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I send my familiar out one last time, extending my awareness through its form, watching through its eyes as it soars over the mountain stronghold. Stonehaven is alive with quiet preparation—weapons being sharpened, supplies gathered, messages passed in hushed tones. Faces tense with anticipation. A resistance that survived without me, preparing to follow my lead once more.

Putting their faith in a legend they barely know.

But my attention keeps returning to the chamber near mine, where Ellie readies herself without understanding the truth of what may lie ahead. She prepares to walk into danger she can't comprehend, trusting me to guide her through a world built on betrayals.

Despite everything she’s seen of the mind that drives every action.

Despite what she saw when our barriers fell.

She offers me trust I haven't earned. Trust I'm not certain I deserve. Trust that could become my undoing in the hands of Sereven.

Yet there it remains, shimmering like the silver in her eyes. Unexpected. And unwelcome.

But mostly, impossible to ignore … Like her presence in this world. Like the way my shadows reach for her when my guard drops. Like the possibility that, for the first time, I am not entirely alone.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

ELLIE

“The first mercy is distance. The second is clarity. The third, if it comes, is choice.”

Veinwarden Prayers

Dawn hasn’t yet brokenwhen there’s a soft knock on my door. I’m already up and dressed, pacing,waiting.

“Come in.”

It swings open and Mira steps inside. For a moment, I just stand there,staringat her. Then I’m across the room before I register I’ve moved, throwing my arms around her, and clinging with a kind of desperate relief I didn’t even know I was carrying. For one breathless moment, she stiffens, then her hand comes up and rests, briefly but firmly, against my back. No words. Just a solid, human connection I didn’t realize I’d been aching for.

The last time we stood face to face, I was leaving Ravencross, uncertain if I’d ever return, fleeing with Sacha before Authority patrols found him. In that brief window of safety, she’d been the first person to show me kindness, make me feel safe, and become one of the first people I trusted in this world.

Her sharp eyes scan me, like she’s checking for anything out ofplace, then she steps forward and makes small adjustments to my collar, before nodding.

“Vashna tem,Ellie.”Good day.

“Vashna tem, Mira.” My throat is tight around words that have become as familiar as an Earth greeting.

“Meresh kavir.”Time to go.

I gather the small pack I prepared last night. It contains essentials. Waterskin, dried rations, Firebloom Resin, a salve for cuts and burns, a change of clothes, and a bedroll. Tisera helped me put it together, and showed me how to carry it so that it wouldn’t strain my back.

“I’m ready.”

The main chamber beyond my room is empty when she leads me through, which means Sacha must already be waiting to leave. She directs me out of the quarters, along a passageway and through an archway, where a small group of people are waiting. My eyes are immediately drawn to Sacha, where he stands off to one side talking to Lisandra and Varam.

His eyes find mine, almost as though he knew I was coming, and he nods.

“Are you ready?” he asks when I reach him.

“No, but I don’t really have any choice, do I?”

His eyebrow quirks up, in that familiar way I’ve come to recognize as amusement. Not enough for a smile, but still there. “There will be six of us. You, me, Varam, Mira, and two others who will keep our camp outside Ashenvale.”

“How far is it from here?”

“Two days following normal routes. We’ll be using alternative paths that may reduce the distance but are more difficult to traverse. If we maintain a good pace, we should reach Ashenvale before the Day of Order.”

He hands me two pieces of paper. “These are your identification papers. Memorize your name and position. You’re Everen, newly assigned recruit from Flamecross. Speak as little as possible. If questioned, defer to me.”