Chapter 109: The Island’s Secrets

Alaric…

The name rose from somewhere deep inside her mind—unbidden.

A man waiting.

Standing beneath a pale sky with his arms open, as if he had been waiting for centuries.

Eyes fixed only on her. Eyes that held a devotion so absolute it melted her heart.

The memory struck Lara like a blade sliding between her ribs.

Her breath caught.

For a heartbeat, the forest around her disappeared.

There was only him.

Alaric.

Waiting for her return.

Then she blinked.

The vision shattered like mist under sunlight.

The forest rushed back—the whispering wind, the towering trees, the faint scent of damp earth.

Behind her, Liam let out a low whistle.

“Well… this is interesting.”

Logan had crouched beside one of the jagged stones protruding from the soil. He brushed away dirt with his fingers, revealing a surface that was far too smooth to be natural.

“This isn’t natural rock,” he murmured.

More soil fell away.

Beneath it lay pale stone—polished, carved. The edge of what might once have been a wall.

Ares stepped forward slowly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the clearing.

His instincts, honed by years of command, were already piecing things together.

“This used to be a structure.”

The wind stirred through the trees.

Lara’s voice came quietly. “A large one.”

Three pairs of eyes turned toward her.

Logan straightened slightly, a faint crease forming between his brows.

“You sound very sure.”

Lara didn’t answer. Instead, she moved.

Not hesitantly. Not like someone guessing.

She walked forward with quiet certainty, her boots crushing fallen leaves beneath each step.

Straight to the center of the clearing.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

“She’s not searching,” he murmured.

“She knows where she’s going,” Logan replied under his breath.

Lara stopped at a patch of ground thick with moss and rotting leaves.

The forest seemed strangely quiet there. Too quiet.

For a long moment, she simply stared at the ground.

Something was wrong. Not visibly wrong.

But wrong in the way a room feels different when someone has just left it.

The air felt heavier.

Older.

As if something buried beneath the earth was still waiting.

Lara slowly crouched, fingers hovering over the moss. An inexplicable unease crept through her chest.

Before she could brush the leaves aside—

Ares’ voice cut through the silence.

“It’s getting late.”

She paused.

Ares had already taken out his phone, snapping several photos of the exposed stones, the layout of the clearing, and the surrounding terrain.

“We should head back,” he continued calmly. “We’ll report this to park management.”

The shutter clicked again.

A moment later, he sent the images to someone in his contacts.

Logan stood, brushing dirt from his hands. “Probably some rock formation buried here.”

“Or an abandoned structure,” Liam added.

But neither of them sounded completely convinced.

Lara remained still for another second.

Her gaze lingered on the moss-covered ground.

Something beneath it seemed to pulse against her instincts.

As if the earth itself remembered.

Slowly, she rose.

Then she glanced toward the sky.

The sun had already begun to sink behind the mountains, staining the horizon with streaks of amber and crimson.

Night would fall soon.

Reluctantly, she turned away.

But as they began walking back through the forest, Lara couldn’t shake the strange feeling crawling along the back of her mind.

Behind them, the clearing grew quiet again.

The wind shifted.

And beneath the thin layer of moss where Lara had been standing—

A faint line of ancient carvings lay hidden in the stone.

Waiting.

…

Branches parted as Ares, Liam, Logan, and Lara emerged from the dense undergrowth, leaves brushing against their clothes as the forest finally opened into the small depression where they had left the others.

Scarlet and Lucas were already there.

The pit that had trapped her earlier had been cleared—loose soil pushed aside, broken branches scattered across the ground where Lucas had apparently helped her climb out.

Scarlet turned the moment she heard footsteps.

Her eyes landed immediately on Ares.

“Ares, you’re finally back.”

Relief colored her voice, though it carried a faint edge of grievance.

The pristine white dress she had worn earlier was no longer white. Dirt clung to the hem and sleeves, turning the fabric a dull cream color. A smudge streaked across one side of her waist where she must have slipped while climbing.

She brushed imaginary dust from the skirt as she approached them, though the damage was already done.

“Why did you leave me here?” she continued, pointing accusingly behind her.

Her finger indicated the slope she had struggled with—a steep earthen rise roughly a meter and a half high, its edges jagged with roots and loose stones.

“It took me forever to go down from that.”

Logan glanced at the slope, then back at her.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

“You could’ve just jumped down,” he said casually. “You’d be at the bottom in a minute.”

Scarlet’s eyes widened.

“You—!”

Her voice rose in outrage.

“What if I broke my leg?”

Logan scoffed, folding his arms.

“With that height?” he said incredulously. “Are you joking with me?”

Scarlet looked as though she had just been personally insulted by gravity itself.

“You have no idea how dangerous it was!” she insisted.

Logan gave the slope another glance.

Then he looked back at her with open disbelief.

“Dangerous?” he muttered. “That’s barely a step.”

Scarlet’s expression hardened, her lips pressing together as if she had swallowed something bitter.

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, clearly caught between amusement and sympathy.

Before the argument could escalate further, Liam stepped forward, his voice cutting cleanly through the bickering.

“Alright. That’s enough.”

Everyone quieted.

“Stop arguing,” he said calmly. “Let’s go.”

Without waiting for further complaints, he turned and began walking.

Ares followed immediately.

Instead of returning the way they came, the two of them veered toward a narrower trail hidden between several thick trees.

Logan noticed first.

“Shortcut?” he asked.

Liam nodded without slowing.

“This way’s faster.”

The path sloped gradually downward, the terrain less tangled than the route they had taken earlier. Fallen leaves muffled their footsteps as they moved through the forest.

Behind them, the clearing slowly disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

Within minutes, the dense wilderness began thinning.

And the way out of the forest came into view much sooner than expected.

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