The shadows pressed in around them, thick and suffocating, as if the darkness itself was alive, eager to swallow them whole. Finn’s heart raced, his breath quick and shallow as he glanced at the others. Alaric and Maelis stood back-to-back, their weapons drawn, fending off the shadow creatures that crept closer, their glowing eyes filled with malice.
“We have to move!” Maelis shouted, her voice tight with strain as she slashed at one of the creatures. “We’re sitting ducks here!”
But Finn barely heard her. His eyes were fixed on the figure standing just beyond the edge of the trap—Lysandra.
She was there, standing in the half-light, her pale face illuminated by the flickering flames of their torches. But something was wrong. Her once-bright eyes were clouded, distant, as if she was only half present, half lost in some dark place Finn couldn’t reach.
“Lysandra?” His voice was barely a whisper, his heart clenching at the sight of her. He took a step toward her, his hand reaching out. “Lysandra, it’s me.”
She didn’t respond. Her gaze flickered, her lips parting slightly, but no words came. Instead, she took a step back, deeper into the shadows.
Finn’s pulse quickened. Something had happened to her. The Lysandra he knew was gone, replaced by this haunted version of herself, as though the darkness had seeped into her very soul.
“Finn!” Alaric’s voice snapped him back to the present, but his eyes remained locked on Lysandra. “We can’t hold them much longer!”
Finn’s hand trembled as he turned back toward the others, seeing the desperation in their faces as the shadow creatures closed in. But then his gaze darted back to Lysandra. He couldn’t leave her. Not like this.
His legs moved on instinct, pulling him toward her. “Lysandra,” he called, louder this time, his voice filled with a mix of hope and fear. “It’s Finn. You’re safe now.”
She blinked, as if hearing his voice for the first time, but there was still something distant in her eyes, something cold. Her hand twitched at her side, as though she wanted to reach for him but couldn’t.
“Finn, don’t—” Maelis tried to warn him, but Finn had already crossed the threshold, stepping into the shadows with Lysandra.
The moment he was beside her, it was as though the world around them faded. The sounds of the battle, the cries of his friends—it all became distant, muffled, leaving only the two of them standing together in the dim light.
“Lysandra,” he whispered again, his voice soft but urgent. “What happened to you?”
She looked up at him, and for the first time, he saw it—the darkness that clung to her like a shroud. Her skin was paler than he remembered, her eyes shadowed with something deep and unfathomable. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was weak, barely a breath. “I… don’t know.”
Finn swallowed, his chest tightening. He had never seen her like this, so fragile, so unsure. This wasn’t the Lysandra who had fought beside him, who had faced down countless dangers with strength and determination. This was someone else—someone who had been touched by the darkness and was struggling to find her way back.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” Finn said, his hand gently touching her arm. “Come back to us. Come back to me.”
Her eyes flickered with recognition, but then, just as quickly, they clouded again, as if something inside her was pulling her away. “Finn… I don’t know if I can.”
“You can,” he insisted, his voice filled with emotion. “I’m not leaving you. Not now. Not ever.”
For a moment, she looked at him, truly looked at him, and Finn felt a flicker of hope. But then her expression changed, her eyes darkening as she pulled away from him, her hand slipping from his grasp.
“I don’t know who I am anymore,” she whispered, her voice hollow. “The shadows… they’re inside me, Finn. I can’t fight them.”
Finn’s heart broke at her words. “Yes, you can. You’re stronger than this, Lysandra. You always have been.”
Tears welled in her eyes, but she shook her head, stepping further back into the shadows. “I don’t belong here anymore. I’m… different.”
Finn’s chest tightened, a surge of fear washing over him as he saw her retreating. He reached for her again, desperation in his voice. “No! Lysandra, don’t do this. Come back to me. Please.”
For a moment, it seemed like she might. Her hand twitched, her gaze softening. But then, the darkness surged, wrapping around her like a thick, suffocating fog, and she vanished into the shadows, leaving Finn standing alone, his hand outstretched.
“Lysandra!” he shouted, his voice echoing into the empty void, but there was no response. She was gone.
His heart pounded in his chest, panic rising as he realized what had just happened. She had slipped through his fingers, lost to the shadows. He could feel the pull of the darkness, feel it closing in around him, suffocating him.
“Finn!” Maelis’s voice cut through the fog of despair, pulling him back to reality.
He turned to see her and Alaric locked in a fierce battle with the shadow creatures. Alaric’s injury had slowed him, and Maelis was fighting desperately to keep them both alive. They needed him. But Lysandra—she was still out there, trapped in the darkness, lost.
“Finn, we need you!” Maelis yelled, her voice filled with urgency as she fought off another creature.
Finn’s heart wrenched, torn between the two choices before him. His instincts screamed at him to run after Lysandra, to bring her back, but his friends needed him, too. He couldn’t leave them behind.
His eyes darted to the shadows where Lysandra had disappeared, then back to his friends, who were barely holding the creatures at bay. He had to make a choice, and he had to make it now.
With a pained cry, Finn turned and rushed back toward Alaric and Maelis, his sword slicing through the shadow creatures with a fury fueled by frustration and heartache. He couldn’t save Lysandra—not yet—but he wouldn’t lose his friends, too.
As he fought, his mind raced. Lysandra wasn’t gone. She couldn’t be. He would find her again, no matter what it took. But right now, he had to keep his friends alive.
“We’re not leaving her behind,” Finn shouted over the sounds of the battle. “We’re going to get her back.”
Maelis glanced at him, her expression tight but determined. “We will. But we have to get out of here first.”
The shadow creatures swarmed around them, but together, the three of them fought their way through, their movements fluid and synchronized. They had been fighting together for so long that it felt instinctual now—each one knowing where the others would be, covering each other’s weaknesses.
But even as they fought, Finn’s mind was elsewhere, consumed by thoughts of Lysandra. She was still out there, lost in the shadows, and he had no idea how to bring her back.
The battle dragged on, the creatures relentless in their attacks. Alaric was struggling to keep up, his injury slowing him down, and Maelis was starting to tire, her movements growing sluggish.
“We can’t keep this up,” Maelis panted, barely blocking a strike. “We need to find a way out.”
Finn nodded, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of an escape route. But the creatures were everywhere, surrounding them, pressing in from all sides.
“We’ll make it out,” Finn said, his voice filled with a fierce determination. “We have to.”
Just as the last creature lunged at them, a bright, blinding light burst through the darkness, scattering the shadows and sending the creatures retreating into the trees. The group staggered, momentarily stunned by the sudden shift in their surroundings.
When the light faded, Finn’s heart sank. Lysandra was still gone, and the shadows loomed once again, threatening to return.