise wave started from her, crossing the village like a heartbeat. The remaining shadows stopped suddenly, as if something had cut off their connection with the darkness behind.
Alex felt the mini-moons weakening.
Ana felt the earth calming down.
Vlad and Alexandra fell to their knees, gasping for breath, wounded, but standing.
The shadows were gone.
Not all of them.
But enough.
For now.
Oana collapsed next to Paul, holding him.
— Have I lost you? she whispered.
Paul smiled weakly.
— Not yet. But you see?
She nodded.
— Yes. We won.
Paul closed his eyes for a moment.
—No, he said. "I survived."
And sometimes that's all the light can do.
Tăcerea care a urmat nu a fost liniștitoare.
The silence that followed was not reassuring.
It was heavy.
The village seemed suspended between breaths. The old smoke still hung low, close to the ground, and the air tasted of metal and burnt fear. Neither of them moved too quickly, as if one wrong move might call the shadows back.
Alex lowered his sword.
When the metal hit the ground, his knees buckled. Ana was beside him immediately, placing her hand on his back. Under his skin, he could still feel the vibration of the moon, like water that hadn't decided whether to retreat or break its banks.
"Are you here?" she asked him softly.
Alex nodded.
"But… something of me remained there."
Ana understood.
The power never completely leaves.
Vlad held his left arm tightly to his chest. A shadow had touched him deeper than it seemed. Alexandra was slowly undoing the strap from his shoulder, with sure movements, although her hands were shaking.
— Don't move suddenly, she told him.
— If I hear them again… Vlad murmured, I'll jump first.
Alexandra looked up at him.
— You're not alone anymore. You don't have to jump first.
The shadow between them pulsed weakly, tiredly, like a wound that was starting to close.
Oana was still next to Paul.
She was holding him, and her light was no longer coming out of her body. It had gathered deep, like a reserve that she didn't know if she was allowed to use again.
— The shadows haven't completely retreated, she said. I feel them… further.
Paul breathed deeply. Each breath required effort.
— Because they weren't sent here only.
Oana froze.
— Then where?
Paul opened his eyes and looked at the gray fields beyond the village.
— North.
Alex raised his head.
— The Kingdom.
Paul nodded.
— Not as a frontal attack. As an infection. Village after village. Fear upon fear.
Ana clenched her fists.
— How many people are left here?
An old man slowly emerged from a house. His eyes were red, but his gaze was clear.
— Enough to scare them, he said. Too few to defend themselves.
Oana stood up.
— Then we stay until they can move again.
Paul looked at her for a long time.
— If we stay too long, we will give the shadows time to gather.
— And if we leave too quickly, we will leave them alone, she replied.
For a moment, neither of them was right.
Paul coughed. Blood reached his lips.
Alex took a step forward.
— Then we go forward. But not all of us.
Paul looked at him.
— Continue.
— Vlad and Alexandra stay. I know hand-to-hand combat. I can keep the village stable. Me, Ana, and Oana will go north with you.
Ana turned suddenly to Alex.
— Are you sure?
Alex met his gaze.
— No. But I'm ready.
Vlad clenched his jaw.
— I don't like it.
— Me neither, Alexandra said. But it's fair.
Paul looked at each of them.
— I didn't teach you to follow me blindly, he said. But to choose.
Then he nodded.
— That's how we do it.
Before leaving, Oana stopped in the middle of the village. She placed her palm on the ground. Its light descended, not like fire, but like a slow heat. People felt it without seeing it. Their backs straightened. Their breathing deepened.
— It's not protection, she said. It's time.
Paul looked at her with a shadow of pride.
The road north was harder.
The shadows didn't attack directly. They moved at the edge of vision. They followed them. They tested them. Alex could feel the moon answering sometimes without calling her. Ana could feel the earth tense, as before a storm.
Paul was weakening.
Not visibly.
But Oana felt every step costing him more than it should have.
— It won't last much longer, she whispered one evening, when the fire was small.
Paul smiled wearily.
— Enough to get you where you need to go.
— That's not how it works, Oana said.
— That's how it's always worked for me.
Alex gripped the hilt of his sword.
— Then teach us quickly.
Paul looked at him.
— You already do.
In the distance, over the fields, the sky was darker.
The Northern Kingdom was no longer just a place.
It was a wound waiting to be touched.
And they all knew:
what would come next there
would not be just a battle.
It would be a choice.