** Eliana's inner voice**

The forest swallowed them whole, the darkness stretching long and endless. Each breath Eliana took felt labored, as though the very air had turned to liquid, pressing into her lungs and weighing her down. The whisper of leaves underfoot was drowned out by the relentless pounding of her heartbeat.

Kieran's grip on her wrist was unyielding, his strength an anchor in the chaos. He didn't speak, didn't look back. He simply ran, guiding her through the labyrinth of towering trees. The path was narrow, uneven, but he never faltered.

Behind them, the monolith pulsed again.

A deep, guttural hum rolled through the earth, vibrating up her legs. Eliana dared a glance over her shoulder and immediately regretted it. The air around the ancient stone had thickened into something almost tangible, dark tendrils of energy slithering outward like grasping fingers. The shadows in the trees had multiplied, shifting and writhing, eyes blinking in and out of existence. Watching.

Waiting.

She turned back just as her foot caught on an exposed root. A startled cry tore from her lips as she stumbled, but before she could hit the ground, Kieran yanked her upright, steadying her against his chest.

"Focus," he murmured, his voice rough with urgency. "We're almost there."

Almost where? There was no safety, no refuge, not when the very air whispered with unseen voices, curling around her like smoke. Not when her name—no, not her name—echoed inside her head, etching itself into her bones.

**Aurelya.**

Her throat tightened. Why did it feel like a piece of herself had just been unearthed? Like something long-buried had cracked open, bleeding into her reality?

Caelan was ahead of them, cutting through the underbrush with practiced ease. His pace was relentless, his breathing steady despite the unnatural weight pressing down on them. When he spoke, it was low and grim.

"We need to keep moving. The ridge is close, but if we slow down, we're dead."

Eliana bit the inside of her cheek. There was something about the way he said it—so certain, so absolute—that made her stomach turn.

They ran until the trees thinned, giving way to jagged cliffs that dropped into an abyss of mist. The ridge stretched before them, narrow and treacherous, the kind of path meant for those with nothing left to lose.

Caelan skidded to a halt, turning sharply. "We need to cross—"

A deafening **crack** split the air, cutting him off.

Eliana barely had time to react before the ground trembled violently beneath them, sending her sprawling. Kieran caught her wrist again, pulling her up, but his attention was locked behind them.

The monolith had **moved.**

Not in the way a structure should. Not in the way stone obeyed the laws of nature.

It had **shifted**.

Like a living thing.

Eliana's pulse stuttered. The dark tendrils had stretched farther, coiling through the trees, dragging shadow in their wake. The air pulsed with something ancient and alive, something that recognized her in a way she did not understand. And the whispering—

It was louder now.

**Aurelya.**

It was calling her home.

A sharp pain lanced through her skull. A memory—no, a sensation—flashed behind her eyes, too quick to grasp, slipping through her fingers like water.

A woman's laughter.

The scent of burning cedar.

A cold hand against her cheek.

She gasped, clutching her head, knees buckling. Kieran caught her before she could collapse completely, his grip strong, grounding. "Eliana," he said, voice taut, but distant.

She barely heard him. The whispering had turned into a chorus, rising and falling in waves. **They were waiting for her. They had always been waiting.**

"Eliana, look at me."

Kieran's hands came up to frame her face, tilting her head toward him. His gaze was fierce, his golden eyes darkened with something she couldn't name. "You're not theirs," he said, firm. "Do you hear me? Whatever this is—whatever they're trying to make you remember—it doesn't own you."

She wanted to believe him.

But the name—**Aurelya**—was still there, lodged in her chest like a blade.

Another pulse from the monolith sent a gust of wind whipping through the ridge, nearly knocking them off their feet. The shadows were closer now, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something metallic.

Caelan swore under his breath. "We don't have time for this."

Kieran's jaw clenched. Then, without warning, he scooped Eliana up into his arms.

"Kieran—"

"No time," he ground out, already moving. "Hold on."

The world blurred as he sprinted across the ridge, the wind howling around them. Eliana's heart slammed against her ribs, but she clung to him, her mind still spinning. She could hear Caelan right behind them, his footfalls swift and sure. The cliffside loomed to their right, a sheer drop into nothingness. One misstep, and—

A sound tore through the air.

Not a whisper.

Not a pulse.

A **scream.**

It came from the monolith, a raw, agonized sound that reverberated through her skull, tearing at the edges of her sanity. Eliana squeezed her eyes shut, her breath shuddering.

Then—

Silence.

The energy snapped back, vanishing like a receding tide. The weight pressing against them lifted, the unnatural shadows curling inward, retreating into the abyss.

By the time they reached the other side of the ridge, the clearing was empty.

The monolith was still.

Only the whisper of the wind remained, brushing through the trees like an exhale. But Eliana knew better.

This wasn't over.

Because the name still echoed inside her, a haunting reminder.

And fo

r the first time, she wasn't sure if she wanted to remember—or if she was terrified of what she might find.