The thorn crown

At first, I thought it was a dream.

The knock.

One.

Two.

Three.

Slow. Rhythmic. Like something polite pretending it belonged.

My eyes snapped open.

Kael was already sitting up, body taut, eyes locked on the door.

We hadn't told anyone we were here.

No one should've been able to find us.

"Did you hear it too?" I whispered.

He nodded once.

Then the knock came again.

Slower this time.

Tap… tap… tap.

The fire in the hearth had died to embers. The window showed only fog thick, unmoving.

Kael stood and grabbed the blade tucked behind the firewood.

I followed, heartbeat high in my throat.

"I don't feel anything," I whispered. "No emotion. No presence."

"Exactly," he said.

That was the first bad sign.

Everything alive gave off emotion. Even animals. Even the trees on certain nights.

But whatever was outside?

It was a void.

"Who is it?" Kael called out.

Silence.

Then....a voice.

Feminine.

Soft.

"Kael."

We both froze.

I'd never heard it before.

But Kael had.

I could see it in the way his shoulders dropped, like something old and awful had just pulled itself out of a grave.

"Kael," the voice repeated. "Open the door."

He didn't move.

Didn't breathe.

"Who is it?" I whispered again.

"My sister," he said.

I blinked.

"You said she died"

"She did."

I stepped backward.

Just one step.

Then the door handle rattled.

Like someone testing it.

Still calm.

Still quiet.

Then...scratch.

The sound of nails dragging down the wood.

"Kael," the voice crooned. "You left me. Don't you miss me?"

He didn't answer.

The blade in his hand began to glow faintly. Gold veins, pulsing with his magic. Agitated.

He was unraveling. Quietly.

"What do we do?" I asked.

He looked at me.

And said something that made my skin crawl.

"If it speaks with her voice, it's not her."

"What is it then?"

He didn't answer.

The door let out a groan.

One long creak.

I swore I saw the wood warp inward like it was breathing.

"Let me in, Kael," the voice whispered. "You've always been the favorite. I just want to see your face."

"I buried her," Kael said, as if trying to convince himself. "I burned the grave."

"You left me alone," the voice said.

I felt something then.

Just a flicker.

Not an emotion.

But a hunger.

Old. Cold.

Magic that shouldn't exist.

Kael grabbed my wrist.

"We run."

"But....."

"We're not ready for that thing. Not tonight."

Outside, the doorknob twisted once.

Then again.

Then—

Click.

It opened.

We didn't wait to see what walked in.

We ran.

Out the back. Into the woods. Into the fog.

Behind us, something laughed.

Low.

Soft.

Wrong.