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The anxious energy she had felt from the night before carried into the next morning.

Her mind was foggy from lack of sleep and the simple task of getting dressed seemed daunting.

Regardless, she stared at her options and chose a light blue dress with a white, lacey trim.

As she reached for it, her hand hovered, twitching at her side.

Why couldn’t she let it go? The stranger.

She closed her eyes only to picture the day before. It was like something had settled in her , lodged beneath her skin like splintered glass.

She yanked the dress from its hook with more force than necessary and pulled it over her head. The fabric clung where her skin was damp with sweat.

She moved slowly as she tied the stringed corset behind her back and smoothed the fabric. She should be over it. It was one incident. One man. And yet, her mind told her something wasn't right.

She knelt to pull on her boots, fingers trembling at the laces.

"This is ridiculous," she whispered to the empty room .

She rose and padded softly across the wooden floor toward the kitchen. Breakfast, she told herself. Just eat. Maybe food would help.

She sliced an apple with stiff fingers, not really tasting as she chewed. Her mind refused to sit still. Like a candle flame too close to an open window, it flickered, and flickered, and flickered.

“What is wrong with me?” she whispered to herself as she grabbed a cup for tea.

Watching the water boil, she tried to reason why her gut would be screaming at her. She swallowed hard. Then, as if talking to herself would help, she began to list options that might help out loud:

“Option one… ” Her voice was dry as she poured the bubbling mixture into a sieve. “…find a way to protect myself and my students in case there is more to what happened. Something for the classroom, maybe?” This option did the most to calm her mind. She wasn’t a fighter, but she could be.

“Option two,” she continued, taking the liquid and bottling it into a large jug, “ask someone for a sleeping draught. Something strong. If I can’t fix the fear, maybe I can just… sleep through it.” Her shoulders sagged at that one. That felt like surrender.

“Option three…” she grabbed a lemon and squeezed it into the freshly brewed tea, “go to Bryn and see if I’m making myself crazy for nothing .”

She paused and looked at the brown fluid as it swirled with the acid from the lemon .

The healer’s quarters isn't far from the schoolhouse, I can go there after class.

With that final thought, she grabbed her bag and stepped outside into the crisp morning and made her way to school, stopping frequently to observe anything that made her heart lighter. Flowers. Wild rabbits running along the trail.

By the time she had finished the short walk to her schoolroom, she felt better.

Propping her door open, she waved in the gathering students.

Giving each one a brisk high-five, she counted them.

As the last child stepped in, a little girl with blonde pigtails, Blair realized three students were missing.

Waiting as long as she could for them, she finally closed the door and walked to the front of her classroom.

Her eyes surveyed the room and the small children that sat at the scattered circular tables.

As she inhaled to say good morning, the door opened and a boy with light curls entered.

She immediately noticed that his eyes were rimmed red.

Walking up to him as she instructed the others to talk to each other.

Approaching him slowly, she took note of just how puffy his eyes actually were. His body slouched, displaying his exhausted demeanor. “Jaycen?" she called softly, crouching next to him. "Is everything okay?"

He stepped into her slowly, a pack slung over one shoulder, his fingers curled around the strap. He didn’t look up at her right away.

“No," he said, voice low.

“What’s going on?”

He hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I had a nightmare. "

"Nightmare?” she repeated gently. Him too?

Jaycen nodded. "About shadows and not normal ones. They move on their own. They look like people, but... wrong. They’re all black, like they’re made of smoke."

Blair’s chest tightened as she grabbed his hand. "That sounds scary," she whispered.

James looked up at her then, his brown eyes steady, as if he agreed wholeheartedly.

"It is. I’m scared to sleep." he whispered, looking down at the floor.

A silence settled between them, deep and fragile. Blair glanced toward the back corner of the room where the light didn’t quite reach.

“I’ll tell you what, why don't you go rest for a while and I’ll keep watch.” she said with a wink, motioning to the table sitting in the far corner.

Jaycen gave a small nod. "Okay. You’ll keep the lights on?"

His words, simple and innocent, hit her harder than she expected. She smiled, even as her hand trembled faintly against his.

“I promise." she said, standing and walking with him to the back.

Throughout her lessons, she watched him and the deep sleep he fell into.

During math, he twitched and while she read out loud he snored, which caught the attention of a few peers.

Blair continued through her teaching, checking in on him when she could.

The only time she interfered with his rest was at the end of the day when everyone had already packed up .

Jaycen blinked his eyes open as she rubbed his back. “Hey, it’s time to go home.” she said lightly as he continued to work through the drowsiness.

His brown eyes focused in on her, much brighter than they had been when he had first entered. “I feel better,” he said, stretching. “Thank you.”

“As you should. Maybe ask for a lantern tonight to help. Just know, this corner is always available to you when you need it.” Blair reassured him with a bright smile.

Jaycen stood and grabbed his bag with a slight pause, “Ms. Griffin. Are they real? The shadows I’m dreaming of? ”

Blair watched as he stiffened, waiting for her response.

“The only shadows I’ve seen are the ones on the playground when you play hopscotch and the ones you create with sock puppets.”

With that, he nodded and squeezed her tightly in a hug. After a few moments, he let go and quickly hoisted his bag on his shoulder, walking out of the door.

Blair, on the other hand, stood frozen for a few minutes, contemplating the fear she had just witnessed in a mere child. A nightmare about shadows? Had yesterday spooked him just as bad?

Mentally replaying his words and the worry in his voice, she grabbed her bag and left her classroom, heading down the path to the Healer.

It didn't take long to walk there in her haste, her head filling with a variety of questions.

She approached the familiar door and pulled it open, immediately being hit by a tidal wave of smells.

