The girl's weight in my arms was the only thing keeping me grounded as we stumbled into the edge of the Whispering Woods. Behind us, the village of Elaria was nothing but a dying ember in the dark.
"Stay awake," I muttered, my voice trembling. "We're almost to the safe house."
The girl, Lyria, stirred slightly. Her silver hair glowed faintly against my chest. "The shadows... they don't just hunt with eyes, Shakil. They hunt with the wind."
I froze. A low whistle sounded through the trees—not the wind, but a signal.
"Who are you?" I asked, looking down at her. "And why is the Dark Lord burning down entire villages just to find you?"
Lyria looked up, her blue eyes swirling like a storm. "I am the reason the stars are falling. And if you don't leave me here, you'll fall with me."
I felt a surge of stubbornness. "I didn't pull you out of those rocks just to let some shadows take you."
Suddenly, a dark arrow whistled past my ear, thudding into a tree trunk. It was coated in a pulsing purple mist—Void Poison.
I didn't think. I reacted. I raised my staff and chanted the first high-level spell my mentor, Elder Merek, had ever taught me.
"Lumina Shield!"
A dome of golden light erupted around us just as a dozen hooded figures stepped out from the darkness of the trees. Their eyes were vacant, possessed by the Dark Lord's magic.
"The girl," the leader hissed, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "Hand over the Star, and your death will be quick."
I pulled Lyria closer, my mana draining fast as the shield flickered. "Not today."
With a roar of effort, I slammed my staff into the ground, creating a blinding flash of light to mask our escape. We had to move. We had to find Merek.
But as we ran deeper into the forbidden part of the woods, I realized Lyria was holding something tightly in her hand—a small, crystal shard that hummed with the same rhythm as my own heart.