SAGE

I turned back too late.

The walls shut behind me with a soft, final click, feeling like a bad verdict. My heart jumped into my throat.

The darkness thickened instantly, swelling outward like a living thing. It wasn’t ordinary shadow. It pressed closer, denser, heavy with a presence that seemed aware of me. It felt like fingers reaching through the air, brushing at my skin, curling around my limbs, grazing my breath.

I shivered. Unease crawled down my spine. Maybe I should have listened to El.

This felt wrong. Not natural darkness. Not absence of light. Black magic. The kind that left residue. The kind that lingered long after...