Chapter 24 – The Ones Who Remember Flame
At dawn, Hollowrest breathed.
The village came alive in gentle rhythms—wood creaked under barefoot children, cooking fires crackled with spice and ash, and somewhere in the distance, a chime rang three times. Not a warning. Not a summoning. Just a reminder:
You're still alive.
Raen sat by the stream, his fingers tracing the water's skin. Cold, real, impossibly still.
He hadn't slept. Not because of nightmares—but because, for once, they hadn't come. The Threadrift had stopped whispering for a moment. Or perhaps... he had stopped listening.
He watched mist curl around his hands.
There were no reflections in this stream. Only depth.
"You're healing," Whisper said from behind.
He didn't turn.
"That's what this place does, right?"
She nodded and sat beside him, hugging her knees.