Elowen moved like the Sanctum might collapse if she wasted a second.
She didn't look panicked—she looked decisive, which was somehow scarier. Like she'd already accepted that something inside these walls wanted her dead, and she'd filed that fact away under Deal With It After Rin Is Safe.
Maera handed her a small leather satchel. "Warded. Food, water, first-aid. No tracking thread."
Elowen took it. "Horses?"
"Too visible," Maera said. "Service tunnels to the east gate. Then on foot until the mile-stones."
Elowen nodded once and looked down at me.
I was in kid form again, wrapped in a plain cloak Maera had produced from nowhere. It was slightly too big, the hood drooping over my eyes like a sleepy shadow.
I tugged it back and tried to look serious.
"I can walk," I announced.
Elowen crouched and fixed the hood properly. "You can walk later."
"I'm not fragile."
Elowen's fingers paused at my collar. "Rin."
I stopped.
Her expression softened, almost imperceptible. "You're important. That's different."
My chest tightened in a way I still wasn't used to.
"…Okay," I muttered, then added quickly, "but I'm still walking."
Elowen stood, and—like she'd been waiting for me to say it—lifted me into her arms anyway.
I sputtered. "HEY."
Elowen adjusted her grip like she'd done it forever, one arm under my knees, the other steady at my back. "Security."
Maera watched with the faintest hint of approval. "Good. Keep her close."
I glared at Maera. "Don't encourage her."
Maera didn't blink. "I'm not."
The bond betrayed Elowen again with warm amusement as she carried me out into the corridor.
The moment we stepped out, two knights turned the corner—and both of them froze so hard they nearly clicked.
Elowen didn't slow. "You saw nothing."
One knight saluted automatically, eyes wide. "Yes, Lady Heroine."
His gaze dropped to me.
My hood slipped.
He went even paler. "Is that—"
Elowen's tone sharpened. "No."
I tried to be helpful and failed.
"It's okay," I said, waving. "I'm the legendary sword."
The knights stared like the hallway had started talking.
Elowen kept walking faster.
"I'm helping," I insisted.
"You're increasing the number of witnesses," Elowen murmured.
I huffed. "Fine. I'll be quieter."
I pulled the hood forward again, trying to feel like the "hood" Maera said I needed—like concealment could be emotional too.
Elowen shifted me slightly closer to her chest as we turned down a narrower passage.
The warmth of her cloak wrapped around me, and the bond steadied into something calm.
For a few steps, neither of us spoke.
Then my stupid mouth did that thing again.
"Mommy—"
I froze instantly.
Elowen froze too—just for a heartbeat.
The word had slipped out like it belonged there.
Like it was already trained into my tongue.
I stared up at her, horrified, cheeks heating under the hood.
"I— I mean— Elowen— I—"
Elowen didn't tease.
She just exhaled slowly and whispered back, so quietly it barely touched air.
"It's okay."
My throat tightened. "It's not— I'm not trying to—"
"I know," she said, gentle and steady. "You're not doing it to manipulate me."
That made my eyes sting, which was unfair.
We reached the service stairwell. Maera opened the door and ushered us inside.
Stone steps spiraled downward into cooler air. The sounds of the main halls faded behind us.
As we descended, Elowen's grip never loosened.
Halfway down, I tried again—carefully this time, like testing a fragile spell.
"…Mamma?"
Elowen looked down at me. "Yes?"
The answer came so natural it made my chest ache.
My voice came out small. "Can you… keep holding me like this until we're outside?"
Elowen didn't even hesitate. "Yes."
And then she added, quietly, like a vow:
"As long as you need."
Maera glanced over her shoulder, expression unreadable, then led us through a low tunnel lined with old ward-bricks. The floor was damp. The air smelled like earth and old magic.
I tucked my face against Elowen's shoulder and listened to her heartbeat.
It was steady.
It was real.
It made the dark feel less dangerous.
We reached a heavy iron door with a narrow slit of daylight beneath it.
Maera paused and pressed her palm to a rune plate. The rune flashed once.
Then the door opened.
Cold morning air swept in.
We stepped out into a quiet grove beyond the Sanctum's eastern wall—hidden by hedges and ancient trees that had been trained to grow like a living screen.
For a moment, everything looked normal.
Birds. Frost on leaves. The distant silhouette of rooftops.
Then I felt it.
That faint tug again—like someone brushing their fingers across my name from far away.
My body tensed.
Elowen felt it instantly through the bond. "Rin?"
I swallowed and tried to steady my voice. "Someone is… looking."
Maera's eyes sharpened. "Then we move."
She pointed to a narrow path between trees. "Mile-stone is three miles. Stay under canopy. No glow."
Elowen nodded, then looked down at me.
"Can you hood your presence?" she asked softly.
I closed my eyes and tried.
Not to disappear.
Just to fold in.
To wrap my light the way Elowen wrapped me.
My runes dimmed under my skin, warmth turning into a quiet ember instead of a beacon.
Elowen's shoulders eased a fraction. "Good."
"Okay," I whispered. "I'm being quiet. I'm being very mature."
Elowen's mouth curved. "You're doing well."
My heart did a stupid little flip at the praise.
We started down the forest path.
After five minutes, I shifted. "I can walk now."
Elowen didn't stop. "Not yet."
"I'm fine."
Elowen's voice stayed calm. "Rin."
I immediately stopped talking.
It annoyed me how effective my name was in her mouth.
Ten minutes later, a twig snapped somewhere deeper in the trees.
Maera's hand went to her weapon.
Elowen stopped so fast I nearly bounced.
I held my breath.
Nothing attacked.
No bolts.
No shadows.
Just a deer stepping through brush, watching us with wide eyes before it bounded away.
Maera exhaled once. "False alarm."
Elowen didn't move right away. Her grip around me tightened slightly—protective reflex that hadn't faded even after the threat was gone.
I looked up at her.
She was trying to keep her face neutral, but the bond showed the truth: she was shaken. Not because she was afraid for herself.
Because she was afraid for me.
Before I could think, I lifted my small hand and patted her cheek—awkward and gentle.
Elowen blinked, surprised.
"It's okay," I whispered. "I'm here."
Elowen's eyes softened. "That's my line."
"Too bad," I muttered. "I'm saying it."
Elowen's lips curved into the smallest smile.
Then I ruined it by whispering, "Mamma."
Elowen's smile grew, just a little—warm, private.
"Yes, Rin?"
I swallowed, cheeks heating again, but I didn't take it back.
"Thank you," I said quietly. "For… not making me feel like a weapon."
Elowen didn't answer right away.
She adjusted her hold and pressed her forehead gently to the top of my hood—brief, careful, like she didn't want to startle me.
Then she said, very simply:
"You're not a weapon to me."
The bond flared with something steady and strong.
Not romance.
Not fate.
Just care.
We kept walking.
And even though the tug on my name still lingered like a distant storm…
in Elowen's arms, under her cloak, with her heartbeat in my ear—
I felt anchored.
Not by runes.
By her.
And when my voice slipped out again—soft and unplanned—
"Mommy…"
Elowen only held me closer and answered like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I've got you."