The world was a blur.
Air rushed past Aria's ears so fast it hurt. She couldn't tell if she was being carried, thrown, or falling all over again. All she could do was cling to the stranger's hand as the wind wrapped around them like a living ribbon, dragging them between spiraling trees that bent out of their way.
Her stomach lurched. "This is insane!" she yelled, but the wind swallowed her voice.
The gale slowed just enough for her feet to brush ground again. Then, with a final gust, the wind collapsed around them. They skidded to a stop at the edge of a wide, starlit river that cut through the alien forest.
Aria staggered, bent over, and clutched her knees, trying not to throw up. Her hair stuck to her face, damp with sweat and mist. "I—" she gasped. "—hate—whatever—that was!"
The boy didn't even look winded. He sheathed one of his curved blades, still holding the other loosely, and scanned the forest behind them with unnerving calm.
"Are you crazy?" she demanded, still panting. "You could've—what even—where am I?!"
He glanced at her, and for a brief moment, his glowing teal eyes flicked down to the key clutched in her fist. "You're in Aeloria," he said simply. "And you shouldn't be."
"Wow, thanks for the helpful geography lesson," she snapped. Fear and frustration twisted together in her chest. "I just fell out of the sky. Those—things—tried to eat me! And now I'm kidnapped by… by…" She gestured wildly at him. "By whatever you are!"
His lips pressed into a thin line. "You would have been dead if I hadn't pulled you out. Do you want me to throw you back?"
Her mouth opened. Closed. She sank onto a patch of glowing grass instead of answering.
The boy didn't seem to care. He knelt near the riverbank, dipping two fingers into the current. The water rippled away from his touch like it was afraid of him. It was strange: the river looked like liquid moonlight, faintly luminous beneath the two suns.
"You shouldn't have been able to open a rift," he said after a long silence. "Not without a Sigil."
"I told you—I didn't open it!" Aria snapped. "I was on the pier at home, minding my own business, and then the sky cracked open and—" Her voice cracked, too, and she stopped, pressing a shaking hand over her face.
Home. The word hurt now. Was she even going to see it again?
The boy's voice softened, barely. "What is that?" He nodded at the object in her fist.
Aria glanced down. The bronze key lay warm against her palm, still faintly glowing. Its surface was etched with tiny, intricate lines she'd never noticed before. They looked like threads of a map, or veins of some living thing.
"It's… my mom's," she said quietly. "The only thing I have left from her."
"Where did she get it?"
"I don't know! She died—or maybe she disappeared. My dad, too. They never came back." Her throat tightened. "Why? Does this have something to do with this place?"
His gaze lingered on the key, unreadable. "Maybe."
"Well, that's reassuring," she muttered.
The boy stood, brushing off his cloak. "I need to get you to the Wind spire."
"The what now?"
"It's the only safe place nearby," he said, already walking along the riverbank. "Unless you'd prefer to stay here and wait for the Shades to come back."
Aria froze. "Shades? You mean those shadow things?"
He didn't answer. He didn't need to.
She groaned, scrambling to her feet and jogging after him. "Fine! But you're telling me what's going on. I want answers."
"You'll get them when you've earned them," he said over his shoulder.
"Excuse me?" Her voice rose. "I've been kidnapped by a storm, thrown into a nightmare forest, and chased by faceless monsters. I think I deserve a few answers!"
The boy's mouth twitched—just barely. "You talk too much."
Aria bristled, but bit her tongue. For now.
They followed the glowing river for what felt like hours. Every sound made her jump: the rustle of the silver-blue leaves, the soft hum of insects she couldn't see, even the occasional call of some distant, strange bird. The air was thick with scents she couldn't name—sharp and sweet, like a thousand unknown flowers.
Every so often, the boy would pause, tilt his head as if listening to the wind, and then change direction without a word.
Eventually, the forest began to thin. Ahead, on a rise of jagged stone, stood a spire.
It wasn't a building like she knew it. It looked grown, not built, its surface made of white and silver stone that twisted upward like the branches of a tree, reaching toward the sky. The closer they got, the more she realized it wasn't silent; the tower sang softly, a sound like chimes in a breeze.
"Whoa," she breathed.
The boy stopped at the base of the path that wound up the rocky hill. "Wind spire," he said simply.
"What is this place?" she asked, staring. "A wizard's tower? Your house? A… weather station?"
He gave her a flat look.
"Okay, fine, no jokes," she said, holding up her hands.
Inside, the air changed. The Spire's walls seemed to hold the wind in a constant, gentle swirl, cool and dry. Strange runes were carved into the pale stone, glowing faintly. In the center was a circular room with a single table and a map spread across it—though the map wasn't paper. It was light. Floating lines of light, shifting like a living thing.
Aria's eyes widened. "That's… not creepy at all."
The boy finally turned to face her fully. "Sit," he said, motioning to a low bench near the wall.
She crossed her arms. "I'd like to know your name first, kidnapper."
He exhaled, slow. "Kaelen."
"Kaelen," she repeated. "Well, Kaelen, I'm Aria. And I'm not sitting anywhere until you tell me how I get home."
His eyes flicked to the key again. "Home may not be as simple as you think. If you've been pulled through the Rift… it chose you for a reason."
"I don't care about the Rift. I just want my life back!" She heard the tremble in her own voice and hated it.
Kaelen studied her for a long moment, something unreadable in his gaze. Then he said, "Rest. When the winds are right, we'll talk."
Before she could argue, he walked to the far side of the room and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, as if that was the end of the conversation.
Aria sank onto the bench, staring down at the glowing key in her palm.
Whatever had happened on that pier… her life would never be normal again.