The clearing buzzed with energy, the guardian's violet cracks pulsing like a heartbeat. Emerald felt the force of every thrum in her bones. Her breath came shallow, uneven.
Alive.
Her mother was alive.
Behind her, the cabin door creaked open further.
"Emerald," Noah said gently, "come back inside. Please."
But she couldn't move.
The guardian lowered its head, nostrils flaring as it inhaled her aura. Its six eyes glowed brighter.
"You carry the First Queen's flame.
You cannot remain in this realm."
Sam muttered under her breath, "Always nice when monsters speak in riddles."
The Sentinel stepped forward cautiously, staying beside the cabin steps. "Guardian," it said, voice amplified with runic resonance, "you will not take the heir by force."
The guardian's head tilted.
"You presume to challenge me, construct?
You were not forged to defy my kind."
The Sentinel did not back down. "The heir is under my protection."
"Protection is irrelevant."
The guardian took one heavy step forward, its claws digging trenches into the dirt. The trees shivered behind it.
Sara grabbed Emerald's wrist from behind. "Emerald, we have to go back inside. It's not going to negotiate."
Emerald finally turned her head slightly, not taking her eyes off the creature. "It might."
Sam let out a dry laugh. "It literally just said 'protection is irrelevant.' You're not exactly dealing with customer service."
Noah raised the axe again though his hands shook. "If it takes one more step, I'm.."
The guardian's gaze snapped to him.
Noah froze.
The air around him squeezed inward, pressing tight against his skin. It felt like the atmosphere itself had hands.
Emerald whipped toward the guardian. "Stop! He's not a threat!"
The pressure released instantly, and Noah stumbled back, choking in air.
Sara ran to him, helping him upright. "Never do that again," she whispered.
Emerald stepped forward, hands trembling but raised carefully. "You said she summons me. But I can't leave with you. Not like this."
The guardian's voice boomed across the clearing, shaking pine needles loose.
"The Queen's command is absolute.
You belong to the throne.
This realm decays under your presence."
Emerald's breath hitched. "Decays? How?"
The guardian moved closer, so close she could feel heat radiating from the glowing cracks in its armor-like hide.
"The longer you remain here,
the thinner the veil becomes.
Creatures of the old world sense your spark.
They hunger for it."
Sam's grip tightened on her knife. "So… you're saying every monster between here and the void knows Emerald is basically a walking flare?"
"Correct."
"Great," Sam muttered. "That's just fantastic."
Emerald forced herself to stand taller. "If I come with you… what happens to them?" She gestured at Sara, Noah, and Sam. "My friends."
The guardian's eyes dimmed slightly.
"They will survive only if they sever their bond with you.
Your flame draws predators.
Your attachments endanger them."
"Sever?" Sara's voice broke. "No. Absolutely not."
Emerald's heart twisted painfully. "There's nothing to sever. They're my family."
The guardian's growl deepened, vibrating the ground beneath her feet.
"A queen cannot share her flame with mortals.
The weakness of attachment has broken empires."
The Sentinel raised one glowing hand. "Guardian, your authority does not extend to..."
The creature lunged.
It wasn't a full attack not yet, but a warning so fast the air cracked.
The Sentinel barely dodged, rolling across the dirt as a claw the size of a scythe sliced through the space where its head had been.
"Your defiance is noted, construct.
You will not speak again," the guardian snarled.
Sara screamed, running toward Emerald.
The guardian's tail swung an obsidian whip of jagged plates.
Emerald acted on instinct.
She grabbed Sara and pulled her down just as the tail sliced above them, shattering a tree trunk like it was nothing. Splinters rained down around them.
Noah and Sam dashed out of the cabin, yelling.
The Sentinel rose, runes burning white-hot.
Emerald's vision sharpened. The magic inside her flared, desperate and volatile.
"Stop!" she shouted.
And, it listened.
A shockwave burst from her skin silver wind twisting outward, rippling the clearing like a heatwave.
The guardian skidded back several feet, claws gouging deep furrows.
Everyone froze.
Even the wind held still.
The violet glow in the guardian's eyes steadied, then narrowed.
"Your flame awakens.
Untrained. Unstable.
Dangerous."
Emerald's whole body trembled. She could feel the magic still humming through her bloodstream in dizzying pulses.
The creature lowered its massive head to her level.
"The Queen will shape you.
Or the realms will shatter in your wake."
Sam pulled Noah aside and whispered sharply, "We need a plan B. Preferably one that doesn't involve being vaporized by a wolf-tank from another dimension."
But Sara didn't step away.
She moved in front of Emerald.
Hands shaking. Voice quivering.
But she stood between Emerald and the creature.
"No," Sara whispered. "She's not going anywhere with you."
The guardian's eyes glowed, unreadable.
"Move aside, mortal.
You cannot shield her."
"She protected me," Sara said, voice cracking. "She protected all of us. So I'm protecting her. That's how it works."
Emerald felt her throat tighten painfully.
"Sara," she whispered, "please..."
"No," Sara said again, louder this time. "I'm not losing you."
The guardian inhaled, the violet cracks brightening.
Emerald reached out, gently pulling Sara back against her side.
"Get behind me," she whispered fiercely. "Please. For me."
Sara hesitated… then moved.
Emerald stepped forward again.
Her voice was unsteady, but stronger than before.
"If my mother wants me, she can face me herself."
The guardian lifted its head, towering like a shadow blotting out the moon.
"If you refuse the summons…
then the Queen will come herself.
And she will not arrive alone."
A chill raced down Emerald's spine.
Not alone.
Not alone meant an army.
Meant destruction.
Meant war.
The guardian turned away, its form dissolving into violet smoke and darkness.
But before it vanished completely, its final words echoed across the clearing:
"The hunt has begun,
Emerald Kaelis Renn.
Run.
Or answer."
Then it was gone.
The forest fell silent.
Emerald collapsed to her knees.
Because the worst part wasn't the threat.
It was the truth blooming in her chest like a storm:
If the Queen was coming…
Then no place, not the cabin, not the human realm, not anywhere was safe.
And Emerald was out of time.