Page 109 of Duskbound

"I heard you. What you said at the bonfire. I was staying in the shadows because it felt rude to interrupt such a tense moment." He laughed again. "But I heard everything."

Heat rushed across my cheeks. "You were spying on us?"

"Observing," he corrected, that ghost of a smile playing at his lips. "It's what I do."

"And what observations did you make?"

"That you're more interesting than I initially thought." His eyes met mine again. "Though still incredibly frustrating."

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint." I plucked a blade of grass and tossed it at him. "What about you? What profound mysteries lurk in your past?"

His expression closed off slightly. "Nothing worth sharing."

"Says the man who emerged from the Void with no memories, looking exactly as you do now, thirty-five years ago. That's a lot of time. A lot of life to live."

"Careful," he warned, though there was less edge to it than usual. "I'd hate to bore you."

Movement caught our attention—the Vördr had wandered further into the trees. We both scrambled up, following them through the thick brush until the forest opened into a clearing. What we found stopped me in my tracks.

An ancient shrine stood before us, open to the sky and partially reclaimed by vines. Statues lined its perimeter—their formssimilar to the Kalfar—the Aossí, but unnaturally elongated, features carved with an otherworldly perfection. Their faces were too symmetrical, their limbs too graceful, stretched just beyond what seemed possible.

The Vördr halted at the shrine's edge, but Aether and I stepped inside.

"The Esprithe," I breathed, recognizing the figures from my studies.

"Looks like it." Aether's tone was distinctly unimpressed.

"They're painted on the windows of the archives too."

"Yes, they're inescapable, it seems."

"You don't sound like a fan."

"I've never given much interest to the idea of a higher power," he said flatly.

As we wound through the statues, an idea struck me. Without warning, I shifted into my spectre form, materializing behind one of the carved figures.

"It's hardly the time for games," Aether called out.

"Come on," I shot back, already moving to another statue. "This is all new to me. I need the practice, wouldn't you agree?"

I caught a glimpse of him shaking his head before I disappeared again, reforming behind a statue of Sibyl, her stone eyes fixed eternally on some distant point.

"You're not hiding very well." His voice carried closer.

"Then why haven't you caught me yet?" I taunted, slipping between Conleth and Niamh.

I heard him sigh—that familiar sound of exasperation—before I moved again, black mist blurring beyond my vision. Our game of chase continued through the shrine as leaves descended from the canopy above.

Finally, his hand caught my arm just as I reformed behind Fírinne. "Found you."

A smile tugged at his lips—small but real. Something in my chest fluttered at the sight.

"Your turn then," I said. "I feel like hunting."

His expression closed off immediately. "I'm afraid I can't." He released my arm, taking a step back. "The sirens... they took more than I expected."

I noticed then what I should have seen earlier—the void burns crawling up his neck looked different. Lighter somehow, almost faded.

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