Chapter 29 – The Name She Carved in Blood
The mist thickened as Raen and Keir crossed the edge of the Shattered Valley. Ashveil moved beside them, silent but tense. The winds spoke in broken whispers, like voices trying to remember how to scream.
Keir squinted ahead. "Something's off. Even for this nightmare of a realm."
Raen nodded. "I feel it too. Like something familiar is watching us."
That's when the wind stilled.
And a voice spoke behind them.
"Raen... you came back to me."
Raen froze.
Keir turned, hand on his sword, but it was Raen who reacted first. His breath caught, body tense—not with fear, but something older. Regret. Guilt. Rage.
She stood beneath the broken moonlight, barefoot on glass-like water. Her dress was soaked in crimson—not fresh blood, but memory made flesh. Her eyes shimmered violet, unnatural and beautiful. Hair like threads of nightfall.
"Sarael."
The name left his lips like a curse.