The training clearing exhaled behind him as Severin stepped out of the Circle of Bearing, the weight of the day still clinging to his skin like smoke. Sweat cooled across his back, the faint heat of the awakened fire still flickering beneath his ribs. The forest around him remained steady, ancient, unbothered, but Severin felt… different. As if something inside him had finally stopped trying to tear its way out and instead settled, waiting.
He rubbed a hand across his face, swallowing hard.
Arveth's words lingered.
Your gift is not dangerous.
You are only dangerous when you run from it.
He wasn't sure he believed that fully, not yet but he believed Arveth meant it.
And somehow, that mattered.
The sanctuary's glow came into view as he walked, the soft shimmer of protective wards humming like warm wind around the clearing. He ducked under a low branch just as Caelan's voice drifted through the trees.
"…I'm not saying you're bad at it, I'm saying you hold your spear like it personally offended you."
Mira groaned. "Because it did, Caelan. It keeps slipping when I... oh. Severin!"
The two of them were near the center of the clearing, Mira sitting cross-legged while Caelan stretched his arms overhead. Aelindra was perched on a low fallen log, cloak wrapped around her shoulders, her hair loose and slightly messy from sleep. She looked up when Severin stepped through the brush.
Her smile was small, tired, but warm.
"You're back."
Something in Severin's chest loosened.
He hadn't realized how much he'd needed that one soft expression.
"Yeah," he said, trying for casual. "Still alive."
Caelan snorted. "Barely. You look like someone dumped you in a river and beat you with a tree root."
Mira gave Caelan a sharp look. "This is why you don't get compliments."
"I compliment!" Caelan protested. "Just… accurately."
Aelindra shook her head gently. "Ignore him, Severin. How did it go?"
Severin hesitated. He glanced around, everyone watching him, waiting. Not with fear or uncertainty. Just curiosity. Concern.
And acceptance.
All of them already knew. Mira had told them. Aelindra had pieced things together. The others hadn't flinched or distanced themselves. Their presence didn't shift.
For the first time in a long while, Severin didn't feel like he had to hold himself apart.
He let out a slow breath.
"It was… a lot," he admitted. "Arveth pushed me harder than I expected. But I learned things." He rubbed the back of his neck. "More than I wanted to, honestly."
Aelindra tilted her head slightly. "More than you wanted… but needed?"
Severin met her gaze.
"…Yeah."
Aelindra smiled again, small, but proud. "Good."
Mira leaned forward, elbows on her knees. "Did he make you do the pillar trial?"
Severin groaned. "You could've warned me."
"And ruin the experience?" Mira laughed. "Absolutely not."
Caelan grinned wide. "Did you accidentally command a tree again?"
"That happened one time," Severin muttered.
Aelindra covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
Severin felt heat crawl up his neck, not fire this time. Just embarrassment.
But it didn't sting the way it used to.
It felt… normal. Real. Safe.
He hadn't felt that in a long time.
⸻
Someone, Mira, judging by the precise slicing, had set out fruit and toasted bread near the small fire-pit. Caelan had gathered extra blankets, though he claimed it was "for sitting comfort" and definitely not because he got cold easily.
Severin sank down beside Aelindra on the log, careful not to bump her, but she shifted closer without hesitation, her shoulder brushing softly against his.
Aelindra didn't mention it.
Neither did Severin.
But neither moved away.
Mira handed him a piece of fruit. "Eat. You look like you wrestled a storm."
"I feel like I wrestled Arveth," Severin said. "Which is worse."
Caelan barked a laugh. "He's intense, but you survived."
"Barely."
Aelindra nudged him gently. "You did well."
Severin dropped his gaze to the ground, swallowing harder than the fruit required. "I don't know about that."
"I do," she replied simply.
Her certainty landed deeper than any praise he'd heard in years.
Mira stretched out her legs and leaned back on her palms. "Arveth's training is designed to push you to your limit. If you walked back on your own feet, you're already ahead of where I was."
Caelan nodded. "And you didn't accidentally command the entire clearing to bow or something, so that's a win."
Severin groaned. "Can we please stop bringing that up?"
"No," the three of them said in perfect unison.
He stared at them.
They all burst into laughter.
The sound warmed the air more than the fire.
⸻
The sanctuary dimmed slowly as the evening deepened. Fireflies drifted lazily, casting soft green-blue glimmers through the clearing. Mira eventually reclined against a tree, eyelids drooping. Caelan sprawled on the grass, arms stretched behind his head, humming some old tune.
