Chapter 4: Shadow in the roots

Chapter 4 – Shadows in the Roots

The boy’s grip was firm but not harsh—his hand warm against my chilled skin as he pulled me toward the mouth of the cave. My legs still ached from before, but adrenaline burned away the fatigue. Outside, the forest hummed with a strange, vibrating silence. The kind of quiet that happens right before something terrible.

The vines’ faint blue glow pulsed once, then dimmed completely. The air thickened.

“Stay close,” he murmured, his silver eyes glinting faintly in the gloom. “Don’t make a sound.”

We slipped out into the open, the moss underfoot muffling our steps. The sunlight had vanished, smothered by rolling mist that now crept between the trees. Everything smelled of wet earth and iron. My heart pounded loud enough I was sure whatever was out there could hear it.

The boy—no, the stranger—moved like a shadow, barely disturbing the fog as he guided me through twisting roots and hidden paths. His movements were precise, too practiced. This was his home.

“What do they want?” I whispered when I finally dared to speak.

He glanced back at me, expression unreadable. “You.”

“Me? I don’t even—”

“Don’t say you don’t know,” he cut in sharply, his tone low but edged. “Magic like yours doesn’t stay hidden forever. The Nightfangs sensed it. The forest felt it. And now, so do they.”

“I don’t have magic!” I hissed back, the words tasting like a lie even to me.

He stopped abruptly. We were standing in a clearing ringed with ancient stones, each carved with symbols that shimmered faintly under the fog. He turned to face me fully, eyes burning with that same silver light.

“Then explain this.”

He lifted a hand, and suddenly the air around us shimmered. I gasped. Tiny motes of golden light flickered into being around me, swirling like fireflies. They drifted toward my skin, merging with it—soft, warm, alive.

“What… what is this?” I breathed, staring as the light sank into my palms.

“It’s your aura,” he said quietly. “You’ve been suppressing it for years, haven’t you? The kingdom hides what it fears. And it fears you.”

My throat tightened. “That’s not true—”

Before I could finish, a whistle split the air. The boy’s eyes snapped upward. A heartbeat later, something slammed into the ground beside us—a metal bolt, glowing with runes that hissed as it buried into the dirt.

“Down!” he shouted, yanking me behind one of the stone pillars just as another bolt flew, crackling with blue energy. It struck the stone above us, exploding into a shower of sparks.

Voices echoed in the fog—harsh, disciplined, human.

“Fan out! The tracker says she’s close!”

“Remember the boy’s bounty—double if taken alive!”

I froze, pressing my back against the stone. They were hunting him too.

The boy clenched his jaw. “They’ve warded the area. We can’t use the main paths.” He turned to me, eyes burning bright. “There’s only one way out—through the roots.”

“What do you mean, through—”

He pressed a hand to the ground, and the earth beneath us shifted, trembling. Vines snaked aside, revealing a narrow, dark tunnel spiraling downward beneath the tree roots.

He looked at me, face grave. “It’s dangerous. But less so than them.”

Bolts hissed through the air again, closer this time. The shouts were seconds away.

I didn’t hesitate.

“Let’s go.”

He nodded once and dropped into the tunnel, motioning for me to follow. The air below was damp and cold, filled with the scent of earth and old magic. I crawled after him, the tunnel closing behind us like the forest itself was swallowing the entrance.

The darkness was nearly complete—until faint light began to glow ahead, green and soft like moonlight on water.

The boy’s voice echoed back, steady but low. “Don’t stop, no matter what you hear. The roots can… whisper.”

I frowned. “Whisper?”

He didn’t answer.

As we descended deeper, the whispering began—soft at first, like wind through leaves, then clearer. Words. My name. Over and over, spoken in a dozen different voices.

My hands trembled. “They’re—calling me.”

He reached back, gripping my wrist tightly. “Ignore it. They feed on doubt. Keep moving.”

I swallowed hard and forced myself to focus on his hand, on the faint silver light guiding me forward. The whispers grew louder, more desperate, until they were nearly screams—then, just as suddenly, silence.

We stumbled out into a vast underground chamber. Roots hung from the ceiling like pillars, and in the center, an ancient stone altar glowed with runic light.

The boy released my wrist and exhaled slowly. “We’re safe. For now.”

I looked around, heart still racing. “What is this place?”

He walked toward the altar, tracing a hand across its surface. “The heart of the forest. Where all magic begins and ends.”

I stepped closer. The runes pulsed beneath my feet, responding to my presence.

And then, faintly, like a sigh, the altar spoke—its voice echoing in my mind.

Welcome home, child of the crown.

The boy froze. His head turned toward me, eyes wide for the first time.

“…You awakened it.”

“What?”

He stared at me, disbelief mixing with something like awe—or fear.

“You weren’t supposed to be able to do that.” no

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