Chapter 24
?──── Kallan (Flashback) ────?
The campfire crackles low, the smoke curling up into a night sky scattered with stars. Beyond the circle of light, the forest is a shadowed wall, quiet except for the rhythmic chirp of crickets.
I lean back against a fallen log, arms folded, watching the others with a small smile. Serenya sits cross-legged next to me, her white hair falling forward as she concentrates on making a thin curl of shadow in her palm—a trick she claims is “just for fun.”
“Careful,” Dimitri drawls from across the fire, lounging as though the hard-packed ground were velvet cushions. “Last time you tried that, half my tent went missing.”
“That was your own fault for taking my caramels,” Serenya shoots back without looking up. The shadow flickers, then forms a tiny winged shape. She sends it darting across the fire toward him. Dimitri bats it away with an exaggerated flinch.
Ravelle chuckles from where she sits beside him, sharpening a dagger, her manicured hands a sharp contrast. “You should know better than to take a lady’s sweets, Prince.”
Alira rolls her eyes from her spot beside Serenya. “Children. The both of you.” She tosses a pinecone at Dimitri. He catches it lazily and lobs it at me.
“Control your princess, golden boy,” he says, laughing when Serenya sends another shadow toward him.
I catch the pinecone, chuckling. “No one controls Renya.”
“Try not to start an actual fight before the mission tomorrow,” Torin says, fighting a grin.
I let the banter wash over me, the warmth of it sinking deep in my chest. This is my favorite kind of night—one with no politics, no bloodshed, just the people I care about most. I almost tell all of them how much they mean to me. But I know I’ll never live it down if I do.
Serenya’s shadow-bird flits back to her, perching in her palm before dissolving into nothing. She glances up, catching my gaze with eyes full of love. Her lips curve, soft and knowing, as if she could hear the thoughts in my head.
I pull her close, and the world narrows to the glow of the fire, her warmth against me, and the sound of our friends’ laughter.
If peace had a heartbeat, it would sound like this.