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“No wandering out tonight,” my mother said as she tucked me into bed. “We’d hate to lock you in your room again.”

“We mean it, Keira,” my father scolded beside her. “You upset your mother when you get out and come back a filthy mess, dirtying up the house.”

Last night, I’d accidentally left a trail of muddy footprints across the carpet. The stained impressions of my soles were a faint reminder of my disobedience.

“I’ll try, Daddy,” I said, not wanting to upset him. But no matter how hard I tried, I found myself walking the paths of an enchanting forest almost every night. Then, I would suddenly appear in my room, covered in mud, twigs, and scratches, not remembering how I managed any of it.

My mother shot my father a quick stare, but he remained stiff with his arms across his chest. “If you could just tell us how you’re doing it, honey. I promise we won’t be mad.”

“I told you,” I groaned, my little fists balling in frustration. “I close my eyes, and I fall through stars.”

“Keira!” my father shouted, making me flinch. “You are eight years old now. Enough with the lies, or we will take away your telescope.”

“No! Please, Daddy,” I cried, leaping up from the bed. “I won’t go anywhere, I promise.”

It was a promise I couldn’t keep, but I would say anything to keep my telescope.

Most children had a stuffed toy or blanket, something soft to chase away the shadows.

Some even had parents they could run to.

Not me. I was scolded for leaving my room and giving in to my fears.

Any disruptions led to more rules, stricter punishments, and longer sessions of questioning in my mother’s office.

All I had was my telescope.

Every night, I planted my gaze through the eyepiece, losing myself within the glittering map of space. The long black tube became my faithful companion while the velvet night enveloped me like a quilt.

“I think we’ll take it tonight, just in case,” my mother said, gathering the one thing I counted on. “If you’re good, we’ll return it to you in a week.”

My heart plummeted. There was no way I would last that long.

I rushed after my parents as they closed the door, ready to beg and plead, but when I turned the knob, it wouldn’t budge. Terror choked me as I realized they’d locked me in.

I pounded on the door, unable to hold back the tears as they spilled down my face.

It wasn’t until my palms were sore that I slumped down and curled up at the bottom of the door.

My body turned heavy, then weightless, and I began to drift.

I tried not to chase the lights that always found me—carried me.

But the pull was too strong, and I soon found myself under the biggest disk of a moon I’d ever seen.

A comforting breeze swirled around me, drying my tears into salted crystals upon my cheeks. The gentle wind ushered me to my feet, and my toes sank into the plush ground beneath me.

I marveled at the massive lunar pendant above, its glow casting a silver enchantment over the forest. I found I preferred this sky over the one I saw out my window every night.

It wasn’t home. It was my sanctuary.

I surrendered to the forest that knew nothing of walls or locked doors and pushed my impending punishment far, far away. I hummed with the melody of the woods, skipped on pools of moonlight, and danced with the trees.

When my parents learned of this, who knew how long they’d keep me locked away. I might as well enjoy every second of this freedom while I had the chance.

Suddenly, a squawk echoed through the forest and stopped me in my tracks. My eyes darted through the branches, searching for the animal that seemed to call for help.

Labored chirps led me over and under moss-covered roots and through long-hanging vines until I came upon a bird shimmering like a comet.

I was unfamiliar with the creature, though it looked to be about the size of a peacock. Upright feathers flowed from its head like a twisting fern, and its tail cascaded in a long, glittering plume. The bird’s watery eyes pierced my soul as it chirped helplessly.

I rushed to the feathered ball of light, and my heart sank as I realized it was trapped in a net.

The poor thing had struggled to escape, further tangling its delicate wings and feet in a jumbled mess. It was afraid, shaking, and exhausted.

“It’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’m going to help you,” I said, carefully unbinding its legs. But I must have pulled a little too hard because the bird reared back and slashed its talons through my white nightgown, causing blood to well on my shoulder.

I bit back the pain radiating down my arm. “I’m so sorry. Just a little more, and you’ll be free,” I coaxed, working to untangle the last bit of rope.

Shedding its confines, the animal unfurled its wings like a curtain of jewels, and my mouth hung open in awe.

The bird didn’t fly away. Instead, its body relaxed, and its intelligent eyes held my gaze as if thanking me. Its iridescent feathers shimmered in the moonlight, and as I reached out, its neck stretched to meet my fingertips.

Beneath the foreign sky, I stroked the magnificent creature who had trusted me enough to save its life.

It cooed and trilled at my scratches, then hopped back, padding its feet.

“What is it?” I asked—a perfectly sensible question to ask an animal.

It squawked again and ruffled its wings.

I checked for more injuries, but the bird swung its head, motioning for me to follow. The forest was full of life, light, and energy, but my eyes snagged on the dark tunnel twisting with thorns and heavy shadows.

“You want me to go in there?” I asked, unable to hide the quiver in my voice.

The creature let out one last chirp before swooping through the tunnel in a flash of light.

I waited with bated breath, hoping it would return, but it had been several minutes since the glint of its tail vanished in the darkness.

