Chapter 4 — The Forest's Embrace

Riley Thorn

The morning broke with muted light filtering through the dense canopy above Riley as she moved deeper into the forest. The air was heavy, thickened with the electric tang of magic, and the faint bioluminescence of the forest's veins pulsed dimly underfoot. Each step seemed to draw her further into an uncharted rhythm, as though the forest itself were guiding her. She couldn’t ignore the whispers that had haunted her dreams the previous night, fragmented and elusive, or the way the crescent moon pendant around her neck now warmed and cooled sporadically, as if it had a pulse of its own.