Chapter 31: Soft places to fall
The sky was a bruised kind of grey that morning—the kind that promised a storm but held back just enough to keep everyone uneasy. The forest around them was quiet. Too quiet.
Lucien had gone off with Eira again, probably arguing over something stupid like who was better at swordplay. Ayden was sharpening blades by the fire, as focused as ever, lost in thought. Cain was speaking with one of the elders from Valemire, trying to decode the meaning of the vision they'd found in the soul well.
And Selene... Selene had slipped away.
She walked deeper into the woods, following no path, letting her boots sink into the moss and fallen leaves. Her breath came in slow, aching gulps, and she hated how her chest felt tight—as if something invisible had wrapped around her ribs and squeezed.
It had been so long since she'd thought about her parents.
Not Ezekiel. Not the brothers.
Her real parents.
She could still remember the way her father used to whistle while fixing broken tools. The way her mother braided her hair before bed, humming softly, hands warm against her scalp.
She'd buried those memories for so long, trying to be strong for Cain, trying to fit into this chaotic, cursed world. But here—where the quiet felt like a mirror—everything came rushing back.