KAELIS'S POV :
They say the Night Forest takes what it wants and never gives it back.
I'm counting on it.
My lungs are burning.
Branches claw at my face, my hair, my torn royal coat.
Blood runs hot down my cheek—I don't know if it's from the thorns or from slamming into a tree five minutes ago.
Doesn't matter.
Behind me, I hear them:
Mother's royal guards.
Torches blazing.
Boots pounding the earth.
"Find the prince!"
"He couldn't have gone far!"
Yeah? Watch me.
I push deeper into the forest, where the trees grow so thick the moonlight can't reach.
Where the air tastes like rot and old magic.
Where people go to disappear.
My foot catches on a root.
I slam into the ground, gasping & tasting dirt and copper..
Get up.
Get up.
Get the fuck up, Kaelis...
I drag myself to my feet, swaying & vision blurring...
And that's when I see it
The portal.
Hanging in the air between two twisted trees like a wound in reality.
Glowing.
Violet and silver.
Pulsing like a heartbeat.
It hums.
Not a sound—a feeling. Deep in my chest, in my bones, like it's calling my name.
I take a step forward.
The air around it ripples.
Another step.
The humming gets louder.
I'm three feet away when I hear her voice:
"KAELIS!"
I freeze.
Turn around.
Queen Isolde stands at the edge of the clearing, flanked by a dozen guards.
Her crown glints in the torchlight. Her eyes are cold as winter.
"Step away from the portal," she says. Calm.
I laugh—
"Or what? You'll drag me back? Marry me off to the Dark King like some kind of bargaining chip?"
"It's your duty—"
"Fuck duty!" My voice cracks. "Fuck the prophecy! Fuck the crown! I never asked for any of this!"
Her expression doesn't change.
"You were born for this, Kaelis. The prophecy—"
"The prophecy ruined my life!" I'm shaking now, fists clenched, tears hot on my face.
"I was marked before I could even breathe! You don't own me! The prophecy doesn't own me! No one owns me!"
Silence.
The guards shift uncomfortably.
The Queen's jaw tightens.
"If you go through that portal," she says quietly, "you will be lost & Never returned..."
I smile.
"Good."
And I jump.
The world explodes.
Light.
Sound.
Pain like being ripped apart and stitched back together all at once.
I'm falling—
No, flying—
No, drowning—
No, burning—
And then—
I hit the ground hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.
For a long moment, I just lie there, gasping, staring up at—
What the fuck.
The sky is wrong.
No stars.
Just... darkness. And strange orange lights glowing in the distance.
I push myself up, swaying, and look around.
The forest is gone.
I'm on something hard. Flat. Grey. With yellow lines painted on it.
"What..."
A roar splits the air.
I whip around—
And a metal beast barrels toward me, glowing eyes blazing, screaming like a demon.
I throw myself to the side.
It rushes past me with a deafening HONK, wind tearing at my hair, and disappears into the night.
I'm on my hands and knees, shaking, heart hammering so hard I think it might burst.
"What the FUCK was that?!"
"Dude, are you okay?!"
I look up.
A girl is running toward me—dressed in strange, colorful clothes. Short pants. Fabric that clings to her body. Symbols on her chest that I don't recognize.
She crouches beside me. "That car almost hit you! Are you drunk or—" She stops. Stares at me. "Uh. Why are you dressed like you're in a Shakespeare play?"
"A... what?"
She blinks. "Are you, like, doing a ren faire thing? Because Central Park is that way—"
"Where am I?" I rasp.
"New York City?"
"Where?"
She gives me a weird look. "...Earth? America? Do you need me to call someone?"
I stagger to my feet. Look around.
Buildings. Impossibly tall. Made of glass and metal. Glowing with light even though it's the middle of the night...
Carriages moving without horses.
People everywhere, dressed in strange clothes, holding glowing rectangles, speaking too fast.
I back away from the girl.
"No," I whisper. "No, no, no—"
"Hey, are you okay—"
"WHERE AM I?!"
She holds up her hands. "Okay, okay! Chill! You're in New York! It's 2025! Are you on something? Do you need help?!"
The word hits me like a fist to the chest.
"No," I breathe. "That's not possible. That's—"
Behind me, I hear a sound.
A whoosh.
I turn.
The portal—
It's still there.
And someone else is stumbling through.
—————————
KIERAN'S POV:
One second I'm in 2025.
The next I'm falling through a glowing hole in reality and hitting the ground in a forest that smells like death.
I roll onto my back, gasping, and stare up at the sky.
Too many stars.
The sky looks... Like someone painted it by hand.
"Okay," I wheeze. "Okay. That was... that was not normal."
I sit up, pull out my phone.
No signal. Of course.
"Great.. Love that for me."
I push myself to my feet, brushing dirt off my jeans.
The portal is gone.
"SHIT!"
I spin around, looking for it, but there's nothing. Just trees,Darkness & silence.
"Okay. Okay. Don't panic. There's gotta be a... a ranger station or something. I'll just—"
A twig snaps behind me.
I freeze.
Turn around slowly.
And see a man tall, Cloaked in shadows that move like they're alive..
Eyes glowing blood-red in the darkness.
A crown made of thorns and darkness resting on jet-black hair..
He steps forward.
And smiles.
"Hello, little prince."
My blood turns to ice.
"I'm—I'm not—"
"I've been looking everywhere for you." His voice is silk and poison.
"Do you have any idea how rude it is to run away from your own wedding?"
"What?!"
He moves faster than should be possible.
One second he's ten feet away.
The next his hand is wrapped around my throat, lifting me off the ground.
I claw at his grip, choking & panicking.
He leans in close. Studies my face.
"Hm. You look terrified."His smile widens.
"What are you wearing? I've never seen clothes like this.."
"I'm not—" I gasp. "Not who you think—"
"Oh, I know exactly who you are, Kaelis Drayden." He tilts his head.
"The runaway prince. you think you can just run from me. How nice..."
"I'M NOT—"
His grip tightens.
My vision swims.
"You are now."
The shadows surge up around us like a living thing, and the world goes black...
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