“Um… excuse me?”

The kid stared up at Natt. His shirt was covered with splattered mud, and his hands with soot. He was what? Five? Six?

She looked around. The street drowned in isolation. A crumbled paper flew beneath her feet, skimmed across the tiles and fluttered away with the wind.

Natalie sighed as she crouched down to meet his height.

“Hey…” She smiled, looking as harmless as possible....

“Wakey, Wakey Alex”

Alex bolted upright. His breathing hitched. He knew that voice.

Frederick stood across the bed, hands clasped behind his back.

Stabbing pain clawed into his side like knives carving through his skin, deep into his muscles -- Hot and sharp.

He gasped for air— cold, **intangible** — as he fell back.

The light stung his eyes.

“Now, now. We don’t want to burst open those...

Ameera tried her best not to get her spear and slit everyone’s throats.

She rested her chin slightly over her interlaced fingertips, her sharp eyes scanning the war room filled with elves with big mouths and small brains.

“Another human!? What could this even mean?” Yelled the one who had a scar on his left eye.

“Ashfell was defeated! This shouldn’t be happening!” Yelled another.

“We all kno...

Natt wasn't surprised.

Three sharp knocks. Short. precise. _Exactly_ how he’d knock.

But this time it felt different. The hallway felt colder. The air was thick.

She rolled off the bed, crossed the room, and sighed as she opened the door.

_Of course_, it had to be him.

Hunter Cross stood in the corridor, dripping rainwater—tiny droplets collected on the sleeves of his leather jacket. Water...

"I think it's a waste of time snooping around here," Natt said as she inspected a music box under the beam of her light. "Pretty sure the town made up the whole rumor."

Hunter leaned against a wall, cold and damp, watching her toy with the music box. A faint hum from the distance filled the room. The dust tickled his nose. Some of it made its way over his leather jacket.

"That's how most of the...

It all started with the old cars hidden in the woods.

"SERIOUSLY?" Natt's voice echoed through the trees, "_This_ is what you bring me at 2 AM for?"

Hunter smirked, "Relax. It's just a little adventure." he spread his hands as if to show a cinematic panorama, "You and me against the unknown."

"I personally think you're a complete idiot to deliberately walk into a cursed place like that!" She...

He found her out on the balcony, leaning heavily against the railing. Her knuckles turned as white as her dress. She gripped the iron railing as if it were the only thing holding her together. He watched her shoulders rise and fall, uneven and staggering.

"You okay, Bridge?"

"I'm fine." She said sharply, without facing him. Strands of hair came loose out of her braid, shielding his view. Her v...

Warm laughter floated up the crystal chandeliers of the hall. Its light illuminated the whole place in a dreamy shade of Golden. Wind rushed in from the high windows, filling the air with a scent of lavender. The crystals occasionally swayed and gently clinked into one another.

Aiden swirled the Golden nectar in his goblet. The color so rich, he could see his own reflection in it. He adjusted hi...

"I hate this!" Brigid stomped on the ground, crushing the innocent grass beneath her boots. The rolled parchment in her hands crinkled.

Aiden watched his elven friend storm back and forth. He was sitting cross-legged under a massive, literal blue tree. One of the Sapphire leaves fluttered and gently landed on his head.

"Why are you getting so worked up about it?" Aiden picked up the shimmery l...

“So… this is normal?” He asked, looking over his shoulder before leaning against the table behind him, afraid he might knock off the violet jar.

Gold and pink-tinted light poured onto them from the stained glass, as they stood in Brigid’s potion room. Green vines, thick and curly, snaked their way across the walls and crept down to her shelves. Aiden couldn’t help but gawk at the vibrant elixir...