We found ourselves swept along in a tide of armored soldiers and frantic palace staff, barely able to keep our bearings as the halls echoed with shouts of "to the walls!" and "ready the defenses!" Sabrina was practically vibrating with excitement, her hands clasped together like a little kid on Christmas morning. Jeanna, meanwhile, was openly ogling every passing guard, her eyes dancing with mischief.

"Jeanna," I hissed, grabbing her by the arm. "Can you please stop flirting with every dude in a helmet? We’re about to be overrun by god-knows-what."

"Relax, Alice," she said, patting my hand like I was the one being unreasonable. "If I’m going to die in some alternate universe, I might as well have fun before it happens."

"Fun?!" I shot her a look. "Do you not realize we might get eaten by whatever is out there?"

Jeanna shrugged, completely unfazed. "If they’re monsters, maybe I’ll tame one. Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up with a hot, brooding monster boyfriend."

Sabrina, overhearing, giggled. "She has a point. We don’t know how this world’s rules work. Maybe you’ll get a monster boyfriend, Jeanna, and I’ll meet a duke and—"

"—get swept off your feet, live happily ever after, blah blah blah," I interrupted, rolling my eyes. "Can we focus on not dying right now?"

The prince appeared beside us, his movements fluid as he adjusted the sword strapped to his waist. His demeanor had shifted; the laid-back, slightly amused expression he’d worn earlier was gone, replaced by a sharp, commanding air.

"Listen," he said, addressing us without preamble. "You three may have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into, but you’re here now, and there’s no time to waste."

"Wait," Sabrina said, looking puzzled. "What are these creatures we’re up against?"

The prince’s jaw tightened. "Shadow beasts. Creatures of darkness that appear when the moon is high, drawn to the magic of the kingdom. They’re relentless, vicious, and nearly impossible to kill with ordinary weapons."

"Shadow beasts?" Jeanna perked up. "That sounds... kinda sexy."

I groaned, smacking my forehead. "Jeanna, if you don’t stop—"

The prince ignored us, continuing with a grim look. "You’re outsiders, which means you don’t belong here. The beasts are attracted to things that don’t fit into this world’s natural order, which makes you targets."

Sabrina’s eyes widened. "So we’re in danger because we’re from another world?"

"Exactly," the prince said. "Your presence has disrupted the balance, and now the beasts are coming."

"Great," I muttered. "First we get zapped into a weird fantasy world, now we’re monster bait. Fantastic."

The prince gave me a sharp look. "We’ll protect you as best we can, but you need to stay out of the way. If things go wrong, get to the palace’s safe rooms."

Sabrina, ever the optimist, smiled brightly. "Don’t worry, Your Highness! I’m sure we’ll be just fine. After all, we might be the heroes of this story!"

The prince’s lips twitched into a half-smile. "Let’s hope your optimism holds up."

As we were led to the palace walls, the atmosphere became even more intense. The night had fallen quickly, and the moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie glow over everything. From the top of the wall, we could see the fields beyond the palace grounds, shrouded in shadows that seemed to writhe and pulse like a living thing.

Sabrina gasped. "Is that… smoke?"

"No," the prince said grimly. "It’s them."

And then, we saw them.

Emerging from the darkness were creatures unlike anything I’d ever seen—hulking, shadowy figures with glowing red eyes and jagged, shifting forms. They moved like liquid, sliding over the ground with an unnatural grace, their bodies twisting and reforming as they advanced toward the palace.

"Those are the shadow beasts?" Jeanna asked, leaning on the wall with a disturbingly excited look on her face. "They’re kind of… hot."

"Jeanna!" I snapped. "They’re not hot, they’re horrifying! Look at them!"

The beasts let out low, rumbling growls that seemed to vibrate the very air around us. The guards were tense, their weapons drawn, though the prince had made it clear that regular swords wouldn’t do much against these monsters. Are they stupid or just pure bravado?

"How do we stop them?" I asked, gripping my trekking pole a little tighter, though I wasn’t sure what good it would do against a literal shadow.

The prince glanced at me. "Magic. Only magic can hurt them."

"Great," I said dryly. "We don’t exactly have magic on hand."

"Actually…" Sabrina started, looking thoughtful. "Maybe we do."

I turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Sabrina rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a small, ornate book. "I found this in one of the shops we passed earlier. I thought it looked interesting, so I bought it. It’s full of spells and incantations."

I blinked. "You bought a spellbook? When?"

"When you were busy saving that kid," she said with a shrug. "I was curious."

"Are you seriously telling me that you—" I started, but the prince cut me off.

"Let me see that." He grabbed the book from Sabrina’s hands, flipping through its pages. His eyes scanned the text, and he muttered something under his breath before looking up at us. "This could work."

"You’re kidding," I said. "You mean the random book Sabrina picked up actually has useful magic?"

"It seems so," the prince said, his eyes narrowing. "If we can figure out how to cast one of these spells, we might be able to push the beasts back."

"Great!" Sabrina said, clapping her hands. "Let’s start casting then!"

"Uh, wait a minute," I said, holding up a hand. "Who exactly is going to cast these spells? Because none of us know how to use magic, and I’m not about to start throwing random incantations around without knowing what they do."

The prince considered this, then turned to Sabrina. "You seem to have a natural connection to the magic of this world. You might be able to channel the spell."

Sabrina’s eyes sparkled. "Really? Oh, this is just like in those stories where the main character discovers they have magic powers! I knew I was destined for greatness!"

Jeanna, meanwhile, was still eyeing the approaching beasts like she was about to ask one of them out on a date. "I wonder if they can shapeshift into something… less shadowy. Like, maybe a really ripped knight."

"I hate you both," I muttered, irritably. I shouldn't have agreed to meet them now look what happened?

The prince, choosing to ignore Jeanna’s comments, handed Sabrina the book. "Focus on this spell here," he said, pointing to a page filled with strange symbols. "It’s a basic warding spell. If you can get it right, it should form a barrier strong enough to keep the beasts at bay."

Sabrina nodded eagerly, flipping the book open. "Okay, let’s do this!"

We stood on the wall as Sabrina began reciting the incantation, her voice trembling slightly at first but growing stronger as she continued. The air around us seemed to hum with energy, and I could feel a faint warmth radiating from the book.

The beasts were getting closer, their growls growing louder as they neared the palace gates.

"Come on, Sabrina," I muttered under my breath. "You’ve got this."

Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the book, spreading outwards in a shimmering wave. It shot toward the beasts, and they screeched in unison, recoiling as the light hit them. The ones at the front of the pack dissolved into wisps of shadow, vanishing into the night.

"It’s working!" Sabrina shouted, her face alight with triumph.

Jeanna, watching the remaining beasts retreat, pouted. "Aw, I didn’t even get to see if they were secretly hot."

I shot her a glare. "Get your priorities straight, Jeanna."

The prince, looking satisfied, stepped back. "Well done. You’ve just saved the palace from a serious threat."

Sabrina beamed. "See? I told you I’d be the hero!"

I sighed, leaning on my trekking pole. "This world just keeps getting weirder."

Seriously, what even our roles and everyone here for? 

And with that, the beasts were gone—at least for now. But I had a feeling this was only the beginning of what we were about to face in Lunaris.