Leo knew immediately that it was only a normal wolf.
But *only* was such a deceiving word.
He was an undernourished thirteen-year-old. Even a "normal wolf" would rip him to shreds.
Still, he didn't start running immediately.
He knew the wolf would catch up to him in no time if he panicked. It was standing directly between him and the route back to the city. The only direction he could run was deeper into the forest — where there were even more beasts that could kill him.
But the forest also had more trees the farther you went from the city walls. Dense growth. Tangled roots. Low branches. It would make running difficult for him, and even more so for the wolf.
Leo would have a better chance of escaping if he ran toward the trees.
He prepared himself for the decision he'd made. The wolf slowly closed the distance between them, not making any sudden moves — just prowling, testing, watching. Leo's hands tightened around the hilt of his knife in response. He took one deep breath and cleared his mind.
Then he turned and sprinted with everything he had.
The wolf howled and immediately leaped after him.
It was hot in pursuit, closing the distance between them in just a few seconds. Leo's heart hammered against his ribs. To fill his path with more obstacles, he veered toward a route blocked off by a massive fallen tree.
He leaped across the trunk and kept running without breaking stride.
Even though he kept changing directions instead of running in a straight line — cutting left, then right, trying to throw the wolf off — it was still right behind him. He could hear its paws tearing through the undergrowth, its heavy breathing like a second heartbeat echoing his own.
After running for what felt like an eternity, his ears caught a new sound.
Crashing water.
His legs automatically changed course, carrying him toward the source. Branches whipped at his arms and face, but he didn't slow down. Not for a second.
Then the trees opened up, and the sight hit him all at once.
A waterfall.
The water spilled from a rocky cliff face into a huge lake spread out before it, mist rising where the cascade struck the surface. He looked back and saw the wolf charging toward him, its yellow eyes locked on like a predator that had already decided its prey was finished.
Leo was completely out of breath. He'd been running for almost three minutes at a dead sprint, and his lungs were screaming.
He took the only option available to him without any hesitation.
The water splashed as he jumped into the lake.
He knew the lake had monsters too. Every body of water near the Fringe did. But they wouldn't come close to the waterfall because of the constant ripples it created — the churning water disrupted their senses.
At least, he *hoped* that was how it worked.
He swam toward the waterfall with desperate strokes. As he got farther from the shore, he glanced back at the wolf.
The wolf was snarling at the water's edge, pacing back and forth, but it hadn't jumped in. Then it looked in a particular direction across the lake — and turned around. Just like that, it left.
That wasn't a good sign.
Leo followed the wolf's last gaze and winced.
There was a splash of water out there. Something large was moving beneath the surface.
And it was heading straight for him.
*No, no, no—*
He started swimming with all his might toward the waterfall. He didn't have enough time to make it to the other side of the lake, and he couldn't go back because the wolf might still be lurking at the shore. The waterfall was his only chance.
Leo pushed the water back with desperate, frantic strokes. His muscles burned. His arms felt like lead.
When he finally reached the waterfall, he risked one last look behind him.
There was something in the water. Something massive. And it was very close — only a few yards away. He could see the dark shape cutting through the lake like a living torpedo.
He turned back to the waterfall. And something strange caught his eye.
Instead of solid rock behind the curtain of water, he saw *darkness*. Open space.
A cave.
He didn't think twice.
Leo dove through the waterfall. His body passed through the hammering water and slammed onto a stone floor on the other side. Pain shot through his shoulder, but he didn't stop. He immediately scrambled to get away from the waterfall's edge, launching himself forward with whatever strength he had left.
His body hit the stone floor again, scraping the skin off his forearm that he'd used to cushion the landing. Blood welled up from the scratch.
But that didn't matter right now.
He spun around to face the waterfall he'd just passed through — and his blood ran cold.
A huge crocodile burst through the curtain of water, jaws wide open, lunging straight at him.
It almost reached Leo.
*Almost.*
But something stopped it. The crocodile slammed into an invisible wall with a sickening thud, and the impact knocked it backward like it had hit solid stone. The beast thrashed, confused and enraged. It tried again. And again. Each time, the same invisible force repelled it.
The crocodile glared at Leo with cold, reptilian fury for a long, tense minute.
Then it turned and disappeared back through the waterfall.
Leo stared at the empty space where the creature had been, his chest heaving, his mind reeling.
*What the hell just happened?*
Somehow, something magical had saved his life. His mind couldn't even distinguish whether it was a figment of his exhausted imagination or actual reality. An invisible barrier? In a cave behind a waterfall?
Nothing about this made sense.
He took one huge, shuddering breath — and then just collapsed onto the stone floor.
Being chased by the wolf, he had run for his life until most of his stamina was completely depleted. Then he'd swum away from a crocodile with whatever scraps of energy he could muster. Anyone would be utterly destroyed after a chase like that, let alone a malnourished kid who hadn't eaten a proper meal in days.
While he lay there, staring up at the dark ceiling of the cave, he thought about what had just happened. A mysterious barrier had stopped the crocodile from crossing into this space. It wasn't natural. It was magic — real magic, not the kind people whispered about in old stories.
With power like that protecting this place, Leo knew the cave he'd stumbled into held something far more complicated than he could imagine.
The thought should have scared him.
But exhaustion won out over fear.
He closed his eyes, hoping to regain just a little energy. The minute his eyelids shut, consciousness left him entirely. He passed out right there on the cold stone.
When he opened his eyes again, he had no idea how long he'd been out.
Minutes? Hours?
He groaned and pushed himself up, his body stiff and aching. First things first — water.
He crawled toward the waterfall and cupped his hands beneath the flow. After drinking deeply and splashing his face, he turned his attention to the scratch on his forearm. It had started bleeding lightly again, a thin line of red against his pale skin. He washed away the dried blood carefully, but cleaning it out reopened the cut, and fresh blood trickled down his arm.
He grimaced but didn't dwell on it.
Leo pulled out his knife and turned to face the depths of the cave.
Time to find out what this place really was.
The cave stretched on and on. He walked for a solid five minutes through the dim passage, the only sound his own footsteps and the distant echo of the waterfall fading behind him. The air grew cooler. Staler.
Then he reached a stone door.
It was massive — easily twice his height — and covered in intricate engravings. Strange symbols and patterns carved deep into the rock, worn smooth by what looked like centuries of time.
He pushed the door.
It wouldn't budge.
He braced his feet and pushed harder, throwing his full weight into it.
Nothing. Not even a tremor.
He tried again and again, shoving with his shoulder, pressing with both palms flat against the stone. The door didn't move a single inch.
Meanwhile, his arm started bleeding again from the effort. He wiped the blood off with his hands, then wiped his hands on his shirt. But some blood still clung to his skin, smeared across his palm. When he pushed against the door one more time, the blood smeared across the stone surface, seeping into the carved engravings.
Leo stepped back, breathing hard.
Another failure.
He sighed heavily and turned around, ready to head back to the waterfall. Maybe he could wait until morning and find another way out. Maybe—
A low rumbling noise came from behind him.
He froze.
Slowly, he turned back.
The stone door was moving. All by itself.
The engravings that had been dull and lifeless like the rest of the stone were now glowing — shining in a brilliant golden color that pulsed like a heartbeat. Light traced along every carved line and symbol, illuminating the dark passage in warm, radiant gold.
The doors ground open slowly, stone scraping against stone, revealing a massive open space beyond.
Leo's jaw dropped.
He stepped through the opened doorway, eyes wide, heart pounding with something that wasn't fear.
It was wonder.