We walked deeper into the forest.And deeper.And deeper.
Until even the monsters stopped following us.
That alone should've been a giant red flag waving in my face, but I was too busy trying not to vomit from pain. The forest around us twisted into tighter, darker shapes—branches arching overhead like ribs closing over a cage. The shadows thickened into something almost… syrupy.
My thoughts drifted as we limped forward.
Why is it getting darker?
There was no sky, no sun, no horizon—not in this dream-forest. But the light was draining fast, turning everything murky like the forest was swallowing dusk whole.
Then the smell hit me.Warm. Sweet. Comforting.Soup.Fire.Home.
Which was EXACTLY why Adrian froze mid-step.
Warmth in this place wasn't comfort. It was a trap.A lure.
A fire that looks inviting until it cooks your soul medium-rare and asks if you want dipping sauce.His shoulders went rigid.
His fingers tightened around his makeshift spear.
"What is that?" I whispered."Something we shouldn't trust," he muttered. "But we don't have a choice."
We followed the scent.
The darkness thinned until light flickered ahead—orange and gold, dancing against trunks and leaves. We stepped through the last line of twisted trees and—A camp.A whole damn camp.Six tents arranged in a rough circle, fire crackling in the middle, the scent of roasting food drifting through the night. Figures moved around the flames—tall, elegant, sharp-eared silhouettes that looked almost elven… if elves had eyes that glimmered like polished stone and movements too smooth to be human.
They laughed.
Talked.
Stirred pots.
Sharpened tools.
My stomach growled so loud I swore even the trees heard it.I looked at Adrian, silently begging for permission like the pathetic starving idiot I was. He didn't look at me, but he still nodded.A slow, cautious nod.The kind that said: We do this, but don't trust a damn thing.
His eyes told a whole different story: danger, calculation, possible death.
We stepped closer.Six of them turned to face us—graceful, strange, eyes reflecting firelight like mirrors. Their smiles were friendly.
Too friendly.One of them—tall, silver-haired, with skin that shimmered faintly—tilted his head and spoke first.
"Well now," he said, voice smooth as lacquered wood. "Travelers. Rare to see anyone walking this deep."
I swallowed hard.
Adrian stepped forward.
Druhva tensed behind me.
And me?
I tried not to drool at the smell of their soup like a starving gremlin.
———————————————————————————————*
The silver-haired one studied us like he was deciding whether we were lost travelers… or a funny-looking fungus he'd stepped on.
His eyes glowed faint gold in the firelight.Not threatening.But definitely not normal.
"Welcome, strangers," he said, voice calm, steady. "Sit. You look half-dead."
"Only half?" I whispered under my breath. "God, they're generous."
Adrian shot me a warning look, the kind that said shut up before you start a war, so I—miraculously—shut up.One of the others approached—a woman with braided black hair and markings like streaks of silver ink across her cheeks. She held a wooden bowl out toward us.
"Eat," she said softly. "Your soul needs strength here."
My stomach screamed YES.
Adrian's hand shot out faster than mine."Seren," he said sharply.
I froze.The woman blinked slowly. "We do not poison. We aren't creatures of this forest."
Adrian didn't relax.He didn't trust anyone.
Even the fire didn't hide how tense he was.The silver-haired leader stepped closer, raising both hands in a gesture of peace.
"We've been wandering this forest for five years," he said. "Searching for any safe place. Any village. Any doorway out of this cursed land."
Five. Years.My throat tightened.
"That's impossible…" Druhva breathed. "No one survives here that long."
"Most don't," the leader replied. "But we're not 'most.'"They weren't bragging.
They were stating a fact.
The group moved like warriors—silent steps, sharp reflexes, eyes always scanning the dark. Their armor was a patchwork of leather, bone, and metal scraps etched with glowing runes. Monster trophies hung from belts—fangs, claws, a piece of carapace shaped like a giant scorpion shell.
Monster hunters.Elite ones."You kill the creatures here?" I asked.
A few of them smiled—grim, exhausted smiles.
"We hunt them," the woman with the silver markings said. "Sometimes we survive. Sometimes they do."
"But you don't harm humans?" Druhva asked carefully.
The silver-haired leader laughed softly. "Never. We used to be human."
USED TO BE?I swallowed.
"Meaning?" Adrian asked, his voice low and unreadable.
"Meaning," the leader replied, "this forest changes everyone who walks it long enough. It takes from you. Gives to you. Warps what you were into what you must become."He tapped the silver streaks on his skin.
"A mark of endurance. Not corruption."Adrian's grip on his spear tightened.
"Relax," the woman said gently. "We can see it on you already. The forest has touched you too."I stiffened.
"Touched how?" I demanded.
All six of them looked at me at the same time, and that alone nearly stopped my heart.Their leader's voice dropped.
"You're hunted."The fire crackled.
"No, not by the common beasts," he continued. "Something older. Something immense. Something watching your every step."My breath hitched.
He pointed to the trees."You can't see it. You never will. But it sees you."
"Great," I muttered, feeling my soul leave my body again. "Awesome. Love that for me."One of the male hunters stepped forward, crouched, and gently touched the makeshift splint on my leg.
"You did this yourself?" he asked quietly."Yeah," I breathed. "Didn't have a choice."
His eyebrows lifted. "Good work. But that thing"—his eyes flicked to the darkness behind us—"didn't break your leg just to hurt you. It was marking you."
"Marking… me?" My voice cracked.
"For the hunt," he said simply.
Oh. OH GREAT.
I'm prey now.
Awesome.
Adrian stepped closer to me, subtly, protectively—not that he'd ever admit it.
"Can you show us a way out?" he asked the leader.A silence rippled through the camp.Finally, the leader sighed.
"There is a way," he said. "But it's toward the heart of the forest. Toward the place where the creature hunting her was born."
ME???
WHY ME???
"What does it want from me?" I whispered.All six hunters looked at each other.
Then the woman answered:"It wants to finish what it started with us."
My blood turned to ice."You six?" Adrian asked sharply.
"Yes," the leader said softly. "We were the first it hunted."
I stared at him."And… you survived?"
He smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile.
"No," he said. "We escaped."That was worse.
WAY WORSE.
Because something strong enough to chase THESE monster-killers for FIVE YEARS?
Yeah. I'm doomed.[:>]