But Aelindra remained awake beside Severin, quiet, watching the embers.
She finally spoke softly, voice barely above the crackle of the fire.
"You're shaking."
Severin blinked. He hadn't realized his hands trembled.
"It's… leftover adrenaline, maybe," he murmured.
Aelindra didn't push. Didn't question.
She simply reached out, hesitating for a heartbeat, then rested her hand lightly over his.
Warm. Steady. Present.
Severin froze, not in fear, but in disbelief.
"Is this okay?" she asked gently.
He nodded once. "Yeah. It's… good."
She intertwined her fingers with his slowly, as though giving him every chance to pull away.
He didn't.
Aelindra's voice lowered. "I know today was hard."
"It was." Severin swallowed. "I didn't like half of what I learned."
"And the other half?"
"I needed it." He exhaled shakily. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything."
"You don't have to wrap it alone."
Severin looked at her.
Aelindra met his eyes without wavering, without fear, without caution. Just steady, unwavering belief.
The kind of belief Severin didn't receive often.
The kind he didn't know he needed.
He breathed out slowly. "Thank you."
Aelindra gave a small nod. "Always."
He shifted slightly, letting their shoulders rest fully together.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Not Mira, still half asleep
Not Caelan, humming softer than before;
Not Severin.
Just Aelindra, leaning against him, the warmth of her presence anchoring him more than any training circle could.
⸻
The fire crackled warmly in the sanctuary clearing, throwing amber light across the moss and stones. Mira was half-curled against a tree trunk, eyelids drooping even though she insisted she wasn't tired. Aelindra sat beside Severin, her shoulder brushing his, quiet and still in that way she got when she was comfortable.
Caelan like a restless child had gotten up and now stood in front of them with a stick he'd found, brandishing it like a sword.
"Observe," he said, raising his chin dramatically, "the stance of a legendary warrior."
Severin snorted. Aelindra arched a brow. Mira didn't even bother opening her eyes.
Caelan spread his feet too wide, puffed out his chest, tightened every muscle in his body at once, and froze in place as if he were posing for a sculpture.
The problem was he looked nothing like Arveth's steady, grounded stillness.
He looked like a startled bird trying to appear threatening.
Severin tilted his head. "…Why do your knees look like they're arguing?"
Caelan wobbled. "They're not, this is exactly what Arveth looked like when he stood over you earlier."
"No," Severin said, "Arveth looked like he was born from a mountain. You look like you're about to sneeze and dislocate your spine."
Aelindra covered her mouth to hide her smile.
Caelan swayed again.
"I don't, my legs are, this is harder than it looks"
And then he toppled sideways into a patch of ferns.
Aelindra finally let out a soft laugh, warm and bright in the quiet clearing.
Caelan groaned dramatically from the ground. "I meant to do that."
Mira didn't open her eyes. "You meant to fall like a baby deer learning to walk?"
He sputtered. "I, no..."
"You even made the sound," Mira added lazily. "All you needed was a tiny squeak."
"I didn't squeak!"
"You did."
"Did not!"
She raised a lazy hand and flicked her fingers. "Your denial is loud."
"Your face is loud," Caelan muttered under his breath.
Mira cracked one eye open. "Try again?"
Caelan shut up instantly.
Aelindra had to bite back another laugh. Severin didn't bother; he just smirked openly.
Caelan dusted off his clothes with as much dignity as he could fake, then straightened and pointed a stick at Severin.
"If you think you can do better"
Severin plucked a bright red berry from a branch beside him.
"Don't," Caelan warned.
Severin flicked it at him.
It hit Caelan directly in the forehead with a faint tap.
Caelan froze.
Aelindra tried, truly tried, not to laugh, but the sound bubbled out anyway, soft and helpless.
Even Mira snorted.
Caelan looked between them, betrayed. "I endured a whole day of Arveth's combat drills! I deserve some respect!"
Severin reached for another berry.
"Respect," Caelan amended quickly, "from literally anyone except you."
Severin flicked the second berry.
Caelan shrieked, dodged poorly, slipped on the moss, and landed right back on the ground.
Caelan popped up with wild determination. "Alright. That's it. Come here."
Severin blinked. "No."
Caelan lunged.
Severin shifted half a step sideways.