I tugged at the hemline of my nightgown and gnawed on my lower lip.

I was already in so much trouble; what would a little more exploring hurt?

It was clear my new feathered friend wanted me to follow.

And even though I was barefoot, bleeding, and terrified, I knew I couldn’t leave the creature to be hurt or trapped again.

I dipped a toe into the tunnel, testing the whorls of darkness. Goosebumps rose along my skin and drained my warmth. I wished I could withdraw from this place, just as the sun had long ago, but I wouldn’t leave without knowing if the bird was safe.

I pressed on as thorns scratched me and ripped my nightgown and hair. A lump of dread formed in my throat, and my teeth clattered inside my head. I wrapped my arms around myself, attempting to protect my heart from the destroyed forest.

Just when I thought the dark had swallowed me whole, a flash of light arced before me like a shooting star. “There you are!” I cried as I ran to the bird perched on a fallen log, its gaze honed onto something in the distance. I peered over the trunk, following its star-lit eyes.

Ahead soared the most majestic tree I had ever seen. A canopy of gold, green, and pink leaves flourished from the towering titan. The bark looked healthy and strong, and the tree seemed to stand on its roots, creating hollow chambers within its trunk.

Inside the cavity, a man hung by his wrists, his head limp and shoulder blades protruding.

A scream charged up my throat, but the bird turned its head in warning, and I clamped my hands over my mouth.

Suddenly, a figure darker than the night materialized before the captive, and my whole body froze in terror.

The cloak of shadows leaned forward and placed his hands on either side of the man’s temples, forcing his gaze up.

“Now that I’ve given you time to think, I hope your memory’s jogged.

And know this, I shall not ask again,” said a booming voice that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. “Are you the Synodic Son? ”

“I t…told you. I have no idea who that is. Please,” the chained man begged.

“Very well,” the figure droned, and his shroud of darkness shifted to reveal a man with pale skin and volcanic eyes that churned with unending destruction.

His mouth opened wide as the skin around his face and hands veined an inky black before dissipating into his pallid complexion. The prisoner’s back was to me, but I could tell by his shrieks and writhing body that something vital was being stolen from him.

Blood pooled on my tongue as I bit back my screams.

After what felt like forever, the screaming ended, and the dark being removed the shriveled corpse from the chains and threw him onto what appeared to be a pile of clothes. But as I peered closer, I realized it was a mound of bodies littering the desolate landscape.

Terror jolted my legs into action and propelled my feet as I ran back through the dark tunnel.

Branches lashed at my face, and my bare feet split open beneath me, but the fear surging through my veins dulled the pain.

I followed the ball of light to safety, running until I collapsed from exhaustion.

The bird gracefully landed beside me and gently pecked at my hair.

“Why did you show me that?” I cried into my arm. I couldn’t comprehend what I had just seen. It was so unnatural. So wrong. It was as if the captive had been siphoned of everything that made him… alive .

The flutter of wings brushed against my skin, and when I lifted my head, a flock of glittering birds encompassed me. Some shivered from within their nests, while others protectively draped their wings over sparkling eggs.

The creature had led me to a small patch of greenery surrounded by darkness and devastation .

Deep within my roots, I knew this was the shadowy man’s doing. He was the cause of the dying forest and was destroying their home.

“You need help,” I whispered as the birds curiously shuffled toward me. “You all need help.”

I wished I could give more than comforting words and scratches beneath their beaks, but it was all I had to offer.

Suddenly, the creatures unfurled their feathers and squawked in unison as if something had startled them. Their eyes glistened with fear as their wings snapped in a flurry, blowing my hair and nightgown around my body.

Had the dark figure followed me?

Whatever it was, I felt it now, too, rushing at me like an avalanche.

I spun to see what came at me with a vengeance, but my eyes were blinded by a light that engulfed me like the birth of the sun.

The luminosity pierced my skin and seeped into my every pore with a frigid intensity that was so cold, it burned.

And I screamed as the Light consumed me whole.

My screams echoed through a tunnel of time as I staggered back to the present and swayed on my feet.

“Ah, there she is,” came the voice of a man whose crimson eyes were twin harbingers of death. “Thought I lost you there for a moment. I was holding your body but nothing more. Where did you go?”

“I remember you,” I said, reeling as my childhood nightmare faded.

Had I astral traveled to my past? It was the only explanation for why I remembered. And I remembered everything . They weren’t delusions at all, not even nightmares. They were memories of my earliest astral projecting .

I walked between worlds before I ever possessed the power of the Alcreon Light. It was during one of my projections when the Light found me. Had it known I was other? Known I wasn’t from Luneth and that it would be safe in a world far from Erovos’ reach?

My mind tumbled as I tried to remember how I ended up by the Dark Spirit’s side.

I’d been stolen away.

No.

I’d come here willingly.

“My little light,” he said as his thumb stroked the back of my hand. “I told you it wouldn’t be long until you were mine.”