Into the night

Lysandra barely had time to process the monstrous form she had become before the chaos outside her chamber erupted. The sound of metal clanking against metal, rushed orders being shouted, and hurried footsteps filled the halls. Guards. They were coming for her.

She took a step back, her clawed feet scraping against the marble floor. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, but the beast within her this dark, writhing force in her chest urged her to fight. To tear through anything that stood in her way. She swallowed hard, forcing her mind to stay in control.

The chamber doors rattled as someone slammed against them. "Your Highness! Stand down!"

Lysandra's breaths came out ragged, each exhale curling into a low, inhuman growl. Another sharp pang shot through her spine, forcing her to arch backward as the transformation deepened. Shadows coiled around her fingers, stretching them into something more monstrous, more unnatural.

She couldn't stay here.

With a swift turn, she darted toward the open balcony. The night air was sharp and heavy with rain, the city sprawled beneath her like a sea of flickering lanterns. The drop from her tower to the palace gardens below was steep—but not impossible. Especially not in this form.

The doors burst open behind her. "Seize the princess!"

The word princess barely registered anymore. The moment the guards rushed in, instinct took over. Lysandra whirled, and the shadows around her twisted violently. A pulse of dark energy surged outward, knocking the first set of guards off their feet. Their terrified gasps filled the air, and she could smell their fear, sharp and thick, like burnt wood.

Her heart pounded. She didn't want to hurt them. She had to go.

Lysandra leaped.

The wind roared around her as she plummeted toward the gardens. For a split second, panic gripped her what if she miscalculated? What if she hit the stone pathways instead of the soft earth?

Then, the shadows surged around her, cushioning her descent. She landed in a crouch, the impact barely jarring her bones. Another growl rumbled from her throat as she turned her glowing eyes upward.

Torches flared along the palace walls. More guards were gathering, their crossbows raised, their expressions wavering between duty and fear. They had been trained to protect the kingdom from threats. And right now, she was the greatest threat of all.

A bolt shot toward her.

Her reflexes snapped into action. She moved before she even realized it, twisting out of the way as the arrow lodged into the dirt. Another followed, grazing her arm, but she barely felt the sting. Her body was something else now—something faster, stronger.

She ran.

The palace walls blurred past her as she sprinted through the gardens, her feet barely making a sound against the damp grass. She had no direction, no plan only the primal urge to escape before they caught her. Trees loomed ahead, dark and sprawling, the entrance to the Cursed Wilds beyond the palace grounds.

She hesitated. Every tale she had ever heard warned against entering the Wilds. It was a place of forgotten gods, restless spirits, and creatures born of nightmares. But it was also her only way out.

The shouts behind her grew closer. More torches flared. More arrows were nocked.

She turned and disappeared into the trees.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the forest swallowed her whole, the torches of the palace fading into the distance. She was alone in the dark, hunted, cursed, and uncertain of what lay ahead.

But she had survived the first night.

For now.