A notification appeared, confirming a match. His heart quickened, his fingers moving clumsily across the screen as he typed a greeting. Her response, elegant and mysterious, set a rhythm to their conversation that felt almost otherworldly. They agreed to meet at a secluded café on the forest's edge, far removed from city noise.
When Jonas arrived, the air smelled of damp earth and pine. His gaze swept through the mist, and there she was. Rá’s beauty was undeniable, but unsettling. Her dark hair cascaded in silken waves, and her features, sharp yet delicate, were softened by the moon’s pale glow. Her skin held the glow of someone who had long spent time in the shadows, and her eyes—a glowing, unnatural shade of green—seemed to pierce right through him.
“I’m glad you came, Jonas,” she said, her voice melodic, almost a whisper carried on the wind. Her words felt like a private song, meant only for him.
As she led him deeper into the forest, the mist thickened around them, blending into the trees. Her gown shimmered in the low light, an ethereal mix of silver and green, as if she were part of the forest herself. He followed her, the weight of his feet growing heavier with each step. It wasn’t just the uneven ground beneath him—something about her presence made him feel drawn to her, as though he were being pulled deeper into something far beyond his comprehension.
“You feel it, don’t you?” Her voice sliced through his thoughts.
He blinked, shaken. “Feel what?”
“The forest is calling,” she said, her eyes flickering as she glanced at him. “It speaks in ways most can’t hear.”
As the fog deepened, Jonas’s senses blurred, leaving him disoriented. Around them, the trees twisted, their shadows stretching unnaturally long in the dim light. With each passing moment, his limbs grew sluggish, his mind drifting into a hazy stupor. The world around him felt unreal—dreamlike, as though he no longer belonged to it. Meanwhile, the sounds of the forest swelled, whispers threading through the breeze and distant voices murmuring in an unintelligible chorus.
Jonas stumbled, his foot catching on a root. He tried to steady himself, but his body felt alien, weightless. Panic began to stir within him, but his muscles refused to obey. He turned to Rá, confusion and fear rising in his chest. Her eyes glowed brighter in the dark, and her lips curled into a predatory smile.
“You were never meant to leave,” she said, her voice low, drenched in something ancient.
His heart raced, his legs finally able to move as panic seized him. He tried to step back, but he couldn’t escape the overwhelming pull of her gaze. The trees seemed to close in on them, the path behind him no longer visible.
His eyes locked on her back—a sight that made his blood run cold. Her gown fluttered aside, revealing a hollow space where a spine should’ve been. The cavity within her back was filled with twisting roots, writhing like something alive, its darkness almost tangible, seeping into the air. He recoiled, stepping backward, but his legs buckled beneath him, his feet tangled in the underbrush.
"What... what are you?" he managed, his voice hoarse.
Rá’s smile grew wider, and a chill ran through him as her hand gently touched his cheek. “You already know. I am the Skogsra. The queen of the trees. You should’ve never come.”
Jonas’s mind raced to process the horror, yet everything within him remained clouded and blurred. As his vision swam, his surroundings twisted and shifted, distorting beyond recognition. Around him, the forest pulsed with an eerie life—not the kind that sustained, but one that threatened to consume him whole. From the darkness at her back, an unseen force stretched toward him, drawing him in, suffused with a hunger both raw and insatiable. It was a belonging he could neither resist nor escape.
Though he tried to scream, no sound escaped his throat. With each passing second, his limbs grew heavier, his vision narrowing to a tunnel of shadows. His mind screamed for him to run, yet escape was impossible. All around them, the trees loomed—endless, impenetrable, sealing him within their grasp.
"Jonas..." Rá’s voice lingered in the space between them. "You are part of the forest now."
And as his vision faded, he saw her, her hollow back wide open, her roots shifting, as if welcoming him into the earth. The fog closed around him, and the world went silent.
When morning light broke through the trees, there was nothing to show that Jonas had ever been there. His phone, lying forgotten among the leaves, buzzed with a notification: It’s a match.
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Exciting news! My book, Cumberland Chronicles, is now available! If you enjoy the supernatural, horror, and the weird, I’d love for you to check it out. Even if it’s not your thing, a quick share would help me reach the right readers. Thank you for the support!
You can find Cumberland Chronicles at Books2Read.
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