Villain's Last Chance

We didn't stop moving.

Cairon led the way, his steps deliberate, his focus razor-sharp. Marek stuck close behind, his usual cocky demeanor dulled by the weight of what had just happened. I followed, the Codex clutched tightly to my chest, its presence thrumming in my veins like a second heartbeat.

The Revenant hadn't pursued us. That was the problem.

They didn't need to.

They had marked me.

The forest was dense, the trees towering overhead, their twisted branches blotting out the moonlight. Every rustling leaf, every distant howl of the wind set my nerves on edge. The feeling of being watched hadn't left me—it had deepened.

We weren't alone.

I could feel it.

Cairon knew it too. His fingers hovered near the hilt of his sword, his movements stiff with caution. He didn't say it out loud, but I caught the way his gaze flicked toward the shadows every few steps.

Marek was less subtle. "Whatever's out there, can it just get it over with already? This whole silent-stalker act is getting old."

I shot him a glare. "You really want to invite whatever's hunting us?"

He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Just saying, if we're gonna fight something, I'd rather it not wait until I'm half-asleep."

Cairon ignored us both. "We keep moving."

We did.

The deeper we went, the thicker the tension became, wrapping around us like a vice. It wasn't just paranoia. The forest had changed. The air felt thinner, the ground softer, almost like we were walking on something that breathed.

Then—

A whisper.

Not loud. Not clear. Just a breath of sound curling through the trees.

I stopped cold.

Marek tensed. "Tell me you heard that."

Cairon didn't answer.

He was already turning, sword drawn.

The whisper came again, slithering through the air, brushing against my skin like unseen fingers. My grip on the Codex tightened.

Then the shadows moved.

Not naturally. Not the way the trees should have cast them.

They shifted, bending inward, closing the space between us.

A shape peeled away from the darkness—tall, draped in tattered black, its face lost to the void beneath a hood.

Another Revenant.

Not the one from before.

Another.

They weren't hunting me.

They were waiting.

For what, I didn't know.

The Revenant tilted its head. "She carries the weight of death," it murmured, its voice like rust scraping against steel. "And yet, she does not fall."

I swallowed hard.

The air around us thickened, heavy with unseen force.

Cairon stepped between us, his blade catching the faintest glint of moonlight. "We're not looking for trouble."

The Revenant laughed. The sound was hollow, like an echo of something long dead. "And yet, trouble finds you."

Marek exhaled sharply. "Alright, creepy. Either attack us, or let us go, because I am not in the mood for—"

The Revenant moved.

Fast.

One second, it was standing in the shadows. The next, it was in front of me.

I barely had time to react before cold fingers closed around my wrist.

Pain.

Sharp, searing, like ice burning through my veins. I gasped, my knees buckling, the Codex pulsing against my chest in response. The magic inside it reacted, pushing back against the touch.

The Revenant yanked its hand away as if burned.

It stared at me, or rather, at the book. "Ah," it whispered. "You are bound."

My breathing was ragged. "Yeah? Tell me something I don't know."

The Revenant exhaled, a slow, rattling sound. "Then you will hear them soon."

I stiffened. "Hear who?"

The Revenant stepped back, its form already melting into the shadows. "The voices of the lost."

And then—

It was gone.

The weight of its presence lifted, but the silence it left behind was worse.

I staggered, my body still trembling from the brief touch of its magic.

Cairon caught my arm, his grip firm. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, though I wasn't sure if it was true.

Marek let out a breath. "I hate those things."

Cairon ignored him, his focus still on me. "What did it mean?"

I swallowed hard, the Revenant's words echoing in my mind.

You will hear them soon.

I didn't know.

But I had a feeling I was about to find out.

Cairon must have seen something in my expression, because his own darkened. "We need to get to the seer."

I looked at him sharply. "Seer?"

He hesitated. "She knows things. About magic. About… curses."

I exhaled. "Great. So I'm cursed now?"

Marek smirked. "Would explain a lot."

I shot him a glare, but the truth settled in my stomach like a stone.

Something was wrong.

Something was changing.

And the Revenants knew it.