Healing oils. Looking around at the tan walls, she walked up to the counter where Bryn's apprentice sat.

“Is the Healer available?” she asked, tapping her fingers along the dark wood of the counter.

He looked up from the stone mortar and pestle he had in his hands, “She’s preparing a salve, but I’ll go ask.” He stood quietly and walked down a small hallway that led to a back area.

Blair's fingers continued to tap until she heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, she met the eyes of Bryn. Eyes of golden honey, she appeared exhausted. Her hair was high on her head in a ponytail, but some strands hung loose like she had been working endlessly.

“How can I help you?” Bryn implored, a courteous smile forming on her face.

“I..” Blair closed her mouth, forming her circling thoughts into words, “..the man that came into town hurt, the stranger.. Is he going to be okay?”Bryn exhaled through her nose at Blair's question, her body stiffening.

“I can't say much but I will tell you he is healing. I was able to close most of the cuts.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Blair nodded slowly, “Do you know what happened to him? I’ve never seen injuries like that before.”

Bryn did not respond at first, but Blair thought she saw the smallest dilation of the Healer's eyes. “I do not know for sure; the important thing is that he survived and is now healing. ”

Blair shifted her weight, crossing her arms in front of her. “I need to know.. Is there a reason to worry? Should we be concerned about what attacked him?”

Bryn clenched her jaw and stared at Blair for a moment, “I shouldn't give too much information away.”

Blair nodded and stepped closer to Bryn. “I know and I’m sorry for intruding but if I’m being honest, I don't feel right. I feel like something is off.”

This time, Blair knew she saw a slight shift in Bryn’s body language- A subtle tightening of her shoulders.

“Thankfully, he didn't remember much about the encounter. The only thing I know for sure is that his wounds felt wrong. Too clean in places, and too ragged in others. Like they didn’t come from any natural shape.” Bryn paused then, looking at the medical supplies that were on the counter.

“I’ve stitched flesh torn by wolves. I’ve seen a man burned alive after falling into his own forge.

But I have never seen a force that leaves cuts like this. ”

Now it was Blair's turn to clench her jaw, “So you think it wasn't human?”

Bryn put her hand on Blair’s shoulder, a worried look hidden in her eyes. “Respectfully, I have to get back to my salve. Anything else you need can be handled by Jacobo, my apprentice.”

Jacobo, that’s what his name was.

Blair nodded quickly to show she understood, “Thank you for your time.” When Jacobo replaced Bryn, Blair dared to ask a few more simple questions .

“I’ve seen you with Bryn for some time now,” Blair paused, meeting Jacobo’s eyes, “How long have you worked with her?”

Jacobo nodded, grabbing the pestle and grinding whatever herbs were in the bottom. “A few years.”

Nodding, Blair continued, “So have you seen anyone else with cuts like the stranger had yesterday?”

Jacobo shook his head as he continued to work.

“I wouldn't think so.” Blair replied, her voice low. “I wonder what type of things could even do that.” She paused, looking up into a corner of the room. “I can’t imagine it was any animals we’ve seen, especially not around this area of Opelysk.”

With each word, Jacobo’s neck started to turn red.

“Do you have any ideas of what it could have been?” Blair popped her mouth like she was in the middle of thirty different thoughts. “Or maybe heard from others of a specific danger?”

Jacobo looked up then, the redness of his neck very apparent from her interrogation. Noticing his flustered state and not wanting to push her welcome, Blair thanked him for his time and left.

The door to Bryn’s cottage clicked shut behind her, and Blair just stood there for a moment, staring at nothing.

The sun had moved behind the tall trees. The smell of the oils from inside still clung to her, sharp and musky. She wrapped her arms around herself as she began to walk, kicking dry leaves around her boots. Bryn had said more than she was supposed to and somehow still said nothing at all .

"Cuts like she’s never seen." Blair had come hoping for clarity. Maybe even hope. Instead, she left with more questions entangled like ropes wrapped around her. Walking blindly, she continued on. Not toward home. Just… away. Away from the healer’s cottage, from the uncertainty, from the image of that distraught stranger covered in his own blood.

Her boots made soft, steady sounds in the dirt.

One step, then another. The town was quieter than usual.

People moved, but quickly with their heads down.

Doors shut faster now. Curtains stayed drawn longer.

Even the birds seemed to keep their distance.

It was as if they all felt what she did.

Option one had failed, she hadn’t received confirmation that everything was okay.

If anything, she learned her gut was right.

I need protection. The thought came clear. Loud. Like it was no longer a choice. She stopped walking and looked up at the sky. Clouds were gathering in the west, bruised and heavy-looking. A storm was forming.

Protection. For herself and her students. She began to walk again, eyes drifting to the rooftops of SilverDawn as her thoughts spun.

A knife? She could keep one hidden in her boot. Not too big. Just enough to buy her time if she had to run. She shook her head. No . She’d never held one with any confidence, and it was more likely to slip from her fingers than strike true. And if the wrong student found it in her satchel…

Charms, then. Salt lines. Rosemary. Bells at the door. Some of her neighbors swore by them. Even Bryn kept lavender bunches throughout the house. But Blair had grown up with books and letters, not runes and rites.

Could she ask someone to guard her classroom? No. That wasn’t safety, that was dependence. And what if something followed them instead? What if it found its way into her classroom, into the quiet corner where the children liked to read? What if it followed one of them home?

She couldn’t risk that.

Not them.

Her chest tightened. The students, her students, were the only steady thing left in her life. Their laughter, their smudged hands, their questions about stars and spelling and why frogs could jump so high. They trusted her. Looked at her like she had answers.