Chapter 52
THALRIC
The cursed forest is completely silent. No birds. No wind. No life. Only the endless whisper of skeletal branches scraping against one another. The trees here are wrong—bent and blackened, their bark slick as oil. A sickly green mist curls between their roots, clinging to the ground like smoke.
Even Ryllen, usually calm and composed, appears apprehensive. “It feels like we’ve stepped into another world,” he murmurs.
“We have,” I reply, scanning the shadows. “This land has been poisoned by the witch’s magic.”
The deeper we go, the thicker the air becomes. It smells of rot and iron. Magic hums in the soil—a low, vibrating pulse that makes the hair rise on the back of my neck.
A flicker of movement ahead draws my attention, and I stop dead in my tracks. Ryllen goes still beside me.
Squinting, I peer through the thick fog. My blood runs cold as a familiar shape comes into view.
It’s Aurora.
She’s standing between the trees, her long hair drifting weightlessly around her as if she’s underwater. Her dress billows in an invisible breeze, her bare feet hovering an inch above the earth. Pale light glows from her skin in a sinister green hue.
My breath catches. “Auri?”
But when I blink, she’s gone.
“Did you see that?” Ryllen’s voice is sharp. “Please, tell me you saw her too.”
I nod, my chest tight. “It wasn’t her though.”
“I agree.” He grips the hilt of his sword as he scans the surrounding area. “It was an illusion. The witch must know we’re here.”
“Then, she knows death has come for her,” I snarl as we continue through the dark woods.
The path twists, the forest warping around us like melted glass. Faces appear in the mist—mocking, whispering, gone before I can focus.
Ryllen mutters a curse. “She’s trying to drive us mad.”
“She won’t succeed.” I extend my claws. “Stay close.”
The mist shifts again, and suddenly the world shatters into light. I stagger backward, shielding my eyes. When I lower my hand, the forest is gone.
We stand in a grand ballroom of gold and crystal, sunlight pouring through stained glass. Light flares, and suddenly Aurora is dancing before me, laughter echoing through a sun-lit hall.
For one aching heartbeat I almost believe it’s real, then the vision ripples and fades, leaving only rot and shadow.
Ryllen’s voice breaks through the illusion. “Thalric, she’s not real.”
I grit my fangs. “I know.” But gods, she looks just as I remember from that night at the harvest festival in Oakvale.
My heart clenches. It seems like forever ago now.
Closing my eyes, I ball my hands into fists at my sides, my claws digging into my palms until the pain sears away the vision of my beloved. When I open them again, the forest returns—dark and rotting and real.
“Enough of this,” I snarl into the shadows, my tail lashing behind me. “Show yourself, witch!”
A faint rustling sound echoes in the woods.
Ryllen goes still. “Do you hear that?”
Dread trickles down my spine as a branch snaps behind us. Another to our left.
Without warning, the ground shakes beneath us. Shapes lumber from the mist—massive forms hunched and snarling, skin the color of mud, tusks glinting like knives.
Ogres. Their eyes burn an unnatural green, the mark of Malvara’s magic swirling through the veins beneath their skin.
They raise their weapons with guttural roars that fill my veins with ice.
Ryllen raises his hands, blue magic crackling between his fingers like small bits of lightning. “How many do you count?” he mutters under his breath.
“Six,” I reply in a low voice.
“Why did it have to be Ogres,” he grinds out. “I hate Ogres.”
Baring my fangs, I spread my wings wide. “Agreed.”
The first ogre charges. I leap forward, claws raking down his chest in a spray of black blood. He howls, swinging a massive club and shattering a tree trunk beside me.
Ryllen’s magic bursts from his palms, arcing in a blur of light and slicing through another’s arm.
The Ogres close in fast, snarling and reeking of mud and stench.
Ryllen and I fight back-to-back, moving like we’ve trained together all our lives—me with my claws and wings, him with his magic. For every strike we land, two more come.
One ogre grabs me by the tail and slams me into the ground. The impact drives the breath from my lungs, but I manage to roll away just as its club crashes down, splitting the earth.
I push up to my feet and freeze.
Aurora stands at the edge of the clearing, glowing brighter this time. The light from her body pierces through the fog, turning it to vapor. Her expression is desperate.
“Behind you!” she cries, her voice echoing through the woods.
I spin just in time to see an Ogre looming over me, axe raised. I duck under the swing and drive my claws through his ribs. Tearing through his skin, hot blood sprays across my chest.
If she hadn’t warned me, I would have been dead.
Ryllen shouts as another Ogre lunges for him, but I’m faster. I slam into the beast, my wings snapping wide, my claws slicing through flesh and bone.
“Was that—” Ryllen pants, kicking at the body of the nearest fallen Ogre. “Was that really Aurora?”
I’m breathing hard, my chest heaving. “I don’t know.”
The final Ogre staggers and collapses, its green-lit veins dimming to black. Silence falls around us, broken only by the sound of our ragged breathing as we stand side by side.
“Thalric?” Aurora’s soft voice calls out.
I turn toward the sound, my heart pounding. Aurora is standing before me. Glowing faintly, the edges of her form waver like flickering candlelight. She reaches her hand out to me.
“Auri.” I take a step forward. “Is it really you?”
“Wait.” Ryllen’s hand clamps on my arm. “It could be a trick.”
Her eyes find mine, shining with the same warmth I’ve dreamed of so many times before. “It’s me.” Her voice trembles. “I don’t know how, but I can feel you. Both of you. I can feel everything… like I’m standing halfway between worlds.”
I move closer, my breath catching. “How is this possible?”
“I don’t know.” She glances around, her light flickering weaker. “But I can feel myself slipping away.”
“No.” My chest tightens painfully. “Stay with me, Auri. Please.”
“I can’t.” A tear escapes her lashes and rolls down her cheek. “But you must be careful. She knows you’re coming.”
Desperate, I reach for her, but my hand passes straight through her form. Panic grips me as she vanishes briefly and then reappears. “Auri?”
“I can’t stay,” she says, her voice fading. “Be careful. The witch knows you’re—”
I inhale sharply as she disappears, staring at the empty space where she once stood. “Auri!”
“I love you,” she whispers. “Always.” Hope flares as her voice echoes in my mind.
It was her. I know it was… and that means she’s still fighting.
“Come, my friend.” Ryllen kneels at my side and rests a hand on my shoulder. “We must focus. Once we end the witch, it will free Aurora from the curse.”
I look toward the mountain in the distance where the Goblin witch waits in her dark castle.
My claws curl into fists, the promise in my chest burning like fire.
“We will end this tonight,” I vow. The wind stirs, carrying the scent of blood and smoke, and I rise slowly, wings unfurling.
“I will not stop until Malvara is dead. I swear it to the old gods and the new.”