"She pauses, panting, her boots sinking into moss that ought to be damp but isn’t—*not this time of year*."
1
"Evan’s face flashes in her mind—pale, drunk, *sneering*—but she shoves it away."
2
"The clearing hits her like a wave—sweet, cloying, *alive*—and the pendant screams, glowing so bright she has to squint."
3
"A bird calls, but it’s not a thrush or a rook—too clear, too *sing-song*, like a child hummed off-key."
4
"“Great. Fae tech.” She tucks it away, grabs the Hex wrench from her toolbelt—old habit from fixing bike chains mid-route—and clutches it like a bat."
5
"Eva had been the one to warn Rory about Evan—Eva, who’d vanished six months ago, leaving only a half-finished journal and a reference to “the Grove” in her notes."
6
"At the palm of the claw, a depression in the earth—black, like it’s been eaten away by something."
7
"The irises around the depression are fine—no torn leaves, no trampled stems."
8
"*It*—whatever it is—moves through the undergrowth, its path flattening every plant in its way."
9
"It had mentioned a scar—*crescent-shaped*, on the left wrist."
10
"The scar is there, raised, a reminder of the day she’d fallen into a canal at seven, her father hauling her out, yelling about “stupid curiosity.” She’d thought it was a coincidence, but Eva—Eva had *known* about it."
11
"The pressure in her head splits, and she hears voices—hundreds of them, whispering, *laughing*, their words guttural and ancient, like stones grinding together."
12
"The pendant burns, hotter than before, and she realizes—*it’s not warning her."
13
"Rory sees it then—Eva, huddled in the corner of the vortex, her wrists bleeding, her eyes wide with terror."
14
"She can’t run—there’s no path, no escape."
15
"She clutches the pendant, closes her eyes, and thinks of Evan—of his sneer, his hand around her throat—and she *roars*."
16
"A gash runs from her temple to her jaw, but the blood isn’t red—it’s black, like tar."
17
"The figure is gone, but something else is here—something small, skulking between the trees."
18
"Somewhere, far off, a flower blooms—red, bright, *alive*."