CHAPTER 8: SHADOWS IN SUNLIGHT
Day 40.
We stayed in Millbrook longer than planned.
Liana's excuse was research—she'd discovered the village had records dating back three centuries, and she wanted to copy them. Elara's excuse was rest—after a month in Purgatory, the women deserved real beds and real food. Kaia's excuse was nothing; she simply didn't argue when I suggested another night.
The real reason?
I wasn't ready to leave.
Not yet. Not when I'd just rediscovered sunlight and fresh air and the sound of children laughing. Not when I could sit in the inn's common room and watch normal people live normal lives. Not when every moment felt like a gift I'd never expected to receive.
"You're stalling."
Kaia appeared beside me on the inn's porch. Evening had fallen; the stars were emerging, one by one, in a sky so clear it hurt to look at.
"I'm observing."
"Same thing." She leaned against the railing, her gray eyes reflecting starlight. "What are you afraid of?"
"Nothing."
"Liar."
I didn't deny it.
"I'm afraid," I said after a long moment, "that the moment we find answers, everything changes. That we'll learn something that makes this..." I gestured at the quiet village, the peaceful night. "...impossible."
"It's already impossible." Kaia's voice was flat, but not cruel. "You're an immortal guardian. I'm a ronin with no master. Elara's a paladin without an order. Liana's a scholar whose mentor tried to kill her. Raine's a girl who should be home with her family, not hunting conspiracies." She paused. "'Impossible' is all we have."
"That's bleak."
"That's honest."
We stood in silence for a moment. Then, softer: "But it's also ours. This—" She gestured vaguely, encompassing the village, the night, each other. "—is real. However impossible. I'm not ready to lose it either."
I looked at her—really looked. At the sharp lines of her face, the tension she carried even at rest, the way her hand never strayed far from her katana.
"Kaia."
"What?"
"Thank you."
She glanced at me, surprised. "For what?"
"For being honest. For staying. For..." I searched for words. "For not treating me like a monster."
A long pause. Then, barely audible: "You're not a monster, Kairos. You're just... the loneliest person I've ever met."
She walked away before I could respond.
But her words stayed with me long into the night.
---
Day 41.
"Trouble."
Elara's voice was quiet, but urgent. She'd found me at dawn, before the others woke.
"What kind?"
"Riders. Coming from the east. Military, by the look of them." She gestured toward the village edge. "Twelve men. Guild colors."
My blood chilled. "Here? How?"
"Could be coincidence. Could be they're searching for us." Her jaw tightened. "Either way, we can't let them see you. A man matching no description traveling with four women? That's memorable."
"I can hide. Indistinct perk—"
"Too late. They're already entering the village." She gripped my arm. "Stay in the inn. In our room. Don't come out until I fetch you."
"Elara—"
"Trust me."
I trusted her.
But hiding in a dark room while danger approached was the hardest thing I'd done since waking in Purgatory.
---
The hours crawled.
I heard them enter the inn—heavy boots, loud voices, the innkeeper's nervous laughter. Heard them order food and ale. Heard them questioning locals about "strange travelers."
And then, footsteps on the stairs.
Our floor.
I positioned myself behind the door, ready to move, ready to fight if necessary. The runes under my skin itched, wanting to emerge, wanting to protect.
The footsteps stopped outside our door.
A knock.
"Innkeeper sent me." A man's voice, rough, unconcerned. "Says you're scholars. We've got questions."
Silence from the other room. Elara's voice, calm: "We're resting. Come back later."
"Guild business. Open the door."
Move, I thought. Move and I'll—
"I said come back later." Elara's voice had changed. Harder. The voice of someone used to command. "Unless you'd like to explain to your superiors why you harassed a paladin of the Silver Circle."
Silence from the other side. Then: "Paladin?"
"Elara Dawnhammer. You may have heard of me."
More silence. Then, grudgingly: "...Our apologies, Lady Dawnhammer. We were told to look for... different travelers."
"Clearly. Close the door on your way out."
The footsteps retreated.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
---
Later, when the riders had gone, we gathered in the common room.
"That was close," Raine whispered.
"Too close." Kaia's eyes were sharp. "They're searching specifically. That means Alaric talked before we hit him. Or someone else knows."
"The question is who." Liana chewed her lip. "And how much they know."
"They know we're alive," Elara said. "They know we're in the Borderlands. They don't know about Kairos—otherwise they'd have described him."
"Yet."
Everyone looked at me.
"They'll learn eventually," I said. "Someone will talk. Someone will notice us. We need to move faster."
"Agreed." Kaia stood. "Oakhaven. Trading post. We need information, and we need it before they find us again."
I nodded. "We leave at dawn."
---