Page 53 of The Fractured Veil

His honesty took me by surprise, and for a moment, I didn’t know what to say. The vulnerability in his words—the way his gaze softened, even if only for a moment—made the space between us feel dangerously intimate. My heart stuttered, caught off guard by the weight of the moment.

I shifted in my seat, trying to ease the tension before it swallowed me whole. “Where’s Nox been?”

Zarek’s expression darkened, his playful edge returning as if to shield him from the seriousness that lingered beneath the surface. “He’s handling something,” he said, his voice lower now, guarded. His gaze met mine, and for a brief second, the mystery of Nox’s absence hung between us. “Don’t worry about it,” he added, offering me a small, almost reassuring smile. “He’ll be back soon enough.”

Though his tone was light, the weight of what wasn’t being said gnawed at me. But as Zarek’s eyes held mine, that magnetic pull between us surged again, silencing any further questions. I wasn’t sure where this was headed, but the way he looked at me—like he saw more than I was ready to reveal—left no doubt that something between us was changing.

After we finished at the café, Zarek and I stepped back into the cold, the festive lights illuminating the snow-dusted streets. The town was busy, its energy alive and comforting, and for a moment, I allowed myself to get lost in it. Zarek walked beside me, his hands tucked casually into his pockets, the sharp angles of his face softened by the glow of holiday lights.

I tried to focus on the normalcy of it all—the couples, the children, the laughter—but something about the night felt different, like a shadow had stretched over the town without anyone noticing. It started as a vague discomfort, a knot forming low in my stomach. My steps slowed, and I found myself scanning the crowd, the faces that passed us, the way the air seemed to ripple with an energy I couldn’t quite place.

Zarek glanced at me, sensing the shift. “You alright?”

I hesitated, unsure how to explain what I was feeling. “I don’t know. Something’s… off.”

His amber eyes narrowed slightly, and I could see him switching from casual companion to something more protective, more alert. “Off how?”

I opened my mouth to respond but stopped. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and instinctively, my eyes darted to a man standing near the edge of the square. He was watching me. His face was blank, unreadable, but there was something in his gaze—something dark. His presence felt wrong, like he didn’t quite belong in this festive scene.

I swallowed, trying to shake the unease, but the feeling only deepened. As I turned away from him, my attention was drawn to another figure—this time a woman standing across the square. She was dressed like everyone else, bundled in winter clothes, but there was something unnatural about the way she moved, her gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

“Zarek,” I said, my voice quieter now. “They’re watching us.”

He followed my gaze, his jaw tightening as he noticed the people I’d been drawn to. “Stay close,” he said, his voice low, a protective edge slipping into his tone.

We continued walking, but my unease only grew. Every few steps, I caught glimpses of more figures—each of them subtly watching, none of them blending into the joyful energy of the town. It wasn’t just their presence that unsettled me. There was something deeper, something darker. A disturbance, a weight I couldn’t name, but that I felt growing heavier with each passing moment.

Then, without warning, the world seemed to shift around me. The colors of the holiday lights blurred, the sounds of laughter and conversation fading to a distant hum. I stopped in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat as the sensation deepened—a strange pull twisting in my chest.

Zarek’s hand came to rest lightly on my arm. “Thalia?” His voice was concerned now, sharp.

“I… I don’t know what’s happening,” I whispered, my pulse racing. “It’s like… like something’s wrong. Like something’s… breaking.”

Zarek’s expression darkened, his gaze scanning the crowd, but the people around us carried on—oblivious to the strange tension thickening in the air. I could feel it—a fracture, something not right with the balance of everything.

"Life and death."

The thought came out of nowhere, an unsettling realization that I couldn’t fully grasp.

As I looked back toward the figures watching us, the sense of dread intensified. It was as if I could feel the pull of something beyond life—something unnatural, twisting the very air around them. It was disturbing the natural order, and the more I focused, the clearer the disturbance became.

“What are you feeling?” Zarek asked, his voice pulling me out of the strange fog.

“I don’t know,” I replied, but the words felt like a lie. I did know—deep down, something inside me was recognizing the disturbance. There was a wrongness here, a fracture that I hadn’t been able to sense before, but now it was screaming at me.

“We need to leave,” I said quickly, my voice sharper than I intended.

Zarek didn’t argue. His hand slid to the small of my back, gently guiding me through the crowd. We moved quickly, my heart pounding in my chest, the figures still watching, still following with their eyes. The further we walked, the more the sensation clawed at me, the imbalance pressing down on my chest like a heavy weight.

I stole another glance behind us, my breath catching as I locked eyes with one of the watchers. His gaze was cold, empty, and for a moment, I felt something flicker—a connection, a darkness that seemed to seep into the very air between us. And then, it was gone.

Zarek must have sensed the urgency growing inside me because he leaned closer, his voice low and serious. “What do you feel, Thalia? Tell me.”

“I think…” My voice wavered, the words foreign on my tongue. “I think something’s disturbing the balance. Between life and death.”

His eyes widened slightly, though he hid his surprise well. “Are you sure?”

I wasn’t sure. But the sensation crawling under my skin, pulling at my senses, told me I was right. “Yes.”

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