Run: 2026-02-17-01KHNEX1MT0N0XQS07XYNJK9PP

The Heartstone pendant pulsed against Rory's collarbone like a second heartbeat as she stepped between the oak standing stones. The air shimmered, tasting of burnt honey and fresh rain, and then they were through. Behind them, the familiar shapes of Richmond Park dissolved into swirling mist. Aurora took a shaky breath, her fingers brushing the cold metal of the moonsilver dagger at her belt. The ground beneath her boots felt wrong—springy like moss but warm as living flesh. She wiggled her toes inside her sneakers, fighting the urge to take them off. "God's teeth," Eva muttered, staring at the impossible sky where twin moons hung low, one violet, one amber, casting conflicting shadows. Their light filtered through towering trees with bark that shifted patterns like a kaleidoscope—one moment resembling Celtic knots, the next fracturing into geometric runes. "The Grove remembers visitors," Nyx whispered from beside them, their shadow-form stretching unnaturally long in the double moonlight. A cluster of floating orbs drifted past—will-o'-the-wisps that paused to circle Aurora's wrist where her crescent scar peeked from her sleeve. They pulsed in approval before darting into the undergrowth. Eva reached for Rory's arm. "Did you see that? They—" Her words died as the path ahead revealed itself. Wildflowers uncurled from buds, their petals blooming in reverse color—deep indigo centers fading to pale edges. The air hummed with unseen energy, raising the fine hairs on Aurora's neck. Nyx melted into the dappled shadows beneath an archway of intertwined branches. "The Seer's abode lies beyond." Aurora hesitated at the threshold where the path split in three. The left fork smelled of baking bread and woodsmoke—comforting, domestic. The middle route glistened with dew-slick stones leading into mist. The rightmost path... Aurora's pendant flared hot against her skin. That way, the flowers grew black and twisted, their stems too long, curled like grasping fingers. "Trick of the Grove," Nyx murmured, appearing suddenly at her shoulder. Their violet eyes glowed brighter. "Choices here have weight. The safe road is rarely straight." Eva nudged the middle path with her boot. "We're down to forty-three minutes real-world time. Whatever clock you're on, tick-tock." Following instinct, Aurora stepped onto the dew-covered stones. The moment her foot touched, the mist dissolved to reveal a perfect circle of white mushrooms. Within it stood Isolde, silver hair cascading over shoulders draped in cobweb-thin silk. Her lavender eyes tracked them without blinking. "You came the grateful way," the Seer said, voice like wind through reeds. Her bare feet left no impression on the moss. "Wise. The angry path leads to teeth. The hungry road... well. Even shadows must eat." She smiled at Nyx, who inclined their head. Aurora's fingers tightened around the Heartstone. "We need—" "To find the rift before Belphegor's chefs carve another starveling," Isolde finished. She plucked a flower that hadn't existed moments before—its petals the exact crimson of Aurora's pendant. "Dymas waits beneath London's hunger. But tonight..." She scattered petals that froze midair, rearranging into a map. "The Veil thins where joy curdles." Eva made a frustrated noise. "Can you maybe not speak in fortune cookies for five—" A chorus of chimes cut her off. The standing stones at the Grove's edge began vibrating, their surfaces splitting open like vertical mouths. Isolde went very still. "You've been followed." Nyx's form rippled violently. "Wardens." Aurora yanked the Fae blade free as the first skeletal figure emerged from a stone. Its ribcage housed a swirling nebula of dark energy. The smell hit—ozone and rotting plums. Her pendant burned white-hot. "Run!" Nyx's voice fractured into echoes as they surged forward, shadows elongating into barbed tendrils. "Third petal points true!" The Grove convulsed around them. Tree roots upheaved, forming a tunnel that smelled of damp earth and lightning. Aurora grabbed Eva's wrist and dove in, the shriek of the Wardens dissolving into wind. The roots knitted shut behind them, plunging them into absolute blackness. Then—light. Glowing mushrooms spiraled up the tunnel walls, revealing carvings that told stories in no language Aurora recognized. One panel showed a crowned figure feasting while cities burned in its open palm. The Heartstone's pulse synced with the faint luminescence. Eva exhaled shakily. "So. Demons, Fae riddles, skeleton cops. Anything else I should—" A bone-rattling screech cut through the tunnel. Something massive moved in the dark beyond the mushrooms' glow. Aurora pressed them flat against the carvings as monstrous breathing echoed—wet, labored. The smell of charred sugar flooded the passage. The beast passed within inches without seeing them. Later, Rory would recall the feel of its shadow—how it wasn't cold like Nyx's, but thick as congealing syrup. How her pendant had throbbed in warning, the Fae blade frosting over in her grip. When silence returned, they crawled forward until the tunnel spat them out beneath the twin moons once more. Before them stretched a ruined feasting table—its surface etched with familiar symbols. Aurora touched the nearest carving: a perfect match for her pendant. Eva's sharp intake of breath made her turn. There, slumped against the table's far end, Nyx's shadow-form flickered weakly, their silhouette pierced by glowing silver arrows. Aurora's stomach dropped. "Wardens," Nyx managed, voice fading. "Used my true name." Their form collapsed inward like a dying star, condensing into a small obsidian vial that clattered to the moss. Aurora caught it before it could roll away. The glass burned cold against her palm. "She's playing both sides," Eva whispered, pointing to the table's center. Among rotted delicacies lay a playing card—Isolde's face smiled up from the queen of hearts, her lavender eyes knowing. The ground trembled. One of the twin moons winked out. Aurora pocketed the vial, glancing at the petal-map still floating above her palm. Its third point now pulsed over an illustration of a gilded cage. Somewhere in the dark, a familiar chime began again. Hands shaking, Aurora unsheathed the Fae blade. Its glow intensified, revealing creeping tendrils of black ivy that hadn't been there moments before. The vines moved with sinister purpose, coiling around the ruined table legs. Dymas was waking up.