Chapter 9 #2
The words settle in me with a strange weight.
Leaving. I should be relieved. But when I look at her, a pang runs through me.
I’ll miss her. She feels like a lifelong friend—maybe even the younger sister I never had.
And the truth hits me harder: I might never see her again.
If the King has answers, he might send me home.
“I wish I could go,” Sirona says suddenly, her gaze going distant, wistful. “Then I could see Kyler.”
Something stirs in my memory—she mentioned a boy once, in passing, when I wasn’t really listening. This time, I lean in. “Kyler?”
Her whole face lights up. “He and his twin sister grew up on this side of Knollwood. They were Lowan’s friends first, so they were always around.
” She tucks her knees up in the chair, her voice softening.
“When I turned sixteen, things changed. He never touched me—he wouldn’t, especially not with my brother looming.
But he’d sit with me. We’d talk for hours every time he visited. ”
I feel my lips curve despite myself. “And then? Still just sitting and talking these days when he visits?”
Her cheeks flush. “Once the King’s Guardians recruited him and his sister, their visits decreased. I understood. They’re shapeshifters, both of them, and that’s rare.” Her voice goes quiet, almost reverent. “We gave in about a year ago, finally. He still visits when he can. And we write letters.”
I’m struck by how different she seems in this moment—mature, steady, quietly in love. I’ve been brushing her off as a chatterbox, but she’s been living an entire story right in front of me. A patient story. A beautiful one.
“Sirona,” I whisper, almost afraid of the words. “I want answers… but part of me wants to stay. Doesn’t want to return. What does that mean?”
She turns to face me fully, her hazel eyes blazing with conviction. “Fate brought you here—to this realm, to this place—for a reason. If you come from the mortal realm, then a strong Thread ties you here. I hope you find the answers you seek, but I hope you won’t ignore that truth either.”
I clear my throat, overcome with something dangerously close to affection. I need to change the subject before I cry again. “A shapeshifter? He and his sister?”
She grins, delighted. “Yes. Everyone knows Kyler and his hawk form—and the terrifying lynx that is Remli.”
The circle feels different after everything—quieter, heavier. I’m not training today. I sit in the moss, watching sunlight filter through the branches, letting the woods breathe around me. My body’s still weak, but my head feels clearer.
When I look up, he’s there. Just there. One moment, the clearing is empty; the next, he stands at the edge, black hair stirring in the wind. How does he always do that? I don’t ask.
“I guess you heard,” I say instead, my voice a little rough. “I’ll be leaving soon.”
He doesn’t respond, only watches.
“I’m sure you can’t wait,” I press on, “for things to go back to normal around here. I’m hoping the King will have some answers for me, and then things can go back to normal for me, too.”
Finally, he speaks. “Selene will escort you.”
My head tilts. “Selene?”
“Her gift is tracking. She can find—or avoid—anyone, depending on what’s needed. It makes her invaluable on a journey like this.”
I frown. Selene. I’ve had one cup of tea with her, during which she accurately predicted my cycle. Hardly the best introduction to a travel companion. He goes on. “You’ll have to lie low. Your hair makes you obvious, and outside these lands, people might do more than whisper about it.”
I nod slowly as unease coils through me. He exhales, almost a sigh. “And wherever Selene goes, Zillah follows. So you’ll have her too.” That settles me. Zillah, I know. Zillah, I trust—at least, as much as I can trust anyone here.
“Good,” I murmur.
“You can keep training with her on the road. Your shielding still needs refinement.”
“Right,” I say, because what else is there?
He pauses and then adds, “And of course, I’ll be going as well.”
My head whips around. “You?”
“Yes.” His tone is flat, like it’s obvious. “I won’t let my sister and her Bonded take on that kind of danger alone, no matter how capable they are.”
My chest tightens. “And me? Am I just a liability you’ll have to babysit?”
Something flickers across his face, so quick I nearly miss it. “No,” he says. “I have complete faith in your abilities. I’ve seen you fight. I’ve trained you myself. You are… remarkable.” The word hangs in the air between us. My throat goes tight.
“But you’ve never been beyond these woods,” he continues. “You’ve never seen what magic can do when someone truly wants to harm you. I won’t send you out there unprepared. So I’ll keep training you on the road until you can defend yourself in any realm.”
My heart stumbles at that. Any realm. He straightens, silver eyes steady on mine. “That way, when we leave you with the King, I’ll know that wherever you go next, you’ll be ready.”
Four days later, our departure is set.
On my last night, I lie down in the room that has become a small sanctuary. Four walls, a fire, the soft quilt—these have been safety in a world that has given me nothing but questions. Tomorrow I will leave it behind.
I drift into sleep, and the dream takes me to the circle. I’m lying on my back in the grass, with the night sky open above me—a raven wings across the clearing, dark against the stars.
Mist curls around me, shifting like smoke.
Through it, I see her—my mother. Copper hair lifting in a phantom breeze, her eyes soft, her arm stretched toward me as though beckoning me home.
For a heartbeat, her wrist tattoo glints faintly against her brown skin as she reaches.
My throat tightens. I try to move toward her, but the mist thickens—and she is gone.
The swirl reforms. This time it’s a man. His features blur, indistinct, but his eyes burn clear and green, the same green as mine. I can’t breathe. I don’t know who he is, but I feel the weight, as if he matters. As if I should know. Then the mist shreds, and he too vanishes.
Another flash—Lowan. The memory of his hand lifting toward my face, his silver gaze locked on mine, his hands holding me as we danced. For an instant, it feels like more than memory, more than dream—and then the circle of mist folds him away.
I jolt awake, heart pounding. The fire in the grate has burned low, embers fading to ash. I curl beneath the blanket, staring into the dim light, every image replaying in my mind. My mother. The man. Lowan.
Sleep will not come again for a long time, though gods know I need it. Tomorrow, the journey begins.