Xander’s pace changed before the others noticed anything unusual. His steps grew lighter, his eyes brighter. The sluggish weight that had dragged on his hooves for days seemed to melt away.

  Even the air seemed easier to breathe as he moved, like something inside him was drawing closer to a memory he hadn’t realized he’d been missing.

  The others followed in silence. They had learned to trust the way he moved now, not blindly, but because nothing else had worked. And here, in this strange stretch of wilderness where the very laws of nature had just bent and snapped around them, Xander’s certainty was worth more than any compass.

  Then he stopped.

  Before them rose a dense wall of trees, tightly grown and towering, forming a natural barrier that reached like a living curtain into the sky. Branches curled around each other in layered spirals, thick with swaying leaves and hanging growths. The light filtered through, like they had stepped into the breath between one world and another.

  They were about half a mile from the base of a small mountain, one of the many that jutted from the edges of the Norren range like scattered teeth, but this forest stood entirely apart. It had a presence.

  Kaiya narrowed her eyes at the wall of growth. “A dead end?”

  Angel tilted her head, wary. “Or a very well-decorated trap.”

  Valerik simply groaned. “If this is another cursed maze, I vote we dig a hole and sleep in it instead.”

  Xander, however, was silent. He stepped forward two paces, then promptly sat down on the earth. The movement sent a jolt through Dante, who was still lashed to Xander’s back, and the unconscious boy let out a soft grunt, his head lolling slightly to the side.

  Xander didn’t seem to notice. He was watching the trees.

  At first, nothing happened.

  Then the willows shimmered.

  Not with light, but with movement. A subtle, swaying rhythm rippled through their vines like a breath exhaled across still water. The long tendrils of leaves began to pull aside, not torn or bent, but shifting deliberately, as if responding to a thought unspoken.

  The curtain parted.

  What lay beyond the trees silenced them in awe.

  The Grove.

  It was no clearing. No break in the forest. This place had not been made by axe or fire or time. It had chosen to exist.

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  Nature had shaped itself into comfort here. Harmony sculpted the very earth.

  Bright blue water meandered gently through the grove in trickling creeks and narrow channels, feeding into glassy ponds that shimmered like liquid sapphire.

  The color was unnaturally vibrant, glowing faintly from beneath as if lit by something ancient and gentle. Ripples spread from nowhere, perfect circles touching the edges of mossy stones and soft reed beds.

  The grass was lush and impossibly dense, folding under their boots with a softness that felt more like bedding than plant life. Even the soil seemed to welcome their steps, warm and rich, not muddy or dry. Life responded to them being here. Trees leaned slightly in their direction. Leaves turned toward them as if curious.

  Here and there, trees bore fruit unlike anything Kaiya had ever seen. One dropped a cluster of pale yellow orbs that pulsed faintly. Another held long crimson tendrils like twisted peppers. One tree shimmered silver across its bark, its blossoms forming spirals that never quite stayed the same shape when watched too long.

  And everywhere, quietly and gently, gemstones sparkled.

  Some were embedded in the soil like forgotten offerings. Others clung to the bases of trees, growing half-formed from roots. A few rested in the water, smoothed into pebbles of impossible color. No vein or seam of ore, just scattered, delicate beauty. Rubies and sapphires, stones of opal sheen and things unnamed.

  “this place would cause a war back on the streets..” Angel said, looking around in awe at the sheer amount of precious stones that sprinkled the landscape.

  “Think they're cursed? Who'd miss a few?” Angel continued, a sparkle in her eye grew.

  Kaiya gave her a stare that held both insult and warning alike.

  “Well,” a soft but stern voice spoke from behind the trees, “I would miss them.”

  Then they saw her.

  She stood barefoot in the grass ahead, waiting for them as if she had known they would arrive before they ever took the first step toward this place.

  Her skin shimmered in hues of deep dusk-blue, like ocean water beneath starlight. A winding pair of horns curled from her brow, long and smooth, the texture of polished stone. Their color shifted subtly with her movement. Even though she wore no shoes, no dirt clung to her.

  Her dress was woven from leaves, silk, petals, and bark in a way that seemed grown rather than sewn. Around her body, gemstones were gently cradled, nestled at her collarbone, wrapped at her wrists, trailing from her horns like constellations pulled to earth.

  Her eyes were pure black.

  Not empty. Not void. Within their depths, stars moved. Tiny white specks drifted in slow orbits across a sea of night. Galaxies in miniature. Entire skies laid to rest inside her gaze.

  She stood like a statue carved by a forest spirit, yet there was power in the way she held still. Not rigid, but poised. She did not move because she chose not to. It felt as if the Grove paused for her breath, and the world dared not stir unless invited.

  Fae, demon, satyr. Shapes the mind reached for in vain.

  But what stood before them belonged to none of those stories.

  And the moment threatened to hang in reverence, until Xander trotted up to her without hesitation.

  He stepped across the grass with a little hop of joy, barely avoiding a gemstone pool. Then, he came right up to the woman and gave her a firm bonk with his horns.

  She returned it, gently, with an amused huff through her nose.

  Then she turned her head, slowly, and fixed her star-woven gaze on Kaiya.

  The silence that followed was not long, but it was heavy. The kind of silence that made others straighten their spines without knowing why.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “You owe me tea,” she said. Her voice was calm but firm, like a disappointed mother catching her child with muddy boots on the rug.

  Kaiya blinked. Then sighed through her nose. “Of course, Reyha.”

  Then they both smiled a gentle grin.

  Angel tilted her head. “I think I like her.”

  Valerik snorted. “Of course you do.”

  They moved into the Grove without needing permission.

  The Grove wanted them here. That much was clear.

  As they settled, Reyha stepped closer to Kaiya. The others hung back, either out of respect or the slow, creeping realization that they were standing in the heart of something far older than themselves.

  “I worried,” Reyha said quietly, brushing a lock of hair from Kaiya’s shoulder. “When Varidia fell, I thought... none of you would survive.”

  Kaiya looked down at the grass beneath her boots. “Most didn’t.”

  Reyha nodded slowly, then glanced at the others. “But some did. And you brought them here.”

  Kaiya looked up. “I didn’t bring them. He did.” As she pointed towards Xander, who was proudly stamping his hooves.

  That made Reyha smile, then she looked at Dante and frowned.

  “He is heavy.” She said quietly. Her face frowned as if lost in memory.

  “Yeah..” Kaiya sighed. “We need some help.”

  “Again.” Reyha smiled softly.

  “Oh?” Angel slid in, looking at Kaiya.

  Kaiya glared at Angel.

  “Let's get you kids settled first. Then we can fix the boy.” Reyha said calmly. Guiding the group further into the grove.

  For a moment, the weight of the journey lifted.

  Just for a moment.