The air in the forest was thick with tension, the silence oppressive. Every rustle of leaves, every creak of branches, felt amplified as Elara and Leif hurried through the underbrush, their breaths quick and shallow.
The torches of the prince's men flickered faintly behind them, bobbing up and down in the distance like hungry eyes searching through the dark.
Elara's pulse raced as her feet moved instinctively over the uneven ground. The earth beneath her was soft and yielding, its familiar rhythm guiding her forward even in the chaos.
But there was something else now, something more ominous that tugged at her senses—the pull of the curse. It was faint, but unmistakable, like the whisper of wind before a storm.
"We're losing time," Leif muttered, his voice low but tense. He glanced over his shoulder, his grip tightening on the bow slung across his back. "They're too close."
Elara didn't need him to tell her. She could feel it too, the weight of the darkness closing in around them. The forest, once a sanctuary, now felt like a maze of shadows.
Even the trees, ancient and twisted, seemed to lean in closer, as though the curse had taken root in the very heart of the wood.
"We have to keep moving," Elara said, though her voice betrayed her growing fear. "There's an old path up ahead—if we follow it, we might be able to lose them."
Leif nodded, his face set in determination. "Lead the way."Elara pushed forward, her legs burning as she quickened her pace. She had spent years navigating these woods, learning their secrets, but tonight they felt unfamiliar, as though something had shifted in the very fabric of the land.
She could sense the earth beneath her feet, its pulse erratic, almost... fearful.As they moved deeper into the forest, the sound of the prince's men grew fainter, their torches swallowed by the darkness. But the danger hadn't passed.
Elara could still feel it—the pull of something far greater, far darker than the men who pursued her. The curse was alive, and it was reaching for her.
"Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper as they pushed through a thicket of brambles.Leif glanced at her, frowning.
"Feel what?"
"The curse. It's... close."
Leif's jaw tightened. "We need to keep moving."But Elara hesitated. The pull of the curse wasn't just close—it was drawing her in, as though the shadows themselves were calling her name.
She could feel it in the pit of her stomach, in the very air around her. It wasn't just the prince's men who hunted her—it was the curse itself.She stopped, her breath catching in her throat.
"Leif, wait."He turned to face her, his eyes sharp with concern.
"What is it?"Elara's gaze darted through the trees, her heart pounding in her chest. "I don't think we're running from them anymore," she whispered. "I think we're being led."The realization hit her like a cold wave. The prince's men were the least of their worries.
The forest had changed, twisted into something unfamiliar, and the curse was guiding them, pulling them deeper into its grasp. Elara's mind raced.
She had felt the curse before—its dark, suffocating presence—but never like this. It was as though it was trying to draw her toward something... or someone.
"We need to get out of here," Leif said, his voice urgent, but Elara shook her head."No. If we keep running, we'll fall right into their trap."
Leif's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"Elara closed her eyes, focusing on the pull of the earth beneath her.
It wasn't just fear that gripped her now—it was something more. She could feel the pulse of the land, the heartbeat of the forest, but there was another rhythm beneath it, dark and steady, like a drumbeat in the distance. The curse.
"They're leading us into the heart of the curse," she said, her voice trembling. "If we keep going, we'll be walking straight into it." Leif's face paled.
"Then what do we do?"Elara didn't have an answer. She could feel the curse pulling at her, but she didn't know how to resist it. Her powers, the magic she had relied on for so long, felt muted in the presence of such darkness.
She had always known that the earth's magic was powerful, but the curse... it was something else entirely.Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the forest, and Elara's heart lurched.
Leif's eyes snapped to the trees, his hand instinctively reaching for his bow. But before either of them could react, a figure emerged from the shadows, cloaked in darkness.It wasn't one of the prince's men.
It was someone far worse.
Author's Note:
The chase continues! In this part, we see Elara begin to feel the full weight of the curse, and a sense of dread starts to settle in.