It sounded like a wail of agony—shrill and piercing. I winced and resisted the urge to cover my ears.

  The light pulsed again, illuminating every corner of the chamber with an ethereal glow. The shrieking grew even louder, and the statue exploded, scattering fragments across the stone floor in a spray of crystalline shards. A humanoid figure emerged from the dust where the statue once was, and she glared down at us with unveiled rage. She looked eerily like her sister, the Forest Spirit, with long, vine-like green hair—but her skin was pale, almost gold in color, and her eyes were like orbs of midnight. After I burned down the forest all those years ago, I vividly remember the Forest Spirit’s furious gaze, as if she wanted to kill me. That same murderous face stared daggers at me now. Unlike the serene, tear-streaked visage of the statue, the Goddess’ dark eyes promised nothing but wrath.

  Her gaze shifted from me to Woods, who, for the first time in all the years I’d known him, appeared utterly terrified. He took a timid step backward, then another, his confidence replaced by unbridled fear.

  The goddess opened her mouth and screamed again, and the two of us fell backward as an unseen force crashed into us. Then, she leapt from the remnants of her prison and transformed into a streak of light which moved faster than my eyes could track, disappearing through the cave’s exit in a blur.

  Woods and I stared after her, stunned into silence.

  “You saw that, right?” I finally asked, breaking the spell of our shock.

  Woods nodded, but didn’t reply.

  He stood and shakily walked to the exit, peering outside. “No. No, no, no—this can’t be happening.”

  The dread in his voice jolted me into action. I ran to the exit and followed his gaze. Dark, angry clouds had gathered in the sky, and the wind whipped around violently like a storm was imminent. In the distance, I could see that the clouds were churning, forming a vortex or a funnel—and it appeared to be situated directly over my farm. The Goddess hovered in the air at the center of the vortex, her hands outstretched and green lightning crackling from her fingertips.

  I bolted from the cave’s entrance and sprinted back to my farmhouse. My only thought was the safety of my family. Whatever the Goddess was doing, it didn’t appear to be good, and the dread I’d felt earlier had transformed into a full-blown panic.

  Woods shifted into his grizzly bear form and was bounding beside me, his paws rending the ground with every step. Around us, the forest thrashed as if in great pain, the trees themselves groaning and snapping.

  By the time we reached my farm, a tornado had appeared from the vortex and was extending toward the ground. Icy rain and hailstones pelted everything in sight, carried by the angry wind. I pumped my legs harder as the tornado touched the ground and began tearing at the earth, throwing up great clumps of soil.

  “Leia!” I screamed in alarm. “Link! Lucy! Run!”

  The tornado, crackling with green energy, raged through my property in a northward direction. It followed the forest line as it swirled like a black funnel, the trees uprooted and flung aside like twigs. I watched in horror as the tornado banked sharply, heading dangerously close to my barn where the animals were grazing. The cows mooed in a chorus of panic, but before it reached them, the tornado turned again, veering toward my chicken coop.

  Within moments, the tin roof was ripped off, its metallic surface glinting in the fierce winds. Board by board, the entire structure was dismantled, until nothing was left of the oldest building on my farm but a patch of dirt. Luckily, the chickens had been let out to forage and were probably hiding in some bushes somewhere, but the sight of their home’s destruction was like a punch to the gut.

  “My chicken coop!” I yelled in dismay, turning to Woods. “What’s going on? Why is she doing this?”

  Woods didn’t answer. He only stared as the tornado continued its rampage across my property. I glanced back just in time to see it veer again, careening in the direction of Sagewood and leaving a trail of wreckage in its wake.

  “You have to do something!” I pointed toward the town, but Woods couldn’t pull his eyes from the wreckage of my farm. I glanced back at the other buildings, breathing a little easier when I noted that the barn, the greenhouse, and my farmhouse were all still intact. As far as I knew, my family was inside, so no one had been injured. In a stroke of good luck, I also hadn’t lost any animals. Not yet, at least. I turned back to Woods, who stood incredibly still, like he’d been frozen in place.

  “Maybe… maybe there was a reason she was incarcerated all these years…” he said slowly, as if to himself.

  I shook my head and left him to have his existential crisis alone. I ran toward my farmhouse, the door slamming open with force as I barged inside. “Leia? Leia! Are you home?”

  Her figure appeared in the doorway of our room, our two children clinging timidly to her skirts. “Matt!”

  I ran over and embraced all three of them. “Thank goodness you’re all right,” I said, burying my face in her shoulder.

  “Dad! Dad!” Link’s voice was suddenly full of excitement. “There was a tornado outside! Did you see it?”

  “I did, buddy,” I replied. “And I’m so happy that you three are safe.”

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  Leia’s face was filled with concern. “Where did that storm come from?” she asked. “I’ve lived here my entire life, and I’ve never seen anything like that before. I thought the house was going to blow over.”

  “It’s… sort of hard to explain,” I said, leaning in and lowering my voice to keep my words from being overheard by the children. “I got the farm to level ten, and Woods and I… well, we tried to free the Goddess. But something happened. She came out of that statue, and she was angry… she’s the one who created the storm.”

  Leia’s iridescent eyes widened. “The Harvest Goddess? But… why would she do that?”

  “I don’t know.” I glanced down and ruffled both of my kids’ hair. “But she’s gone now, and the storm is heading for Sagewood. I need to go with the sprites and do something to help.”

  I turned to leave, but Leia reached for my hand. “Wait, Matt…”

  “What is it?”

  She seemed suddenly apprehensive. “I… never mind. We can talk about it later.”

  I frowned, my curiosity now piqued. “What is it? Is something the matter?”

  “It’s nothing,” she insisted. “We have other things to worry about. We can talk some other time.”

