Keira
Her heart leapt to call for him, to run into his arms and weep for everyday that she had suffered to think he was gone forever.
But she could not move a muscle. Her breath came to her in shallow, panicked gasps.
Caspian was here, this version of him that had also lived these three years without so much as a written word between them.
Years of experiences that she knew nothing about.
Years that might have reshaped him into an entirely different person…
It took several moments to rein in her torturous thoughts, to free herself from their wretched spiral. She had to talk to him… the moment she thought of what to say. Certainly, if she explained…
“Stop there!” Caspian’s voice sounded only feet away.
At the sound of his voice, her heart beat faster, her blood turning to ice.
She wasn’t ready for this. She couldn’t face him, not yet.
Her mind worked through the roaring panic.
She had fallen with her hood still over her face.
He hadn’t seen her. A desperate ploy took form within her.
It was hardly a perfect solution; she just needed to buy herself more time…
Under her breath, she whispered the quick incantation.
The Occulos charm settled like cool liquid over her skin.
Only then did she turn.
Caspian looked down at her, sword pointed at her chin.
She couldn’t help but trace the features of his face.
He was a stranger to her, and yet so achingly familiar it nearly brought her to tears.
Yet, there was no glimmer of recognition in his black eyes as he studied her in kind.
It was a bitter victory as the charm’s magic held.
The Occulos was not a true disguise to alter her form.
It merely confused the eye, altered her appearance to something generic and bland, unrecognizable or significant.
Any without the True Sight would have to study her face closely to see past the illusion.
She’d have to avoid mirrors, which would still show her true reflection, but she hardly thought that would be an issue in the middle of the forest.
“Why have you been following me?” he asked. “Who are you?”
Keira scuttled back, away from the blade, lifting herself onto her elbows. “I’m just a forester- I- I didn’t realize the hour. I saw your fire, and I-” The lies flowed from her tongue so easily, as her panicked mind grasped for anything to avoid the truth.
Caspian’s expression softened as he lowered the blade and sheathed it behind his back. “Why were you hiding?” he asked, offering her his hand.
Keira took it slowly, half expecting to pass through him as if embracing a specter or illusion. Yet, she felt the warmth of his touch spread throughout her body like wildfire.
“I was afraid,” she whispered.
He helped her to her feet, his voice coming in a sigh. “There’s no need to fear me.”