Rain had been falling since morning.
The drops dampened the bedroom window, creating a rhythmic sound that should have been soothing.
But to Zara Starlawy, that sound felt more like a countdown.
She sat beside the bed, holding her little brother's increasingly frail hand.
Far too frail.
The small fingers that had once always gripped her hand tightly now felt cold and weightless.
Zara swallowed.
“Wake up…”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Just for a little while.”
There was no answer.
Her little brother remained lying there with his eyes closed.
His breathing was slow and uneven.
Zara lowered her head, staring at the pale face before her.
This had been going on for nearly three months.
Three months since that strange fever appeared.
At first, it had only been a mild fever.
Then her little brother's body began to lose its strength.
He stopped playing.
Stopped eating.
Now, even sitting up in bed took a tremendous amount of energy.
Zara had brought in countless doctors.
Doctors from Starfall.
Doctors from other cities.
Even an old healer from the northern region had come after Zara paid nearly all her savings.
Nothing had worked.
They had all given her the same answer.
The illness was too rare.
No ordinary medicine could cure it.
And that morning, the last doctor had arrived with the words Zara least wanted to hear.
“If this continues, there isn't much time left.”
Zara closed her eyes.
No.
She didn't want to hear it.
She didn't want to accept that someone she loved so dearly might leave her.
“Zara.”
The deep voice behind her made her body tense.
She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Her father.
Christian Starlawy stood in the doorway.
His face looked as stern as ever.
His gaze shifted from Zara to his son lying on the bed.
“The doctor has explained everything.”
Zara slowly stood.
“I know.”
“Then stop searching for a treatment that doesn't exist.”
Zara stared at her father.
“Doesn't exist?”
Christian sighed.
“It doesn't.”
“The doctor said there was one way.”
Christian's jaw tightened.
“Zara.”
“Forestheart Tonic.”
Silence.
For the first time, Christian's expression changed.
It wasn't merely anger.
It was fear.
Zara caught the change.
“You know about that remedy, Dad?”
Christian didn't answer.
“Answer me.”
“I know.”
“Then it really does exist.”
“That isn't the problem.”
“Then what is?”
Christian stepped inside.
“Its main ingredient is Emberrose.”
Zara fell silent.
“That flower only grows in one place.”
Zara already knew the answer.
“The Forbidden Forest.”
Christian fixed a sharp look on his daughter.
“Never go there.”
Zara frowned.
“I just want to save him.”
“No.”
“You haven't even let me try.”
“Because I know what's in there.”
Christian's voice dropped.
It grew more serious.
“No human from Brimwillow has gone too deep into the forest and returned safely.”
Zara stared at her father.
“The stories about that forest are just legends.”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Zara fell silent.
Christian seemed to realize he had said too much.
He looked away.
“Whatever the case, forget about Emberrose.”
“How can I forget it?”
Zara pointed at her little brother.
“He's dying, Dad.”
Christian fell silent.
“And everyone is just telling me to accept it.”
Tears began to fill Zara's eyes.
“I can't.”
“Zara…”
“I can't just sit here and wait until he stops breathing.”
Christian clenched his fists.
“If you go into that forest, you might not come back.”
“If I stay here, he might never wake up again.”
Those words plunged the room into silence once more.
Zara wiped away her tears.
“I'm going.”
Christian stared at her in disbelief.
“You're not going.”
“I have to.”
“No!”
Christian's voice echoed.
Zara flinched.
But this time, she didn't back down.
For the first time, she looked at her father without fear.
“I'm your daughter,” she said softly. “I know you're afraid, Dad.”
Christian froze.
“But I'm his sister, too.”
Zara looked back at the bed.
“I won't let him die just because we're afraid of a forest.”
Christian didn't answer.
He simply stood there in silence.
And in his gaze was something Zara didn't understand.
As if the Forbidden Forest was more than just a forest to him.
As if that place held something he had once known.
Something he wanted to forget.
Night fell.
The Starlawy household slowly grew quiet.
Zara stood in front of the mirror.
A small bag hung from her shoulder.
Inside were some food, a bottle of water, a small knife, bandages, and a little money.
She didn't know how long the journey would take.
But she didn't care.
She needed only one thing.
Emberrose.
Zara turned toward the bedroom door.
She looked at her little brother one last time that night.
“Hang on.”
Her hand clenched.
“I'll bring your medicine.”
She walked out.
Without a sound.
Without saying goodbye.
And without realizing that a pair of eyes was watching her leave from the dark hallway.
The next morning, Zara left Starfall.
The journey to Brimwillow took several hours.
The farther she got from the city, the fewer houses she saw.
Starfall's tall buildings slowly gave way to wide fields.
Then a stone road.
Then trees.
When the carriage she was riding in stopped in Brimwillow, Zara climbed down and drew a deep breath.
The village was much smaller than she had imagined.
Wooden houses stood in rows.
People hurried along the main road.
Several residents who noticed the bag on her shoulder immediately gave her strange looks.
Zara tried to smile.
“Excuse me.”
An old woman carrying a basket stopped.
“Where are you going?”
Zara pointed toward the road at the edge of the village.
“The Forbidden Forest.”
The woman immediately went pale.
Her basket nearly fell from her hands.
“Don't.”
Zara frowned.
“I just want to find a flower.”
“Don't go in there.”
“But—”
“Listen, young girl.”
The woman stepped closer.
“If you still value your life, go home.”
Zara fell silent.
She had heard many stories about that forest.
Wolves.
Fierce creatures.
People who disappeared.
But they had all sounded like fairy tales.
At least until she saw the old woman's expression.
That fear was too real.
Zara thanked her and continued on her way.
She didn't look back.
She couldn't.
If she started being afraid now, she would never succeed.
A few minutes later, huge trees began to appear in the distance.
The Forbidden Forest.
Zara stopped.
For a while, she simply stood there.
The forest was unlike any ordinary forest.
Its trees rose far too high.
A thin mist hung between the trunks.
The air around it felt colder.
And for some reason—
Zara felt as if someone were watching her.
She turned around.
There was no one there.
She turned her gaze back to the forest.
Her hand tightened around the strap of her bag.
“For my little brother.”
Zara drew a deep breath.
Then she stepped past the forest's boundary.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The sounds of the village slowly faded behind her.
Zara stopped.
Silence enveloped the entire place.
Then—
Grrr…
A low growl sounded in the distance.
Zara froze.
Her heart began to race.
She slowly turned around.
There was nothing there.
But far between the trees, something moved.
Fast.
Very fast.
Zara held her breath.
“Who's there?”
There was no answer.
Only the sound of wind passing through the leaves.
She tried to convince herself that it was just an animal.
Just a deer.
Or perhaps an ordinary wolf.
But when Zara began walking again, she didn't know that deep within the forest—
someone had already sensed her presence.
And that person wasn't human.