Elira moved with renewed purpose.
The figure had vanished, but the weight of its presence lingered. Her magic hummed with an edge she hadn't felt in days, not fear, but a sharpened awareness.
She returned to the ruin quietly. The twins were still sleeping. Kael stirred when she touched his shoulder.
"They came?" he asked, voice hoarse.
She nodded once. "Something did."
He tried to sit upright. Failed. "Did it speak?"
"No. But it saw me. And I think it chose not to speak."
Kael's eyes closed for a long moment. When he opened them again, his voice was quieter. "We need to be ready."
Elira didn't reply. She was already packing.
The berries were nearly gone. The water is low. Whatever had chosen to spare them would not feed them.
She wrapped herself tightly, taking only what they couldn't spare. With Kael unable to move, and the twins too fragile to carry far, she would need to return quickly.
Kael reached into his cloak, pulling something from a hidden fold. A small charm, a broken piece of etched crystal, warm with a lingering glow.
"Take this," he said. "It was part of my focus before... before the spell. It might still respond."
She hesitated, then accepted it.
"I'll come back," she said.
He nodded.
Elira stepped into the mist again.
The forest seemed to watch her now, not with menace, but with curiosity.
And something deeper.
As if the realm itself had decided her journey was no longer just her own.