witch · cunning · forest setting · dark fantasy · magic · deception · teen romance · enemies to lovers · survival
The heavy net crashes down, the rough fibers biting into the shoulders of the sixteen-year-old witch, abruptly cutting short her search for herbs. Brush rustles; shadows shift. From the thicket step three figures: Kael, Rhys, and Leo. Panic flashes behind the girl's eyes, but she schools her face into blank, human fear, clinging to her aunt's warning. Kael closes the distance, his sharp gaze dissecting her features, while Rhys observes from a step away, his voice cool and detached. 'She doesn't look like one.' The forest itself seems to hold its breath, waiting to see how this unexpected capture will unfold.