Chapter 004

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Aurora Pov

We move deeper into the forest, the air thick with the acrid scent of smoke and ash. The fire roars in the distance, its relentless crackle an ominous backdrop to our silence. The trees around us sway gently in the breeze, but the stillness between us is almost suffocating. My mate, Harlan, strides beside me, his sharp eyes scanning the shadows with a focus that sends a ripple of tension through the air.

"Do you hear something?" Luna asks, her voice soft but taut, her gaze fixed on her brother.

He shakes his head, his brows furrowing. "Just the fire."

Their words fade as I let myself drift away from the moment, seeking something more than the chaos that clings to us. I crouch low to the ground, pressing my hands into the cool, damp earth, desperate to tether myself to the forest. The soil is warm beneath my palms, vibrating faintly with the life it holds, but the energy feels muted, overwhelmed by the oppressive presence of smoke.

I inhale deeply, hoping to drown out the distant crackle of flames, but the sharp tang of burning wood strikes a chord deep within me. The scent pulls me into memories I've worked so hard to bury. They surge forward like an unforgiving tide, washing over me with visceral intensity.

The Hale fire.

The roar of flames consumes my senses, a cacophony so deafening it drowns out the present. The ghost of searing heat brushes my skin, as if the inferno has found me even here. The suffocating air, thick with ash and despair, claws at my lungs. Screams—raw, desperate, and hauntingly familiar—echo in my mind, carving deep grooves into my soul. I see collapsing walls, their fiery skeletons groaning under the weight of destruction, and I feel the helplessness that burned as fiercely as the flames.

My chest tightens, the phantom heat mingling with an icy chill of dread. My hands tremble, clawing at the earth as if it could anchor me, but the connection is gone. I rip my hands free, gasping as though surfacing from deep water. My heart pounds in my chest, each beat reverberating like the rhythm of the inferno. The forest around me blurs, swaying like an apparition caught in the same firestorm.

Then, slicing through the haze, a howl tears across the night—sharp, primal, and electric. The sound yanks me from my spiraling thoughts, snapping me upright. My head swims as the weight pressing against my skull intensifies. My vision narrows, and the world tilts violently before the dark closes in. My body crumples, surrendering to the overwhelming force.

When consciousness returns, the forest I knew is gone, replaced by an unfamiliar expanse. The air here feels heavier, charged with an energy that raises the fine hairs on my skin. The silence presses against me, disorienting and suffocating. I barely have time to process the shift before I hear the rush of footsteps, and then Harlan and Luna break through the trees.

Harlan drops to his knees beside me, his hands cupping my face with a tenderness that momentarily stills the chaos within me. "Aurora," he breathes, his voice laced with worry.

"I'm fine," I manage, though the words feel hollow against the pounding in my skull.

Before I can steady myself, two figures emerge from the shadows—a boy and a girl, both unfamiliar. Their presence feels almost as jarring as the change in location.

"Luna?" the boy asks, his voice a mix of surprise and caution.

"Everett?" Luna replies, just as startled.

I push myself upright, the tension in the air tangible. With a grin that feels like armor, I break the silence. "Well, since everyone's throwing out names, I'm Aurora. Nice to meet you."

Harlan's lips twitch into a smirk as he leans down, his voice a low murmur against my ear. "You don't even know the things your voice is doing to me right now." He presses a kiss to my neck, the warmth of his breath grounding me in the present.

Invisible string | Harlan BriggsWhere stories live. Discover now