Chapter 1

Lena’s POV

The wind had picked up by the time I reached the outskirts of the Forbidden Zone, howling through the trees and sending leaves skittering across the cracked earth. I paused, adjusting the strap of my backpack, the weight of it suddenly more real as I stood at the edge of a line that had kept humans out for decades. Behind me, the remnants of my village were barely visible through the haze, a blur of charred timber and blackened stone.

I hadn’t told anyone where I was going.

Not Julian. Not even Captain Rivas, who had been the one to beg me to stay. "This is too dangerous," she had said, her voice shaking with a mix of worry and frustration. But I couldn’t stay behind. Not after what happened.

It had been weeks since the alien attack. Weeks since I last saw the smoldering ruins of my home, the walls reduced to ash, the bodies of my friends and neighbors scattered in the streets. They hadn’t even spoken. No communication, no warning. Just a violent attack from beings no one understood. No one knew who they were, or why they’d attacked.

And that’s why I was here.

I wasn’t just a scientist—I was one of the few people left who might be able to understand this alien threat. To stop it. But to do that, I needed answers. And the answers, I thought, were out there—on the other side of this boundary, in the heart of the alien kingdom.

I took a deep breath, scanning the horizon.

Then, a voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Are you sure about this, Lena?"

I turned quickly. Julian.

My best friend, my colleague, and the only person who really understood why I couldn’t let go of this. He stood a few feet behind me, his posture tense, his face drawn with concern. His eyes, wide and searching, locked onto mine. He hadn’t followed me, but I had known he would come. Julian was like that—always finding ways to look out for me, even when I didn’t ask him to.

"I told you not to follow me," I said, but there was no real heat in my voice. The fact was, I hadn’t expected him to listen.

He took a few cautious steps closer, his boots crunching the dry leaves beneath them. "I wasn’t going to let you walk into the lion’s den alone."

"I can handle it."

"You’re not handling this," he said, his voice tight with frustration. "Lena, you’re walking into a warzone. No one’s ever gone past the border. It’s forbidden."

I looked at him, shaking my head. "Someone has to. We can’t sit here and pretend everything’s fine. They attacked us, Julian. My village, our people. And they’ll do it again if we don’t understand why."

I could see his jaw tighten. His eyes flicked to the distant mountains where the alien kingdom lay, just beyond the line I was about to cross.

"You think you’ll find answers there?" he asked, his voice softer now. "Or is this about something else?"

I didn’t answer right away. It wasn’t just about the aliens. It was about what happened to me in the attack—the feeling of helplessness, of not knowing, of being left in the dark. My curiosity had become an obsession. I needed to know what they wanted. Why they chose us. Why they chose me.

"You know I can’t rest until I understand it," I said finally, my voice firmer now, with more conviction than I felt. "We’re the only ones who can stop this before it gets worse."

Julian was quiet for a long time, watching me with that look—the one he always had when he was worried I was about to make a mistake. It was a look I’d seen hundreds of times in our years working together, but this time, it was more than just concern. There was something else in his eyes, something I hadn’t seen before.

"I know you’re afraid," he said softly, taking a step closer. "I am, too. But you don’t have to do this alone. Whatever’s out there, we’ll face it together."

I felt a pang of guilt. Julian had always been my anchor, the one person who kept me grounded when I felt like I might lose myself. And here I was, going off into unknown territory, leaving him behind.

"I have to do this, Julian." My voice broke, and I cursed myself for it. "I can’t sit back and pretend everything’s okay when I know we’re still at risk. We’re just waiting for another attack. I can’t… I can’t do that. Not again."

He sighed, the weight of his decision settling between us like a heavy cloak. "If you go," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "I’m coming with you."

I shook my head. "I can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous."

But Julian wasn’t listening. "You’re not doing this alone," he insisted. "I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not."

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could speak, there was a sharp noise in the distance—like the snap of a twig underfoot. We both froze.

"Did you hear that?" Julian whispered, his body going rigid.

"Yes," I said quietly. "I did."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It was too soon. I wasn’t ready for this. The soldiers—they were here. I hadn’t anticipated being found this quickly.

We backed into the shadow of the trees, our breaths shallow, trying to remain as still as possible. My heart pounded in my ears, each thudding beat drowning out everything else. I looked at Julian, my mind racing. He gave me a barely perceptible nod. We’d trained for situations like this before, but we’d never faced anything this dangerous.

The sound of footsteps grew louder. I could see them now—shapes moving in the fog ahead, cloaked in dark armor. Alien soldiers. I could just make out their glowing eyes through the gloom.

My pulse spiked. This was it.

Before I could react, one of them looked in our direction, his head tilting slightly, his glowing eyes narrowing. I reached for Julian’s arm, but he was already moving, pulling me back into the deeper shadows.

“Run,” he hissed.

I was about to sprint when the ground beneath us seemed to tremble, and the unmistakable hum of energy fields surrounded us. A faint light flashed from behind, and a voice—deep, commanding, and impossibly cold—cut through the tension.