"Earth to Iris? Hello? Anyone home?"

  Selene's voice broke through my trance. I blinked, suddenly aware of the café sounds rushing back in—cups clinking, conversations humming, the rich scent of coffee that had faded into the background while I was drawing.

  "Sorry," I mumbled, setting down my pencil and flexing my cramped fingers. "Got lost in it again."

  "You've been in another world for like twenty minutes." Selene pushed my now-lukewarm coffee toward me, eyebrow raised. "I was about to check your pulse."

  I looked down at my sketchbook, surprised by what I'd created. What had started as a simple drawing of Le Café des Ombres had evolved into something... different. I'd captured the warm lighting and vintage furniture, but had somehow added strange, swirling patterns in the shadows, symbols hidden in the woodwork, and an odd luminescence to the air that definitely wasn't there. At least, I didn't think it was.

  "This place is just..." I glanced around, struggling to explain the feeling that had overtaken me. "There's something about it. Like there's more here than what you see at first glance."

  Selene's eyes flickered to my drawing, something unreadable crossing her face before she smiled.

  "That's why I thought you'd love it. Best hidden gem in Paris for artists." She leaned closer to examine my sketch. "You've got quite the imagination, though."

  I traced one of the symbols I'd unconsciously drawn into the café's ceiling beams. "Yeah... weird. I don't even know why I drew that."

  "Maybe your artistic subconscious picking up on the architecture?" Selene suggested, but something in the way she studied my drawing made me think she was more interested in my answer than she was letting on.

  "Anyway," she continued, sliding my sketchbook back to me. "We should probably head out if we're going to catch that exhibition at the Petit Palais before it closes."

  I nodded, tucking my sketchbook away and draining the last of my cold coffee. "Lead the way. Though I'm still counting on you for navigation—even after three months in Paris, I still get lost in these winding streets."

  "That's what happens when you grow up in sleepy Bergerac," Selene teased. "Don't worry, country girl. I won't let you get lost."

  Outside, the Paris evening was settling in, the city transforming into its nighttime persona. Streetlamps created pools of golden light, and the air had that particular Parisian evening quality—a mixture of old stone, perfume, and the promise of rain. Selene led us down narrow streets I hadn't explored before, her steps confident.

  "Shortcut," she explained, turning down a quieter alleyway lined with old stone buildings. "Paris is full of hidden passages if you know where to look."

  "How do you always know these secret routes?" I asked, admiring the way the old buildings leaned slightly toward each other overhead, creating frames for the darkening sky.

  "I like to explore," Selene replied with a half-smile. "There's always more to this city than meets the eye."

  The sound of shuffling footsteps behind us made me glance back. Nothing but shadows, but the hairs on my neck stood up.

  "Everything okay?" Selene asked, noticing my unease.

  "Yeah, just—" I paused. "Do you feel like we're being followed?"

  Selene's posture shifted subtly. "Probably just a cat. This neighborhood has tons of them."

  But she changed our direction twice in the next few minutes, taking us down even narrower passages. I was starting to lose my sense of direction when I heard it—footsteps, heavy and uneven, echoing behind us.

  "Selene—" I whispered.

  "I know," she murmured, her hand sliding into her jacket pocket. "Just keep walking normally."

  The footsteps grew closer. A strange scent wafted toward us—something earthy and sour, like wet soil mixed with something I couldn't identify.

  When we rounded the next corner into a dead-end alley, I raised an eyebrow at Selene. "Please tell me this was intentional."

  "Stay behind me," she said, suddenly all business as she turned to face the alley entrance. The casual friend was gone, replaced by someone I barely recognized—someone with the stance of a fighter.

  A figure lurched into view—a man, or what appeared to be one. Tall, hunched in a trenchcoat, moving with an odd, jerky gait. His face was obscured by shadows, but I could see his grin, too wide, with teeth that looked wrong somehow.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Well, well," the figure slurred, his voice oddly layered, like multiple people speaking almost in unison. "What have we here? Two little girls lost in the dark?"

  "We're not lost," Selene said evenly. "Move along."

  The figure tilted its head at an impossible angle. "But we've been looking for you. Or rather, for her." A gnarled finger pointed directly at me.

  My heart hammered. The shadows around the figure seemed to move independently, stretching and contracting. I blinked rapidly, convinced my eyes were playing tricks.

  "Last warning," Selene said, and something in her voice had changed—an authority I'd never heard before. "You're out of bounds. Leave now."

  The figure laughed, the sound splintering into multiple tones. And then—I still don't know how to describe what happened next—the trenchcoat seemed to separate, the figure splitting and collapsing and reforming into... three small, grotesque shapes?

  I stumbled back, my brain refusing to process what my eyes were seeing. Three creatures, barely reaching my waist, with grayish-green skin and overlarge ears, wearing mismatched clothes and bearing wicked grins.

  "What the—" I gasped.

  "Goblins," Selene muttered, pulling something from her jacket—a short rod that suddenly extended into a full-length staff with glowing symbols carved along its length. "Iris, stay back!"

