The Immortal’s Vow

Threshold of Mystery

The wind howled through the night, whipping through the trees like a feral thing, its chill biting through even the thick layers of Lyra’s jacket. She zipped it up tighter, fingers brushing against the delicate tattoo on her wrist, the one that read “Lyra” in elegant, black ink. A small reminder of who she was, especially in moments like this when nothing seemed certain.

She gazed out the window, watching the darkened shapes of trees blur by. The distant glow of Evervale was a memory behind them now, the town’s lights barely visible through the thickening clouds. The night had that sharp, biting cold only autumn could bring, and Lyra silently thanked herself for wearing the thick jacket and boots.

The last thing she needed was to be underdressed for an ill-advised adventure into a restricted ruin.

Her absent-minded fingers had pulled her sun kissed brown hair into a ponytail, attempting to keep it from whipping into her face. The wind had other ideas, though, and no matter how tightly she tied it, it pulled strands loose. Lyra managed to catch a glimpse of herself in the side mirror, light brown eyes staring back into her face, anticipation and doubt caught in their wake. This nagging feeling that this was probably one of the worst ideas she had ever agreed to refused to budge.

"Lyra, ready?"

It was Ivy's voice that pulled her from her reverie. She turned to see her friend leaning against the doorway of her dorm room, already dressed for the night: puffer jacket, skinny jeans, and combat boots, which somehow managed to be both practical and cute.

Her long auburn hair was woven into a neat braid, swinging over one shoulder, and she had a backpack slung over her arm, filled with supplies—flashlights, snacks, and whatever else she thought they might need.

Lyra nodded, grabbing her own bag. “Yeah, I’m ready. I’m still shocked that we are going ahead to do this.

Ivy grinned, practically buzzing with excitement. “I know, right? It feels like we’re in one of those mystery TV shows or something. This is going to be so much fun.”

“Fun,” Lyra muttered, pulling her jacket tighter. It didn’t exactly feel like fun. It felt more like “trespassing,” or worse. But Ivy’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Lyra couldn’t deny that part of her—a part that had grown weary of the repetitive cycle of lectures and assignments—was eager for something different. Something thrilling.

And then there was Rhett. Spending more time with him wasn't exactly an unpleasant idea. It was complicated–there was this dance between friendship and something more, none of which had really dared explore at all. They were "just friends" now, yet beneath that, the unsaid tension simmered between them as though a "constant". It was comforting, maddening.

Coming out of the building, the cold slapped them hard. The wind was bitter, seemed to push them sideways as they crossed the campus parking lot. Rhett's car was already running, its headlights cutting through the dark. Inside, Lyra could see Harrison hunched over in the front seat, no doubt fiddling with some GPS app or doing more research about the ruin.

Rhett leaned against the car, his hands jammed into his jacket pockets, seemingly unconcerned that the sharp wind whipping through the tangles of his hair cut like a razor. There was something almost serene in him; his gray eyes scanned the horizon as if deep in thought.

When he noticed them approaching, he pushed off the car and flashed a small smile.

“Took you long enough,” he teased, his tone light.

“Sorry,” Ivy replied, feigning innocence. “A girl’s gotta be prepared for a late-night ruin crawl. You wouldn’t want us freezing, would you?”

Rhett chuckled, shaking his head. “Nope. Definitely not.”

They climbed into the car, the warmth inside a welcome reprieve from the icy wind. Lyra slid into the backseat beside Ivy, while Rhett took the driver’s seat.

Harrison, looking like he was on the brink of discovering buried treasure, turned around with a grin.

“Are you guys ready for this?”

Lyra replied with a skeptical glance, “I don’t know if ‘ready’ is the phrase I want to use. But we are already here, so may as well finish it.”

“That’s the spirit!” Harrison laughed, turning back around as Rhett started the engine. The car rumbled to life, and they pulled out of the lot, the lights of the campus quickly disappearing behind them.

The drive was long and quiet, the conversation drifting in and out. Occasionally, Harrison would check his phone for directions, and Rhett would comment on the worsening weather—the wind howling louder now, and the dark clouds overhead threatening rain.

Once they cleared the outskirts of Evervale, the road contracted to a meandering track through thick forest. The headlights cast a bright glow on the curvy branches of the trees, which were swaying in the wind like a skeleton's hands trying to reach out for their prey. The atmosphere was stifling as if the night was filled with contents, not air, and was still in preparation for some event that was about to unfold.

“This is crazy,” Ivy muttered next to Lyra but was almost inaudible due to the roaring wind.

“I can’t believe we’re actually going to that ruin.”

“It’s off-limits for a reason,” Rhett muttered from the front. “This place has a reputation for being unsafe.”

Harrison waved off the concern with a dismissive hand.

“It’s fine. We’ll be careful. They’ve just closed it off because of the renovations. It’s not dangerous.”

Lyra threw her head back in disbelief.

"Harrison, you always make such promises for every task. You embody the mantra 'it’s fine' and trust me, it never is.”

He turned around in his seat to flash her a grin. “Come on, Lyra. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Back on campus,” she muttered, though she couldn't help but smile.

The minutes ticked by, the road growing rougher as the trees seemed to close in. The headlight beams of Rhett's car barely punctured the darkness, and Lyra could feel her heart start to quicken. The ruin was nearby, now; they were getting close to the point of no return.

"Almost there," Harrison said, glancing at his phone. "It's just up ahead."

Rhett slowed the car as they approached what was left of a crumbling stone archway, halfhidden by overgrown vines and foliage. Beyond it loomed the faint outline of the ruins, a dark, jagged shape against the starless sky.

Rhett parked the car, turned off the engine, leaving them in near silence but for the relentless wind battering trees.

There was a brief pause as the impact of their actions bore down upon them like a heavy hammer. Lyra’s heart was beating fast inside her chest, this time not from fear, and quite the contrary, she felt elation, pure, raw as an electric current coursing inside her.

"Well," said Harrison, breaking the silence with a wide grin. "Ready for a little adventure?"