Caelan hit the air, spun, missed everything he was aiming for, and collapsed in a pile that somehow managed to look even more tragic than before.
Aelindra laughed outright this time, shoulders shaking. Mira finally sat up, hair a sleepy tangle, and stared at Caelan as though witnessing a miracle of incompetence.
"You're getting worse with every attempt," she observed.
Caelan hissed like an angry cat. "He's slippery!"
"I moved one step," Severin said.
"I wasn't ready!"
"You yelled 'come here.'"
Caelan opened his mouth.
Shut it.
Then sank face-first into the ground.
As Caelan resigned himself to moping on the forest floor, Severin shook his head and plucked a leaf from Caelan's hair before tossing it aside.
When he sat back down, Aelindra shifted closer, subtle but intentional, until her shoulder pressed gently against his again. Her warmth seeped through his shirt, grounding him in a way nothing else did.
She exhaled a soft laugh, still watching Caelan. "He really thought he could take you down."
"He tries," Severin murmured. "That's… something, I suppose."
"It's entertaining," she said.
He glanced down at her.
Her eyes were soft from laughter, her smile small and lingering.
She didn't move away.
Neither did he.
For a moment, the forest hummed around them, comfortable and warm, the kind of peace Severin wasn't used to but found himself wanting to protect.
Caelan groaned from the ground. "If you two start being sweet over me like I'm some fallen hero, I swear"
"Shh," Mira muttered, already lying back down. "Let them have their moment. You're ruining the atmosphere."
Severin flushed slightly.
Aelindra didn't pull away.
The sanctuary hummed around them, the protective wards glowing faintly, pulsing like gentle breaths.
There was no threat.
No watchers.
No pursuit.
Only safety.
Only warmth.
Only the slow unwinding of tension that had lived in their bones for days.
Severin didn't realize he was smiling until Aelindra nudged him lightly. "Your face softened."
He scowled. "No, it didn't."
"It did," Caelan said from where he lay on the ground.
"It really did," Mira mumbled without opening her eyes.
Severin groaned. "Can everyone stop observing me?"
"No," they chorused again.
But Aelindra squeezed his hand.
Quiet. Supportive. Warm.
And Severin didn't pull away.
⸻
Eventually Mira sighed and pushed herself upright. "I'm going to bed before my spine fuses to this tree."
Caelan rolled to his feet, stretching with dramatic groans. "Ugh. Same. I'm exhausted. My arms feel like noodles."
"You trained for one hour," Aelindra deadpanned.
"Yes," Caelan said. "And they hurt like noodles."
Mira snorted and headed for her bedroll.
Caelan followed after giving Severin a light, friendly punch to the shoulder. "Good job today. Really."
Severin blinked, surprised.
Caelan smirked. "Don't get emotional. I'll take it back."
Severin shoved him lightly. "Go to sleep."
Caelan vanished into his blanket mountain.
Aelindra was the last one awake besides him.
⸻
They stood slowly, still hand in hand. Severin expected her to let go once they moved, but she didn't.
"Do you feel better now?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah. Being here… with all of you… helped."
"And the training?"
He hesitated. "It scared me. But I think… I think I'm ready for whatever Arveth wants to teach tomorrow."
Aelindra's smile was soft, proud. "Good."
They stood in the silence for a few breaths, long enough to feel the calm settle between them.
Aelindra stepped a little closer. "You did well today, Severin. I know you don't like hearing it. But you did."
He swallowed. "You really think so?"
Her eyes softened. "I know so."
His chest felt too full, too warm.
"…Thank you," he whispered.
"Goodnight, Severin."
She let his hand go finally, touching his forearm gently before turning toward her bedroll.
Severin stood there for a moment, watching her settle into her blanket. She closed her eyes, breath evening out slowly.
He exhaled, long and slow.
His fire hummed softly, not fierce, not overwhelming.
Just warm.
Safe.
He finally lowered himself onto his own blankets, laying down with a groan of exhaustion he'd kept pushed down all evening.
As he stared at the sanctuary's shimmering ward-lights overhead, one thought echoed, not from fear or power, but from a quiet place inside him he'd forgotten he had.
Tomorrow, he wouldn't be facing his power alone.
And for the first time…
He didn't want to.
Sleep claimed him gently, the fire steady behind his ribs, Aelindra only a few feet away, and the sanctuary breathing softly around them.