Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMPEP6C9XBBSNACD3BPBZF5

The air in Richmond Park carried the crisp bite of autumn, but the moment Aurora stepped between the ancient oak standing stones, her breath caught in her throat. Warmth. It shouldn’t have been warm here, not at midnight in October. The Heartstone pendant against her collarbone pulsed faintly, a slow, steady rhythm like a second heartbeat. She touched it absently, the deep crimson gemstone warm beneath her fingertips. She’d come because of the dreams. For weeks now, they’d plagued her—whispers in a language she didn’t know, the scent of wildflowers thick enough to choke, and always, always the feeling of being watched. Eva had laughed it off at first, told her she was working too many shifts at the Golden Empress. Silas had just frowned into his whiskey and muttered something about not poking at things that didn’t want to be found. But the pendant had led her here. The grove was wrong. Not in any way she could point to, not at first. The wildflowers bloomed as they always did, petals glinting silver in the moonlight, untouched by the season’s chill. The standing stones loomed around her, their bark smooth and ancient, carved with symbols that made her eyes ache if she looked too long. But the silence—that was what set her teeth on edge. No rustle of leaves, no distant hum of London’s nightlife. Just the quiet. And then, the whispering started. Aurora spun, her shoulder-length black hair whipping against her cheeks. Nothing. Just the grove, the flowers, the stones. But the whispers coiled around her, syllables that slipped through her grasp like smoke. She clenched her fists, the crescent scar on her left wrist throbbing faintly. “Hello?” Her voice sounded too loud. No answer. She took a step forward, then another, the grass soft beneath her boots. The pendant’s warmth intensified, pulsing faster now, and she resisted the urge to yank it off. Whatever was here, it wanted her to know it was close. A flicker of movement at the edge of her vision. Aurora turned sharply, heart hammering. Just the sway of flowers. Except—there was no wind. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to breathe. Think. Out of the box, always out of the box. That was what Eva always said. The whispers grew louder, layered now, overlapping in a chorus that made her skull vibrate. She pressed her palms to her ears, but the sound wasn’t outside her head. It was inside. Then, the laughter. High and bright and utterly inhuman. It skittered down her spine like spider legs. Aurora backed up, her heel catching on a root. She barely caught herself before she fell, fingers digging into the damp earth. The laughter came again, closer this time, and the air around her shimmered, warping like heat haze on pavement. Something was coming. The pendant burned against her skin, its glow flaring crimson. Aurora didn’t wait. She ran. The grove twisted around her, the path she’d taken vanishing as the trees seemed to lean in, branches knitting together like grasping fingers. Her breath came in ragged gasps, the scent of wildflowers thick enough to taste. The whispers rose to a crescendo, words she almost understood— *Stay.* *Play.* *You’re ours now.* Aurora skidded to a halt as the standing stones loomed before her again, arranged in a perfect circle. She’d run in a loop. The laughter echoed around her, bouncing off bark and stone, and she spun, searching for the source. There. Between the trees, a figure. Tall, too tall, limbs elongated like shadows stretched at dusk. It didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Just watched. The pendant’s chain bit into her neck as it pulsed wildly, the gemstone’s glow casting jagged red light across the grove. Aurora’s fingers closed around it, the heat searing her palm. She didn’t know why, but she knew—she had to break the circle. With a sharp yank, the chain snapped. The second the pendant left her skin, the grove screamed. The figure lunged. Aurora threw herself to the side, the Heartstone clutched in her fist. She hit the ground hard, rolling just as something razor-sharp grazed her shoulder. Pain flared, hot and bright, but she didn’t stop. Scrambling to her feet, she sprinted for the gap between the stones. The air tore like fabric as she crossed the boundary. Cold slammed into her, the familiar chill of an English autumn night. The whispers cut off as if severed. Aurora stumbled forward, her knees hitting pavement. Richmond Park stretched out around her, ordinary and silent. Behind her, the standing stones were just trees again. She didn’t look back. Clutching the Heartstone to her chest, Aurora ran.