Astrid walked a few paces behind him, his hand grabbing onto hers, boots crunching on moss-dusted earth. Her brain was spinning, trying to piece together the last twenty minutes like it was a jigsaw with half the pieces missing.

  Who was this guy? Why had he stepped in? And more importantly—why was she now following him into the woods like the start of every true crime podcast she'd ever listened to?

  Strange guy, cloaked, vaguely charming in a vaguely homicidal way, leads girl into creepy forest... Yeah, Charlie would murder me herself for this.

  She tightened her grip on her phone—even if it was useless. It was a familiar weight. A tether.

  Okay, be smart. Keep him talking. Don't let him take you off guard.

  "So... you got a name, or are you just going with 'random creepy forest guy'?" she questioned, forcing casual.

  "If I told you, would you stop asking questions?" he replied, without turning. His voice was smooth, disinterested—but tense beneath it, like a coiled wire.

  "Depends on how many more red flags you wave."

  Astrid's eyes flicked to the trees—if they even were trees. Their bark shimmered faintly, like something living and aware. And as he passed, she swore the leaves shifted toward him—blooming slightly, like they were reacting.

  And his hand—still gripping hers—was warm. Not just body-warm. Furnace warm. Like something beneath the skin was alight. She wanted to pull away, but... she didn't.

  "The name's Kurai," he said bluntly.

  Okay great. Got his name. Now I read a thing online—if you make your captor see you as a person, they're less likely to harm you.

  "My name's Astrid," she said quickly. "Thanks for earlier."

  Nothing. Not even a glance. Cold as stone, this guy. Damn.

  Keep him talking, she thought. Keep walking. Think of an exit plan.

  He slowed just slightly, watching a strange vine uncurl as he passed. It lit like it had absorbed a spark from him—soft and golden. Then it faded as soon as he moved on.

  What the hell are you?

  The forest shifted. Everything stilled at once—the wind stopped. No birds. No rustle.

  Then—boots. Heavy. Deliberate.

  Kurai stopped short. Astrid's heart sank.

  Three figures emerged from the mist between the trees. Black masks. Flowing dark cloaks edged in silver glyphs. Magic shimmered faintly at their shoulders like heat off asphalt.

  She recognized one. The one who'd stopped her at the market.

  He hung near the back of the trio, head slightly bowed. Avoiding her eyes.

  "Don't run," Kurai said softly. Not to her—but not, not to her.

  Her heart pounded in her throat. She could barely swallow. There were more now and this time, they didn't look like they were going to simply walk away.

  She instinctively moved closer to Kurai. She didn't trust him, not entirely. But right now? He felt like the only solid thing in a world unravelling fast.

  They moved in perfect silence, raising their arms in unison. Symbols flared into the air—burning lines of magic that twisted and rotated like gears turning in invisible space. Glowing glyphs spread from their hands to the ground below, forming a pattern beneath Astrid's feet like a ritual circle.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The air grew thick, buzzing with heat and pressure. The forest seemed to hold its breath.

  The plants—previously gentle, glowing softly—shimmered brighter. Leaves flared golden. Moss lit up like tiny lanterns. The forest was responding. Reacting. Alive.

  Her knees locked. She couldn't run. Couldn't speak. Could barely breathe. Her throat was dry, her limbs shaking. The glow beneath her feet spread outward like wildfire—and she braced herself for whatever was about to happen.

  Kurai moved before he could stop himself, slipping between her and the Enforcers like a shadow. He didn't say anything, but his stance changed—looser, lower. Ready.

  His fingers twitched, and a faint ember danced at the tips, curling up from his skin like smoke from a smouldering fire. But he didn't summon anything fully. Not yet.

  "You don't want to do this," he said, his voice calm. Too calm.

  They didn't reply. One of the Enforcers jerked a hand sharply—an attack command. The magic flared, the circle under Astrid pulsed once—and then shattered. Like glass hitting stone.

  Light splintered upward, arching over her body, then collapsed inward, fizzling into nothing. No heat. No pain. No effect.

  The air snapped still.

  Astrid blinked. "...What?"

  She looked down. The runes were gone—burned into the earth but useless. She felt... nothing. No impact. No dizziness. Just the ache of her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

  "It's gone," she whispered.

  Her brain tried to fill in the blanks. Was it because she isn't from this world? Something she touched? Science? None of it made sense.

  The lead Enforcer took a slow step back. "That's not possible," he hissed. "No one has ever broken through an active rune."

  Another voice, colder: "She's not branded. She's something else."

  "Is she hiding it?" the third growled. "Some kind of passive warding magic?"

  Kurai had been quiet—still as a shadow—but now his eyes narrowed.

  "Hit her again!" the Enforcer in the middle commanded. The Enforcers weren't just confused. They were afraid.

  Suddenly Kurai stepped forward, obscuring her view.

  The ground beneath them shivered.

  A golden glow spilled from his hands, not soft and warm—but roaring, alive. Fire surged up from the earth in a towering wall, the heat hitting Astrid like a furnace door had blown open.

