Everyone other than Kai and Louis fell asleep. Henry was the last one, and with a strict order from Kai, he finally agreed to rest.
"Louis, something is wrong with this forest," Kai said quietly. "I've had this feeling since the incident in Sanlow. It's definitely not good. And that beast—we've never seen anything like it before."
Kai was right about the beast. No one had ever seen such a creature in this forest.
Yes, there were beasts like lizard-men and goblins in the empire, but this was the first of its kind here. Louis agreed. After all, he had lived in Duke Caspian's territory his whole life, and this was the first time he had seen something like that in the forest.
"Yes, my lord." Louis replied. "This forest has changed since the last time—We can only hope the rest of our journey will be safe."
Unfortunately, the sun did not rise the next morning. It was too dark for them to see clearly, and Louis's magic helped them greatly during this difficult time. They walked for hours, but the scenery did not change—tall trees, snow everywhere, and endless darkness.
"Wait," Kai said suddenly.
He looked around again and then turned to the knights.
"Why is there no animal around? It's like no life exists here. This isn't right."
The realization hit them all at once. The knights had visited this forest many times before, and creatures were always present—snow rats, leopards, wolves, even small fluffy animals like rabbits and Treloms.
Treloms were similar to cats but much larger. They weren't very friendly, but they were easy to tame. This forest was home to Treloms and many other creatures, and Kai had grown up watching them, even playing with them. Their absence now felt threatening.
The knights' expressions shifted—confusion, realization, observation, and then fear.
"Maybe they're hiding because of last night's snowfall," Louis said, trying to convince himself as much as the others.
"They aren't afraid of this climate. They love it. So why would they—" William was cut off when something lightly struck the back of his head. Henry stared at him sharply, and William fell silent.
"We don't know what's happening," Kai said firmly. "Stay alert. Keep your eyes open."
His confidence eased the group slightly.
Louis felt a surge of pride. Kai was exactly like Duke Caspian. During the war with Zorvath, when they were outnumbered, injured, and losing hope, the Duke had stepped forward and restored their courage. He was a leader who protected his people and led them to victory.
The hero of Aethoria.
The bushes thickened, and the canopies grew denser. The eerie silence was deafening. The only sounds were snow crunching beneath their boots and their shallow breathing.
It was Jerry who noticed it first.
"Oh God—what's that?" he screamed.
Kai gasped. What lay before them was enough to haunt anyone who saw it.
The snow was red.
William vomited everything he had eaten. Henry patted his back, though even his own heart was racing.
Five men.
No.
Five bodies.
They were hanging upside down from a tree, eyes ripped from their sockets and barely hanging by threads or nerves. Limbs were missing. Their chests and stomachs were stabbed repeatedly. It was a gut-wrenching sight.
Jerry hid behind Louis, covering his eyes as tears streamed down his face.
"What… how—who?" Kai stammered.
Louis stepped forward to examine them more closely.
"They're from Zorvath," he said. "How do you know?" Kai asked. "Their armor. It belongs to Zorvathian soldiers."
"How did they even enter Aethoria?" one knight asked. "Who did this— matters more," Kai said, covering his mouth to stop himself from vomiting. "We're in danger too."
Louis searched the bodies again but found no clues. Only the senior knights remained close to bodies, the younger ones stood back, pale and shaking.
Knights were trying not to look at eyes of bodies as it was gut wrenching scene. Jerry's stomach felt his stomach trying to push everything out towards mouth. His breathing picking up the pace to push everything down. Will's situation was same as Jerry.
Kai looked around to see if there is something to indicate who did this. By the looks it looked like a beast work.
What are you? Kai stared at far in distance where trees were too close and darkness was spread throughout. This question was in his mind for a long time, since they entered this forest.
"Let's move forward," Kai ordered.
"Aren't we going to bring them down?" Chris asked."No. Whatever did this will know we were here." kai answered.
As they prepared to move, a scream pierced the air.
It wasn't human.
It was all wrong.
The sound vibrated through their bodies, cold and deadly.
"Run," Kai whispered.
No one moved.
Another scream—closer.
"I SAID FUCKING RUN!"
They ran.
Growls and screams followed them. The creature was near—far too near. Kai felt as if something was moving alongside them, leaping through the trees. He felt watched.
Hunted.
They stopped near a frozen lake, gasping for breath.
"What the fu—what was that?" William asked between breaths."Don't know," Henry replied, steadying himself. "But it was something new"
Kai looked up, scanning the branches and leaves for movement.
There was nothing.
Maybe it was a hallucination or maybe not, he thought.