  My frown deepened, and I turned to face the children. “Link, Lucy, go in the other room for a minute. I need you to look out the window and see if the tornado has changed directions.”

  Link straightened and puffed out his chest. “You got it, dad. Come on, Lucy.” He took his sister’s hand and together, they left me and my wife alone in the hall.

  I crossed my arms and gave Leia an expectant look. “What did you want to talk about, Leia? I can tell it’s important.”

  She chewed her lip. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but with everything going on… I don’t think I can keep it in any longer.” She took a breath and met my gaze. “Matt… I’m pregnant.”

  I blinked in surprise. “You’re… pregnant?”

  She nodded. “I’ve been feeling sick lately, and I went to Dr. Night and, well… we’re going to have another baby.”

  Another baby?

  I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but the words just wouldn’t come. My vision swam. Suddenly, the room started spinning. My chest tightened, and my breaths came in shallow gasps. The reality of everything hit me like a runaway wagon: the farm in chaos, a powerful force of nature unleashed, and now another baby on the way. It was too much.

  “I... I think I’m...” The edges of my vision went dark, and I felt myself tipping sideways.

  “Matt?” Leia’s voice sounded distant, like she was calling to me from the other end of a tunnel. “Matt!”

  ***

  Woods observed the destruction wrought across the farm, unable to comprehend the extent of it. What had taken Matt years to build now lay in ruins, undone in mere seconds. The fields were a chaotic mess, their once-fertile soil strewn haphazardly across the farm’s paths. The chicken coop, a cherished structure crafted by Matt’s grandfather, had been obliterated, its remnants scattered far and wide. Splintered wood and twisted metal were all that remained, the pieces resembling a grim jigsaw puzzle strewn by a vengeful hand.

  The barn, farmhouse, and greenhouse, miraculously untouched, stood as silent witnesses to the devastation. The tornado of nature magic, the source of all this havoc, had mercifully moved on, but its destruction lingered in the oppressive silence that followed.

  Woods took in the scene, feeling a profound sense of loss and helplessness. The air was thick with the scent of disturbed earth and broken vegetation, a poignant reminder of the fragile balance that had been so violently disrupted. The whole ordeal was incredibly unnerving.

  How could the Goddess be evil? All his life, he’d believed in her, hoped she’d come back and restore things, but it seemed she was doing the opposite. How could the legends be so backwards? How could they have gotten it so wrong?

  “What do we do now, Woods?” Reed asked, barely masking his panic. The other sprites were gathered as well, drawn out by the noise of the destruction.

  “I… don’t know,” Woods replied, his voice heavy with uncertainty. Truly, he was at a loss.

  It was an impossible contradiction. The Goddess, once a symbol of hope and restoration, now seemed to embody the very destruction they feared. Woods’ mind churned with disbelief and confusion. How could everything they had believed in be so profoundly wrong?

  The sprites, usually vibrant and lively, now stood in anxious clusters, their eyes reflecting the turmoil in Woods’ heart. The legends they had clung to for so long now felt like a cruel joke.

  Reed’s question echoed in the tense silence, the other sprites looking to Woods for guidance. He could feel their eyes on him, their hope now a fragile, trembling thing. But for once, Woods had no answers, no reassuring words. He could only stand there, sharing in their bewilderment and fear, as they faced the unsettling reality of their shattered beliefs of the Goddess.

  “We should probably go help the people of Sagewood, don’t you think?” Clay’s voice broke through the stunned silence.

  Woods turned to look in the direction of the tornado, the destructive force of magic and green lightning still visible on the horizon. Whole uprooted trees, pieces of buildings, and massive rocks were jumbled together amidst the swirl of magic. Indeed, the Goddess’ destructive spell was headed toward Sagewood and would reach the town in minutes.

  “You’re right, Clay. We should help. In any way we can.”

  “What if we’re seen?” Ivy asked anxiously.

  Woods shrugged, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on the tornado. “I think it’ll be all right. The townspeople have much more to fear now than us.”

  ***

  I woke up on the floor, Leia’s worried face hovering above me. “You passed out!” she said, her concern mingled with amusement. “You never faint.”

  I groaned and pushed myself to sit on the floor, still feeling dizzy. “You’re having a baby? We already have two babies, Leia. Add one more and that’s three babies! We’ll be outnumbered!” I glanced up at her, trying to recall any memory at of when we’d been alone together the past spring. “How did this happen?”

  She laughed, tears glistening in her eyes. “Take a deep breath, sweetheart. We’ll handle it all, one thing at a time. Let’s start with you getting off the floor.”

  I laughed weakly, despite the panic still buzzing in my veins. I couldn’t hear any noises from the outside—maybe the Harvest Goddess’ wrath had been expended?

  Leia helped me to my feet, and I took a few deep breaths. “Leia, I have to go. Um—stay inside with the kids and try to stay safe.”

  She took my hand, her expression growing concerned. “Must you go? Surely, the sprites will be able to handle things without you.”

  I squeezed her hand. “I wish I could stay,” I whispered. “But I started this whole mess. It’s my responsibility to clean up. Besides, I can’t just leave the people of Sagewood to fend for themselves. It wouldn’t be right.”

  She eyed me for a long moment before nodding. “All right,” she whispered back. “Take care of yourself, Matt Miller. You have responsibilities here, too, you know.”

  I leaned in and kissed her. “I promise that I’ll come back to you.”

  Just then, a clap of thunder boomed in the distance. This was followed shortly by a knock at my front door, and then a pale-looking Woods peeked inside. “I’m sorry, I know you said don’t ever open the door when you and Leia are alone in the farmhouse together, but… you’ve got to come with us, Matt. We’ve got to fix whatever’s going on.”