A Trail of Shadows
The sigil burned in Zyra's mind long after they left the clearing. It wasn't just a warning—it was a message. A sign that others had walked this path before her.
But if they had fought against fate… where were they now?
Dead? Hiding? Or had they failed?
She didn't voice the thought, but Kieran must have sensed it. His sharp gaze lingered on her as they moved through the thick underbrush, the scent of damp earth and pine heavy in the morning air.
"We should rest soon," he murmured.
Zyra shook her head. "Not yet."
Kieran raised an eyebrow. "We've been moving all night. Even you need to stop at some point."
She knew he was right, but the sigil had unsettled her. Something about it—the way it had been carved, the way the energy pulsed through it—made her feel like they were already running out of time.
"I can go a little longer," she insisted.
Kieran sighed, raking a hand through his dark hair. "You're impossible."
A smirk tugged at her lips. "You're just figuring that out now?"
His silver eyes glinted with something unreadable. "No," he murmured. "I've known for a while."
Her heart did something strange in her chest, but she ignored it.
Emotions were dangerous.
Especially with him.
She focused on the path ahead instead. The sigil had been left for a reason. And they were going to find out why.
---
The Whispering Ruins
By midday, the forest thinned, giving way to crumbling stone and overgrown ruins. Ancient walls jutted out of the ground like broken teeth, their surfaces covered in twisting vines and faded carvings.
Zyra slowed, her pulse quickening.
"We're here," she murmured.
Kieran's brow furrowed. "You know this place?"
"Not exactly," she admitted. "But I've seen drawings of it in old texts."
His expression darkened. "Celestial texts?"
Zyra nodded.
"Then we're not the only ones who know about it," he muttered. His grip tightened on the hilt of his blade, scanning the ruins for movement.
Zyra stepped forward cautiously, her fingers brushing against the rough stone. Power pulsed beneath her touch, a strange, familiar energy.
Something had been sealed here.
Or someone.
She turned to Kieran. "There's something buried beneath this place. Something ancient."
Kieran studied her. "You can feel it?"
"Yes," she whispered. "And it's waking up."
A gust of wind howled through the ruins, carrying a whispering voice with it.
"You are late."
Kieran's blade was in his hand in an instant, his body shifting to shield Zyra.
"Who's there?" he demanded.
The wind rustled again, and this time, the shadows at the edge of the ruins moved.
A figure emerged, draped in a dark, tattered cloak, their face obscured. But Zyra didn't need to see their features to know one thing:
They weren't human.
"You seek the Forgotten," the figure rasped. "But you do not understand what that truly means."
Kieran's jaw tightened. "Then explain it to us."
The figure chuckled—a dry, hollow sound. "If I do… are you ready to pay the price?"
Zyra met their gaze, her heart pounding.
"Tell us everything."
---
The Truth of the Forgotten
The figure led them deeper into the ruins, past crumbling archways and sunken corridors, until they reached an ancient underground chamber.
The air hummed with power, thick and suffocating. Symbols like the sigil on the tree were etched into the walls, glowing faintly in the dim light.
Zyra ran her fingers over one. The energy sang beneath her touch.
"This place is a tomb," she realized.
"Not just a tomb," the figure corrected. "A prison."
Kieran frowned. "A prison for what?"
The figure turned to Zyra.
"For those like you."
Her breath caught.
"What do you mean?"
The figure raised a skeletal hand, pointing toward the carvings. "You were not the first born under an eclipse, Zyra Nightbane. There were others before you—marked by fate, rejected by the stars. They, too, sought to break free from the celestial order's grasp. And for their defiance… they were erased."
Zyra felt her stomach twist.
"Erased?" she echoed.
"Locked away," the figure corrected. "Sealed within these walls so that fate could continue unchallenged."
Zyra turned to Kieran, her pulse hammering. "They were trying to change destiny. Just like us."
Kieran's silver eyes darkened. "And the order silenced them for it."
A chilling realization settled over them.
They had come looking for allies.
Instead, they had found the graves of the ones who had failed before them.
But then… why had the sigil been left outside?
Unless…
"Someone survived," Zyra murmured, turning back to the figure. "Didn't they?"
The air in the chamber seemed to shift, the shadows curling around them.
The figure was silent for a long moment. Then—
"Yes," they whispered. "One did."
Zyra's blood ran cold.
"Who?"
The figure took a slow step closer. "The first eclipse-born. The one who started the rebellion."
Kieran tensed. "Where is he now?"
The figure's hollow voice echoed through the chamber.
"Waiting for you."
---