Cursed Chalice

The dense forest was wrapped in shadows, the only light coming from the flickering glow of distant fireflies. The night air was thick with moisture, and every step the trio took seemed to echo through the stillness. Something about the silence felt wrong, as if the very woods were holding their breath, waiting for something to happen.

Thea's wings stirred uneasily, the usual grace of her flight now strained, as if the air itself was too dense to move through. Her eyes darted from one darkened tree to another, the same twisted trunks appearing again and again, like some kind of cruel repetition. They had passed this same spot before, hadn't they?

“This is madness,” Thea muttered, her voice low and tense. “We’ve been walking in circles.”