Lisa's breath came in shallow gasps as she ran through the dense forest, branches clawing at her skin like desperate hands trying to pull her back. Jacob moved ahead of her, his pace relentless, but she struggled to keep up—not because of exhaustion, but because of the weight in her chest.
They had no idea the place they landed.
Kol.
She had left him behind.
A part of her screamed that she should go back, that she should fight for him. If she stayed by his side, she wouldn't be able to stop his brothers. And if she failed—if Kol truly became the Demon King—she wasn't sure she could bear to watch the man she loved become the very thing the world feared.
Jacob finally slowed, glancing back. "We can't stop here. we have to go back."
Lisa swallowed hard, nodding. "I know. I just…" She hesitated, the words catching in her throat.
"You just what?" Jacob pressed.
She shook her head. "Nothing. Let's keep going."
Jacob didn't push further, though he could see the suspicion in her eyes. He had always known her too well.
As they moved deeper into the woods, a strange silence settled over them. No wind. No rustling leaves. No distant sounds of animals. The air itself felt wrong, like the world was holding its breath.
Lisa slowed. "Something's coming."
Jacob tensed, drawing his weapon. "Stay close."
The trees ahead of them bent unnaturally, their trunks twisting as if trying to recoil from something unseen. A chill spread through the air, and then, from the shadows, figures began to emerge.
Not hunters.
Not witches.
Something worse.
Their skin was ashen, their eyes hollow, glowing with an eerie silver light. They moved in eerie unison, their bodies shifting like puppets on invisible strings.
Lisa's heart pounded. "The cursed ones." Jacob said.
Jacob gritted his teeth. "I thought they were wiped out."
"What?," Lisa whispered. "Which means someone brought them back." Jacob told himself.
The cursed ones were warriors of the old world—men and women who had fallen in battle, only to be raised again through dark magic. They felt no pain, no fear. Only the relentless drive to hunt and kill.
Lisa's hands trembled as she summoned her power, light gathering at her fingertips. But even as she prepared for battle, a single thought consumed her mind.
Kol.
If the cursed ones were here, then something far worse was on the horizon.
The storm was coming.
And she wasn't sure if anyone could stop it.