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She stared up at the cave ceiling as sleep pulled at her. "I wish I could help you."

She reached out once, her fingers brushing his thick fur.

He huffed but didn't pull away.

That night, she dreamed of starlight.

And woke to skin.

She blinked slowly, brain foggy, the weight beside her suddenly unfamiliar.

Her hand, once buried in fur, now rested on warm skin.

She froze.

So did he.

She turned—and found herself staring into a pair of wide, pale brown eyes. Human eyes. Set in a scruffy, bearded face, wild with confusion.

He looked down. Realized.

He was naked.

They both bolted upright—stumbling, startled, air punched from their lungs by sheer disbelief.

He scrambled to cover himself, twisting to shield his body. Wide-eyed, she tossed the blanket to him without a word.

They stared at each other in stunned silence.

Something magical had just had happened.

Something impossible.

The whispers in the wind danced like startled birds in her mind, and one thread of truth shimmered among them.

The Forgotten had come back.

No one ever had.

Until now.

Chapter 45

Seren

Seren stood at the edge of the forest, the sky around her awash in twilight indigo and deep gold. Her cloak was pulled tight against the wind, her braid tucked beneath the hood.

She had made her calls.

The arrangements were in place.

The last few days had passed beneath the stone arches of the old caves, deep beyond the forest—where no one dared go. They were whispered to be haunted, cursed. But she found peace there.

The bear had stayed close. Getting accustomed to his new shape. But he refused to speak. It was clear that he understood the Wolven language. And yet not a word passed his lips. He only listened and followed.

He brought her offerings: bright berries, edible roots, moss-wrapped bulbs. He ate meat—but never around her. She had spoken to him in her way, and he listened with his ancient eyes. It hadn't been easy to give him the slip to do what needed doing.

Now, she stood at the threshold of the town square, near the sacred pool. The courtyard was mostly empty—only the guards on rotation, and a few traders clearing out for the night.