Whispers in the Forest (Part 4)

Kael and the others formed a circle around the fallen tree. 

His grip tightened around the pickaxe. Every crack of a twig, every shifting shadow between the trees set his nerves on edge. He forced himself to steady his breath, but the weight of unease pressed against his chest.

Something was out there.

And it had taken Ryker.

The silence stretched, unnatural in its stillness. Even the insects seemed to have vanished, as if the entire forest was holding its breath.

Then—

The humans have been located.

The whisper slithered through the trees, crawling along Kael's skin like icy tendrils. He whipped his head around, searching for the source—but there was none.

The words had come from everywhere. From the trees, from the wind, from the very roots beneath their feet.

Elysia tensed beside him. "Did you hear that?" she murmured.

Kael gave a stiff nod, scanning the dense undergrowth for movement.

Behind them, the branches rustled, and Kael spun around. 

From the canopy above, Ryker was being lowered, bound in thick, coiling vines. 

His arms and legs were bound together with tight knots. Yet, despite the rough restraint, the vines set him down gently, almost reverently, upon the forest floor.

They did not let go.

Kael tensed, about to lunge forward, but Ryker's sharp gaze cut through the distance between them—a silent warning. Don't.

Then, the trees above stirred again.

Something moved within the branches, a shadow weaving through the twisting limbs, descending with unnatural grace.

The trees parted for him.

As soon as his feet had gently touched the ground, the vines whipped away.

The man—if he could even be called that—stood before them.

When he spoke, his voice was smooth as silk, but there was a weight behind it, something old, something vast.

"I'd like to speak to your leader."

Elysia stepped forward without hesitation, chin raised defiantly. "You're looking at her."

The forest god barely spared her a glance.

"The other one," he said, and this time his golden eyes locked onto Kael.

All eyes turned to Kael. 

"Me?" He asked, stepping forward. "Elysia is our leader."

From the canopy above, another set of vines slithered down, cradling something within their grasp. As they unfurled, Kael's stomach tightened.

The Soulless girl.

She dangled limply for a moment before the vines gently placed her beside Ryker. Her pale skin was dirt-streaked, her expression blank, though Kael could see the faint rise and fall of her chest. She was alive. For now.

The forest god studied him, those golden eyes gleaming with something unreadable.

"I have questions about your arrival in my kingdom," he said. "You are a rough group. Some of you bear injuries. Most look malnourished and weak." His gaze swept over them, sharp as a blade. "What have you seen?"

Kael clenched his jaw. The weight of those words pressed on him. What had they seen? More than he could put into words.

He exhaled, choosing his next words carefully.

"We were miners in the mountains. Governed by royals. After we failed to meet their quota, we were attacked. We fought back and escaped before finding sanctuary here.

The creature's head tilted upward and to the side, as if listening to something Kael could not hear.

The words were indistinct, fragmented, but the urgency in them was undeniable.

Then, something changed.

A sudden stillness gripped the forest god's form, his golden eyes narrowing, pupils constricting to slits. His entire body tensed, the air around him growing thick, charged like the moments before a storm.

Kael barely had time to react before those golden eyes ignited.

Not with light.

With fire.

His fingers twitched, and the vines around Ryker and the Soulless girl constricted slightly, as if he had forgotten they were even there.

"And you brought them here!" he hissed, his voice like dry leaves catching flame. His breath came quicker now, as if fanning the embers of his fury. "You let yourselves be followed. They enter the forest as we speak!"

The very trees seemed to recoil at his fury. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the clearing, vines twisting and writhing in agitation. 

The earth itself trembled beneath Kael's feet, a deep, pulsing anger radiating from the ground.

Kael gritted his teeth. They had been followed.

He took a slow step forward, hands raised—not as a challenge, but in caution.

"We didn't know," Kael said, his voice even, but laced with urgency. "We've been running. We had no idea anyone was behind us."

The creature's stare bore into him, unyielding. The weight of his wrath was suffocating.

A whisper slithered through the trees once more.

They come with steel and fire.

They come with vengeance.