Run: 2026-02-19-01KHTX4KRQ1VBDJ5X69V3Y8GX2

The Heartstone pulsed against Aurora’s collarbone, warm as a second heartbeat. She clutched it between her fingers as she stepped through the ring of ancient oaks, their gnarled roots twisting like sleeping serpents in the moonlight. The Fae Grove should have been beautiful at night—silver-washed leaves, flowers glowing faintly underfoot—but the air clung thick and heavy, tasting of damp earth and something metallic. Her boots sank into the moss as she walked deeper in. She'd come to meet Eva, same as always. This was their place. But Eva wasn’t here. Rory checked her phone. No new messages. The screen flickered once before going dark. She tapped it. Nothing. The wind twisted through the trees, carrying whispers that weren’t words. She turned sharply, scanning the shadows between the standing stones. Nothing moved. A rustle. Not wind this time. Something brushing through the undergrowth. "Eva?" Her voice didn’t echo. The grove swallowed sound. Silence. She exhaled and forced herself to keep walking, toward the heart of the clearing where they usually sat. The flowers here bloomed unnaturally bright, petals edged in moonlight, but tonight they curled inward, as if hiding. The Heartstone hissed against her skin. Rory froze. Something was behind her. She didn’t turn. Didn’t breathe. The weight of eyes on her neck prickled like ice. The grove had gone utterly still—no wind, no rustle of leaves, just the slow, creeping certainty that she wasn’t alone. A whisper. "Aurora." Not Eva’s voice. She spun. Empty darkness. Her pulse hammered in her throat. The pendant burned now, its crimson glow seeping between her fingers. Near a Hel portal, it pulsed like this. But there weren’t supposed to be any here. Not in the grove. A breath brushed the back of her neck. She whipped around—still nothing. The standing stones loomed, their shadows too long, too sharp against the ground. "Show yourself." Her voice shook. Laughter, light and broken, skittered between the trees. She took a step back. The moss squelched beneath her boot. Another step. Something cracked behind her. A branch snapping. Run. She bolted, veering between the oaks, their branches clawing at her arms. The grove had never felt this big—trees stretched endlessly, paths twisting where they shouldn’t. The Heartstone’s chain bit into her skin, the pendant blazing hot now, casting jagged crimson streaks across the bark. A shape darted between the trunks ahead. Not Eva. Taller. Limbs too long. Rory skidded to a stop, mud splattering her legs. The thing stopped too. It didn’t turn. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Move. Just move. She backed away, step by step, until her heel hit solid stone. One of the standing oaks. The figure tilted its head. Then stepped toward her. Rory pressed against the tree, fingers scraping bark. The pendant’s glow lit up the thing’s face—no face. Just darkness where features should have been. It reached out. Her hand closed around the stone. "No." The pendant flared. The thing recoiled with a hiss, melting into the shadows. The grove exhaled. Then the whispers started. Hundreds of them, circling, swelling. She clutched the Heartstone and ran. Eva’s voice cut through the din. "Rory!" There, by the edge of the clearing. Eva, real and solid, waved frantically. The exit. Rory didn’t look back. She sprinted, lungs burning, and crashed into Eva’s outstretched arms. The grove snapped shut behind them.