Chapter 49: Three Warnings, One Mistake - 3
Rein hadn’t noticed her return.
One moment, she was gone—disappeared into ash and moonless dark like a sulking shadow.
The next, she was beside him again. Closer than before.
No apology. No comment. Just fingers toying with his sleeve like she’d never left.
It should have been a quiet night.
They hadn’t made a fire, but they sat close anyway—closer than usual.
The blight warped the cold here, made it sticky, like fingers brushing your neck in the dark. No one liked being alone in it.
Zeraka had positioned herself directly at Rein’s side, tail wrapping possessively around his ankle.
Valaithe leaned against his other shoulder, humming tunelessly into his ear.
Elaris kept her blade balanced on her lap and didn’t blink once.
Caelia stood like a pillar just outside the circle, arms folded, eyes on the dark beyond.