Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMNCC62S9SMW8F1FQ4A035E

The air in Richmond Park was thick with the scent of damp earth and something older, something that clung to the trees like a second skin. Aurora Carter adjusted the strap of her messenger bag, her fingers brushing the cool silver of the Heartstone pendant around her neck. The pulse of warmth beneath her skin was faint, barely perceptible, but it had been there since she left the flat above Silas’ bar. She should have known better than to come here tonight. The standing stones loomed ahead, their gnarled roots twisting into the ground like skeletal fingers. The moment she stepped onto the cracked path, the world tilted. An hour outside the grove felt like an eternity, the sky too bright, the air too still. Her breath came shallow, her pulse hammering in her throat. *This isn’t right.* She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to focus. The grove was supposed to be a place of transition, a threshold between worlds. But the air here was wrong—too heavy, too *alive*. The wildflowers swayed in a rhythm that didn’t match the wind, their petals shifting like living things. Aurora’s stomach twisted. She’d never been here before, not like this, not at night. A sound. Not the rustle of leaves, not the distant cry of an owl. Something else. A whisper, just beyond hearing. She turned slowly, her pulse spiking. The shadows at the edge of her vision seemed to stretch longer, the darkness swallowing the trees whole. Her fingers tightened around the pendant. The warmth beneath her skin deepened, pulsing in time with her breath. *Hel’s portal,* she thought, her mind racing. The Heartstone was supposed to guide her here, but now it felt like a warning. A twig snapped. Aurora froze, her breath catching. She didn’t move, didn’t dare shift her gaze. The sound came again—closer this time, too precise, too deliberate. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She was alone. She had come here for a reason, but what if she’d come too late? The trees around her seemed to lean in, their branches brushing against her like fingers. The air grew colder, the breath fogging in her lungs. Aurora’s vision blurred for a second—just a flicker, but enough to make her stomach drop. She was not alone. She reached for the pendant again, her thumb brushing the crimson gemstone. The warmth was stronger now, a steady pulse, like a heartbeat. But the glow wasn’t just hers. It was *hers and theirs.* A shape moved in the darkness. Not a person. Not quite. Something that shouldn’t be here. It emerged from the shadows, slow and deliberate, like a predator stalking its prey. Aurora’s breath hitched. The thing was tall, too tall, its form shifting between solid and translucent. Its eyes—if they could be called eyes—were too bright, too *hungry.* Aurora took a step back, her foot catching on the uneven ground. The pendant burned against her skin, its glow intensifying. She didn’t know what was happening. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. The thing moved closer. Aurora’s hands shook. She had to get out. She had to— The trees parted. Not with wind or storm, but with a sudden, unnatural stillness. The standing stones loomed over her, their roots writhing like serpents. The thing from the shadows stepped forward, its form solidifying for the first time. It was taller than a man, its limbs too long, its skin stretched too thin over bone. Aurora’s mind raced. This wasn’t part of the plan. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The thing spoke. Not in words, not in a voice. But in something worse—a vibration in her bones, a whisper in her mind. *You came for the portal.* Aurora’s blood turned to ice. She had come for the Heartstone. She had come for a way out. But now, standing here in the grove, she realized the truth: she wasn’t coming out. The thing reached out, its fingers—too many fingers—curling toward her. Aurora stumbled back, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The pendant burned against her skin, its glow pulsing like a warning. She had to act. She had to— The ground trembled. Not from the wind. Not from the earth. From something else. Something that had always been here, waiting. The trees groaned, their branches snapping like kindling. The standing stones split apart, their roots unraveling like living things. The thing from the shadows lunged, its form dissolving into the darkness before it could touch her. Aurora didn’t wait to see what came next. She ran. The moment she broke from the grove, the world snapped back into place. The air was sharp, the sky clear, the night sky full of stars. She was running through Richmond Park, her lungs burning, her heart pounding. She didn’t look back. But she knew. She’d come here for a reason. And now, standing on the edge of the grove, she understood why. The Heartstone had not been a guide. It had been a trap.