Chapter 35: A Message in the Wind

The wind grew stronger that night.

As they camped near the edge of the valley, the fire crackled weakly, and the air carried the scent of ash and old stone. The trees nearby had no leaves, just bare branches that creaked with every gust.

Elira couldn't sleep.

She sat wrapped in her cloak, staring into the fire, turning the Blackhart coin over in her fingers. It was cold and worn, but the broken crown on one side made her chest tighten every time she saw it.

"Who were you?" she whispered. "And what are you doing in all of this?"

She didn't expect an answer.

But she heard a voice anyway.

Not from outside. From inside.

A whisper, soft and strange, like wind through an open door.

"He is coming."

Elira stood up at once, heart racing.

Kael, sitting nearby, looked over. "What is it?"

She opened her mouth, then paused. The voice was already gone. The night was quiet again.

"Nothing," she said. "Just... the wind."

But Kael kept staring at her.

"You've been hearing things since the temple," he said slowly.

Elira didn't deny it.

"I think it's connected," she said. "To the seals. To the doors."

Kael nodded. "I believe you."

She was surprised.

Kael looked tired—more tired than she'd ever seen him. There were dark circles under his eyes. His hands were clenched tight, as if holding back something.

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a folded paper.

"I didn't tell you earlier," he said. "But this letter came to the palace the day before we left. No name. No seal. It was left on my desk."

Elira took the letter and unfolded it.

There were only three words:

"Stop digging deeper."

No signature. No clue who sent it.

Elira looked at him. "Someone knows what we're doing."

Kael nodded. "And they don't want us to continue."

Aeren, half-asleep near the fire, stirred. "Too late for that."

They all went quiet.

Then Elira said softly, "The third seal… we don't even know where it is."

Aeren sat up fully. "Actually, I think I do."

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a map. It was old, yellowed at the edges, and covered in strange symbols.

"I found this in the palace archives," he said. "It was hidden under another scroll. It shows the locations of temples before the war."

He pointed to one spot—far to the north, beyond the forest.

"This place was called Ravemoor. A sanctuary for seers and dream-watchers."

Elira leaned closer. "Why would the third seal be there?"

Aeren looked serious. "Because this map was drawn by a man named Vaeren Blackhart."

The name struck her like lightning.

Kael narrowed his eyes. "So he wasn't just a warrior. He was a scholar too."

"Or a traitor," Aeren said. "He wrote about the doors, about the end of the world. But no one listened. His name was erased from most records."

Elira stared at the map.

"We need to go to Ravemoor."

Kael didn't answer right away.

When he did, his voice was low. "The forest before it… is cursed. No one's crossed it in years."

"I don't care," Elira said. "If that's where the third seal is, we have to reach it before someone else does."

Aeren folded the map. "Then we leave at first light."

---

They reached the edge of the forest two days later.

It was unlike anything Elira had seen before.

The trees were black—not burned, but naturally dark, as if grown from shadow. Thick fog covered the ground, hiding the roots and stones. The air was too still. Too quiet.

Aeren touched the first tree. "This is voidwood. Magic doesn't work well here."

Elira felt it too. Her light had dimmed slightly the moment they stepped near. It was harder to breathe, harder to think clearly.

Kael's hand hovered near his sword.

"Stay close," he said. "Don't speak unless you have to."

They walked in silence, their steps slow and careful. The fog made it hard to see more than a few feet ahead.

At some point, Elira realized the path beneath them was shifting.

Not just turning—but changing.

Rocks moved. Trees seemed to swap places. The ground itself twisted behind them, erasing their trail.

"We're being led in circles," she said.

Aeren looked around. "This forest bends time. It traps people in loops."

Kael cursed under his breath. "Then how do we get out?"

Elira closed her eyes.

She reached for the light inside her.

Even though the magic was weak here, she still had something stronger—her memory.

She pictured the map. The stars. The direction of the sun before they entered the fog.

She turned sharply left.

"This way," she said.

Kael and Aeren didn't question her. They followed.

Step by step, they moved through the dark woods.

Hours passed.

And then—finally—the fog began to clear.

Trees thinned.

And there, on a high cliff beyond the woods, stood a tall ruin.

Stone towers broken by time. Walls crumbled by storms. And at the center, a sealed door made of silver and obsidian.

They had found Ravemoor.

Elira let out a shaky breath. "It's real."

Kael stepped beside her. "Then so is the third seal."

But before they could move closer—

The door began to glow.

Not bright. Not white.

But red.

Dark red, like dying embers.

Elira's heart dropped.

"We're too late."