Something climbed the stairs.
Slowly.
One step at a time.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
No one moved.
Elara couldn’t.
Her eyes were fixed on her mother.
Or…
the person standing in her mother’s place.
The black eyes disappeared.
As if they had never been there.
Evelyn blinked.
Confused.
“Elara?”
Her voice sounded normal again.
“What happened?”
Elara didn’t answer.
She wasn’t sure who she was looking at anymore.
Another footstep echoed from below.
Tap.
The crystal in Elara’s hand became so hot she almost dropped it.
The Heartwood’s branches shook violently.
The spirits began disappearing one by one.
Lily looked frightened.
“He’s closer.”
The Keeper stepped in front of Elara.
“Stay behind me.”
Noah whispered,
“I thought you said the Keeper wasn’t our enemy.”
“I never said we were friends.”
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then…
A little girl walked out of the darkness.
She couldn’t have been older than ten.
She wore a red hood that covered most of her face.
In her hands, she held an old lantern.
Its flame burned blue instead of orange.
She looked around the clearing.
Then smiled.
“You’re all early.”
Adrian slowly raised his flashlight.
“Who are you?”
The little girl giggled.
“I don’t remember.”
Noah frowned.
“That’s…
creepy.”
The girl tilted her head.
“Creepy?”
She laughed again.
“I’ve heard that word before.”
“But it’s been a very long time.”
She looked directly at Elara.
“You have the crystal.”
Elara nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
The girl’s smile grew wider.
“So it’s finally your turn.”
The Keeper suddenly spoke.
“Leave.”
The little girl sighed.
“You always ruin everything.”
“I said leave.”
For the first time…
The girl looked annoyed.
“I can’t.”
“He won’t let me.”
A cold wind swept across the clearing.
The blue flame inside her lantern suddenly turned black.
Lily stepped closer to Elara.
“Don’t listen to her.”
“Why?”
“Because she isn’t real.”
The little girl looked at Lily and smiled.
“You still remember me.”
Lily’s face turned pale.
“It can’t be…”
“You disappeared.”
The girl nodded happily.
“I did.”
Then she pointed toward the staircase.
“But I wasn’t the first.”
Elara’s heart started racing.
“What do you mean?”
Instead, she slowly removed her hood.
A scar stretched across her forehead.
Her eyes were golden.
Exactly like the Keeper’s.
The Keeper closed its eyes.
“I was hoping you would never return.”
“You know her?” Elara asked.
The Keeper nodded once.
“She was…”
Its voice faltered.
“…the first Chosen.”
Silence.
Everyone looked at the little girl.
She smiled sadly.
“My name was Rose.”
“I was chosen before any of you.”
She looked up at the Heartwood.
“I failed.”
The clearing suddenly began to shake again.
Rose lifted her lantern.
“The Forgotten King is almost here.”
“He has waited longer than any of us.”
She looked at Elara.
“And he wants to meet you.”
The crystal burst with golden light.
A symbol appeared in the air above Elara.
The same tree.
The same roots.
But this time…
Half of the symbol had turned black.
The Keeper’s voice became urgent.
“We’re out of time.”
Before Elara could ask what that meant…
A hand reached out from the darkness beneath the staircase.
Then another.
Then another.
They weren’t human hands.
They were made entirely of black roots.
They gripped the stone steps…
and began pulling something enormous toward the surface.
The Forgotten King…
was no longer sleeping.