  The air thickened, pressure building like a storm about to crack. She could feel it in her chest—in her bones.

  And the forest—it responded. Trees leaned. Moss lit up like kindling. The very roots seemed to pulse in time with his magic.

  He stood in front of her, a silhouette carved out of flame, and for a heartbeat, Astrid couldn't move.

  This guy—this strange, sarcastic stranger—was fire and fury, and yet...

  She didn't run. She should've. Every instinct screamed to.

  But somehow, she felt safe.

  Behind the flames, she heard shouts—chaotic, fearful.

  "Contain him—now!"

  "What is he?!"

  The fire answered for him, snapping like a living creature.

  Kurai turned his head slightly, his gold eyes catching hers through the flicker of heat.

  "You're going to have to trust me," he said—no charm, no sarcasm. Just urgency.

  In a blur of motion, he scooped her into his arms. Astrid gasped, the breath torn from her lungs as they moved.

  The world shifted—trees became streaks, wind slammed into her, branches whipping past like missiles.

  She clung to him on instinct. Her face pressed against his shoulder, the scent of scorched earth and musk grounding her more than she cared to admit.

  His heart thundered beneath her cheek. Fast. Wild. Afraid?

  For her... or for them both?

  They stopped suddenly. One moment there was blinding light, now there was darkness again—the soft, living glow of the forest barely enough to see by.

  Astrid collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, lungs burning like she'd run a marathon underwater.

  She pressed her hand to her face, willing herself not to fall apart. Crying wouldn't help. Neither would screaming. She just wanted something familiar—anything.

  "What the hell was that?" she choked out.

  Kurai turned to her, his golden eyes wild with leftover adrenaline. "What the hell was with you? How didn't that spell touch you?"

  He was pacing now, dragging a hand through his dark hair, his coat still smouldering faintly from the fire.

  "How the hell should I know," she coughed. "First I fall through a puddle into some fairy forest, finally find civilization—except it's full of people who look human but aren't—and then creepy masked magic cops show up and now *you*—" she was spiralling, breath short. "Now you're yelling at me like I wanted this!"

  He stopped pacing, his hands falling to his sides with a frustrated groan. "Fantastic. She's delusional. And now I'm screwed."

  Astrid blinked. "Excuse me?"

  He wasn't listening. "Gods how could I be so stupid? The one time I help a pretty girl. They know now," he muttered. "They always notice. That kind of power doesn't just appear."

  He finally snapped his eyes up to hers, sharp again, focused.

  "This is your fault. I shouldn't have helped you. The one time I let my guard down..."

  Astrid's temper flared. She marched right up to him. "Don't put your bad choices on me. I've had a *terrible* day, okay? You have *nothing* on me, buddy."

  His jaw tightened. "You really have no idea, do you?"

  She froze.

  He stepped closer, closing the gap, and his voice dropped—dark and cold. "Those guys? They're going to start asking questions. And when the Council asks questions, someone disappears."

  Her heart thudded in her ears. "Disappear?"

  "Right now," he said grimly, "that someone is us."

  She looked away, staring down at her boots.

  "I didn't ask for any of this," she whispered.

  Silence.

  "I just wanna go home," she said, voice cracking. "My sister's waiting for me. I was supposed to pick her up. I was supposed to be at work. And now there's... magic, and creepy masked cops, and I don't even know what this place is."

  He shifted uncomfortably.

  "I'm sorry I got you caught up in this, okay?" she said, barely holding it together. "I didn't mean to—but don't put this all on me."

  Kurai glanced at her, then looked away, exhaling hard. "Yeah. Well. That's what happens when you go poking at things that don't belong."

  "I didn't *poke*. I was cleaning."

  He let out a short, humourless laugh. "Gods..."

  For a moment, neither of them said a word.

  Then he muttered, "Fine. I'll help you."

  Astrid blinked. "Wait, what?"

  He looked at her like he hated every word that came next. "To save my own skin. Let's get that straight. They're going to think we're connected somehow. I'm already in deep. And if they find out what I am..."

  He didn't finish the sentence.

  She frowned. "What are you?"

  He ignored the question. "Let's just say... you're not the only one who's screwed."

  "So what? We're both in this together? You're going to help me get home?"

  "Don't make it sound like a team-up," he grumbled. "This is still your fault."

  She sighed. "Again—youre the one who helped me." He scoffed; this pissed her off "So why did you then? Huh? Why not let them vaporise me or whatever the hell they were going to do?"

  He turned away, ignoring her questions. "Come on. We can't stay out in the open."

  She grit her teeth.

  This bastard.

  she hesitated, thinking of Charlie.

  He's my best bet home at this point.

  She was weighing up her options, try and find a way home by herself in this new world or follow this broody idiot who obviously has the power to help her.

  Fine, fine, fine FINE! Lets go Astrid.

  She followed after him. Because what other choice did she have?