By dusk, the Watchers had vanished.
But the silence they left behind was a warning more than a comfort.
Selene packed quickly—bundles of herbs, spell-scrolls, a dagger etched with runes so old even the trees seemed wary of it. Ronan watched her move, the same way he’d once watched warhorses being saddled: with the quiet dread of a man who knew what came next.
“We have to leave the glade,” she said. “Tonight.”
“You said the forest protected you.”
“It did,” she said, pausing. “Until we changed the rules.”
She didn’t elaborate. She didn’t need to.
They traveled light, on foot. The deeper they went, the older the forest became. Bark like bone. Leaves that shimmered with veins of silver. The path beneath their boots shifted subtly with each step, never quite leading where logic said it should.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“There’s a crossing point,” Selene replied. “A place where Velwyn brushes against the world beyond. We’ll be safer there.”
He didn’t ask from what. The scent on the wind told him enough.
Iron.
Burnt metal and blood.
He slowed. “That’s not fae magic.”
“No,” Selene said, voice tight. “That’s them.”
She stepped ahead, faster now. He followed, hand on the hilt of his sword. The air grew colder with every pace, magic pulled tighter like a net around his ribs.
They crested a ridge—and stopped.
Below, nestled in a hollow of stone, was a camp.
Six figures. Cloaked. Masked. Not soldiers—hunters. Mage-hunters.
And at the center of the clearing stood a black obelisk. It pulsed red like a heartbeat.
“That’s a Binding Stone,” Selene whispered. “They’re trying to anchor Velwyn to the outer world. Trap the forest. Trap us.”
Ronan’s jaw tightened. “Can you break it?”
“Not alone.”
He turned to her. “Then we won’t do it alone.”
Selene looked at him—truly looked—and something shifted behind her eyes. Not just affection. Not just desire.
Trust.
She reached for his hand.
“I’ll bind your blade with fire,” she said. “But you have to let the magic in. Fully. No walls.”
“I already did,” he said, voice low. “The moment I kissed you.”
Their fingers intertwined. A flare of heat surged up his arm—then down into his sword. The metal gleamed amber, runes pulsing.
Below, the hunters turned their heads.
They'd been seen.
Selene’s eyes glowed bright as coals.
“Let’s give them something to fear.”
And together, they stepped into the clearing.