  The first goblin lunged forward, surprisingly fast for its stubby legs. Selene swung her staff in a fluid arc, catching it mid-leap and sending it tumbling across the cobblestones. It recovered quickly, shaking its oversized head and baring yellowed teeth.

  "Pretty stick won't save you," it sneered, its voice like gravel being crushed. "We know what she is."

  The other two goblins circled around, trying to flank Selene. One pulled out a crude knife that glinted dully in the dim light.

  "What do they mean?" I asked, pressing my back against the wall. "What do they think I am?"

  "Not the time, Iris!" Selene pivoted smoothly, her staff a blur as she blocked the knife-wielding goblin and kicked the third one back. Her movements were practiced, precise—clearly not her first fight with these creatures.

  The first goblin darted forward again, but this time aimed for Selene's legs. She jumped over its grasp, but the maneuver left her momentarily off-balance. The knife-wielder saw the opening and slashed at her arm, drawing a thin line of blood.

  Selene hissed in pain but countered with a strike that sent the creature sprawling. "They're coordinating better than usual," she muttered, more to herself than to me. "Someone's been training them."

  I watched in disbelief as my friend—my normal, art-appreciating friend—fought three mythical creatures in a Paris alley. Nothing about this made sense. I had to be dreaming, or hallucinating, or—

  "Iris, look out!" Selene shouted.

  While she'd been handling two of the goblins, the third had circled around and was now rushing straight for me, its clawed hands outstretched and mouth open in a hungry grin.

  I had nowhere to run. Time seemed to slow as the creature came at me—I could see every detail of its mottled skin, the gleam in its too-large eyes, the ragged edges of its patchwork clothing.

  Instinctively, I threw my hands up to protect myself, a cry escaping my lips—

  And that's when it happened. A strange heat rushed through my veins, gathering in my chest and flowing down my arms like liquid fire. It didn't hurt—instead, it felt like a part of me I'd never noticed was suddenly awake and singing. The sensation crested, and bright light erupted from my palms, a concentrated beam that caught the goblin full in the face.

  The creature shrieked, falling backward and clawing at its eyes. "Burning! It burns!"

  Selene didn't hesitate. Taking advantage of the distraction, she spun and struck the disoriented goblin with her staff, then quickly dispatched the other two with swift, precise movements. The goblins collapsed in a heap of gangly limbs, momentarily stunned.

  The light faded from my hands, leaving ghostly afterimages floating in my vision. My knees felt weak, and I leaned heavily against the wall, staring at my palms in disbelief.

  "What—" My voice cracked. "What just happened?"

  Selene approached, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at my hands. "That was—" She shook her head in disbelief. "Have you been trained before? Did someone teach you runic casting?"

  "What? No!" I held my hands away from my body as if they might light up again. "I don't know what just happened!"

  Selene circled me quickly, examining my arms, my clothing. "But there's no runes, no sigils, no focus crystal..." Her voice held a mixture of wariness and wonder. "You just... did magic. Pure light magic. Without any channels or aids." She looked at me with new eyes. "That shouldn't be possible for a human."

  "I don't understand any of this," I said, my voice shaking. "Magic? Runes? Goblins? What is happening?"

  The goblins were groaning now, starting to push themselves up. Selene snapped back to attention, pulling out her phone and putting it to her ear.

  "Roland, this is Selene. I need a cleanup team in the 6th, alley off Rue Saint-André des Arts. Three goblins, temporarily subdued but recovering." She glanced at me, lowering her voice slightly. "And sir, we have a situation. A human just performed magic. No runes, no preparation. Pure light manifestation." She paused, listening. "No, I've never seen anything like it. We're heading to safety point four. Meet us there."

  She pocketed her phone and extended her hand to me. "I know you have a million questions, and I'll answer all of them. But right now, we need to move."

  I stared at her hand, then at the goblins, then at my own hands. None of this could be real, and yet... I could still feel the echo of that power coursing through me, like discovering a room in a house I'd lived in my entire life but somehow never noticed.

  "I don't understand any of this," I said, taking her hand anyway.

  "I know," Selene replied, a mix of sympathy and excitement in her eyes. "But you will. I promise."

  "We're just leaving them here?" I asked, glancing back at the groaning goblins who were starting to stir.

  "Not exactly." Selene pulled something from a pocket inside her jacket—what looked like thin silver chains with small symbols etched along the links. With practiced movements, she quickly bound the goblins' wrists and ankles.

  "Restraints," she explained, seeing my questioning look. "They're temporarily warded—these three won't be going anywhere until the cleanup team arrives." She muttered something under her breath as she finished securing the last goblin, and the symbols briefly glowed blue before fading.

  "That should hold them," she said, standing and dusting off her hands. "Now we really need to go."

  As we hurried away from the alley, I couldn't help looking back one last time. The world I thought I knew was shifting around me, reality rearranging itself into something stranger and more complex than I'd ever imagined.

  And somehow, despite the fear and confusion, a small part of me felt like I was finally seeing clearly for the first time.