I didn't sleep.
After everything Sylas told me yesterday, how could I? I was still finding it hard to believe that faes existed in the first place.
Everything feels like a dream. After Sylas kicked me out of his dorm for asking too many questions and getting too few answers, I tried researching the fae and the mark—but everything that came up was written in a language I couldn't understand.
This morning, I almost told Ava everything. She was sipping her coffee in our kitchen, and I kept debating whether telling her would be a good idea. But I decided against it. I couldn't put her in danger.
"Hey, are you listening?" Ava's voice snapped me back to the present. She looked at me with a mix of confusion and concern. "You've been a bit off lately. Everything alright?"
I forced a smile and nodded. "I'm fine. What were you saying?"
She gave me a skeptical look but continued. "Our camping trip is today, remember?"
It took a second before it hit me—I'd promised Ava I'd join the class camping trip she'd helped organize.
"How could I forget?" I said quickly.
"You sure you're okay? You can sit this one out if you want."
I shook my head. "No, it's fine."
She shrugged and went back to sipping her coffee, but my thoughts were already elsewhere—on Sylas's warning and the danger ahead. Was taking this trip really a good idea?
---
The woods weren't far from campus, so we all decided to walk. It was beautiful—tall trees, birdsong, and a stream not too far from where we decided to camp.
Sylas had tagged along, somehow convinced by Dave to join. He ignored me the entire time, probably still mad at me for refusing to stay away like he told me to.
As the sky darkened, campfires were lit, and marshmallows were passed around. Laughter echoed through the trees, and eventually, the stories started—some spooky, some funny.
By midnight, we all wished each other goodnight and went to our tents. It was two per tent, so Ava and I shared one.
I tried sleeping again, but like before, I couldn't.
I looked over at Ava, fast asleep, and decided to go for a walk. Slipping out of the tent, I looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then followed the path to the stream.
The moon was especially bright tonight, so I turned off my flashlight and let the silver light guide me. The stream was a little farther than I remembered, but I didn't care. I hadn't felt this at peace in a while, and I wanted it to last.
When I finally reached the edge of the stream, I stood there, breathing in the cool air, listening to the water trickle.
Then I heard it—a rustling in the bushes behind me.
I turned around, saw nothing. I reached for my flashlight, flicked it on, and swept the beam across the trees.
That's when I saw it.
It rose from the shadows like smoke made flesh—long-limbed and sinewy, its form constantly shifting. Its skin was the color of wet ash, stretched thin over sharp bones that jutted out at unnatural angles. Its face—or what passed for one—had no eyes, only a jagged grin filled with rows of needle-like teeth. Wisps of black mist curled around its frame, and wherever it stepped, the grass wilted.
It moved with a dancer's grace—and a predator's intent.
I backed away slowly, the scream stuck in my throat. Then it spoke.
"So, you're the one the prince chose," it hissed. "Pathetic."
Prince? What the hell was it talking about?
There was no way I could fight this thing. So I did the only thing that made sense—I ran.
It was fast. Too fast.
And I realized, too late, that I was running away from the camp.
"Shit. Is this how I die?" I muttered, lungs burning.
I saw the stone a second too late. I tripped and hit the ground hard. As I looked up, the creature was closing in—and then the mark on my wrist tingled.
I felt his presence before I saw him.
The air shifted.
A gust of wind rushed through the trees, too sudden to be natural. The shadows twisted—and Sylas stepped out of them like they'd been waiting for him.
His eyes glinted silver, sharper than I'd ever seen them, and his presence rolled out like a wave: cold, calm, and terrifying.
The creature skidded to a halt, hesitating.
"Get behind me," Sylas said, his voice low and deadly.
I scrambled back, heart racing. The creature snarled, claws twitching with hunger.
Sylas didn't wait.
He moved like liquid shadow—there one second, gone the next—slamming into the creature with enough force to send it crashing into a tree. Bark exploded. The thing screeched, the sound sharp and jagged like broken glass.
Dark threads of magic crackled around Sylas's hands. He looked like a nightmare carved from moonlight—elegant, ruthless.
The creature lunged again.
Sylas spun, dodging effortlessly, and drove a glowing silver blade into its side. It shrieked and thrashed, green blood hissing as it hit the forest floor.
"You shouldn't be here," Sylas growled, his voice edged with power. "This one is under my protection."
The creature hesitated. Its eyeless face turned to me—then back to him.
And just like that, it vanished. One moment it was there—the next, it melted into the shadows like smoke.
Sylas turned to me, chest rising and falling with quiet fury. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, too breathless to speak.
He watched me for a moment, then reached out and pulled me gently to my feet. His hand lingered at my wrist—right where the mark burned hot.
"You need to stop running off into the woods," he said quietly. "Next time, I might not get there in time."
"I needed fresh air," I muttered, brushing dirt off myself. "What was that thing, anyway?"
"It was a Draeven."
"A what?"
He sighed. "I'll explain later. Let's get back to camp."
We started walking. "How did you find me?" I asked.
He hesitated. "I was also out for a walk. I sensed something was wrong… and the mark led me to you."
"How?"
"You ask a lot of questions," he said. But something in his voice told me he didn't know either.
We made it back to camp in one piece. Thankfully, everyone was still asleep.
"Don't leave your tent again," Sylas said, pausing at the edge of his. "Unless you want to end up as someone's midnight snack."
Then he disappeared inside.
Ava was still fast asleep when I returned to our tent, but there was no chance of me sleeping after that.
Then it hit me.
The creature had called Sylas prince.
But why?