*Aaron*
The road had narrowed into a winding trail, half-swallowed by moss and root. Pines loomed overhead, dark and ancient, their trunks like columns in a ruined temple. We walked in silence, the kind that buzzes just beneath the skin.
Helios led the way, his broad back and raised shield cutting a clear path through the underbrush. I followed behind him, my eyes flicking from shadow to shadow. Aelira brought up the rear, her steps light, almost soundless, as if the forest bent to avoid her.
"You always walk like a ghost?" Helios asked, not turning around.
"Only when I don't want to be heard," she answered. "Or seen. Or stabbed."
"Comforting," he muttered.
She smiled faintly. "You get used to it. Besides, I doubt you'd enjoy my usual walking companion."
"Let me guess — silence and suspicion?"
"Close. My own thoughts. They're worse."
Helios didn't laugh, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. That was about as good as it got with him.
We kept moving. The light dimmed further beneath the trees, turning gold into gray. I noticed the air change — cooler, stiller. Even the birds had grown quiet.
"This forest has history," Aelira said suddenly. "Old wounds. Can you feel it?"
"Yes," I said. "It's like something's waiting."
Helios grunted. "Or watching."
We pushed on.
After some time, I slowed my pace until I walked beside Aelira. She raised an eyebrow.
"Couldn't stay away?"
"You're easier to talk to than Helios."
"And here I thought that shield of his had a sparkling personality."
I smiled. "He does. You just have to know where to look."
"You trust him that much?"
"With my life. With more than that, even. He's... he's everything to me."
Aelira looked at me for a moment, then nodded. "That says a lot."
We walked in silence for a beat.
"Do you ever miss it? The capital?" I asked.
She was quiet for a while. "Sometimes. The noise. The sense of purpose, even if it was fake. It's easier to hate something when you're far away from it. But when you're in the middle of it, it's just life. You forget to question it."
"So what made you leave?"
She looked ahead. "A truth I couldn't unsee. A lie I couldn't keep living. And a man I couldn't forgive."
"Someone close?"
She nodded. "Too close."
We walked in silence for a while.
"You never asked me why I chose to go weaponless," I said.
"I figured you'd tell me when it mattered."
"And now?"
She shrugged. "Now, I think you are..."
Ahead, Helios raised a hand interupting us. We stopped.
"Movement," he said. "Three shapes. Staying low. Watching us."
Aelira's demeanor shifted instantly. Her hand went to her dagger. "Too smooth for bandits. Too smart."
"Scouts," Helios confirmed. "Aaron, behind me. Aelira, left flank. Stay low."
We obeyed. The forest seemed to lean in around us, thick with breathless silence.
I crouched, heart pounding. I wasn't afraid — not exactly. But something old stirred in me. Readiness.
Aelira disappeared into the trees like a shadow returning home. I could barely hear her move.
"Could be nothing," I whispered.
"Could be worse," Helios answered.
Then from the trees, Aelira's voice: "They're backing off. For now. Testing us."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because they don't know what we are yet," she said. "But they will."
Helios didn't move. His shield stayed high.
"Let them come," he said. "We'll answer."
We kept walking after that — slower, quieter. Whatever had watched us was gone, but the feeling of being seen never left. The forest clung to us like damp cloth, as if the trees themselves refused to forget.
Eventually, as twilight bled into true night, we found a clearing just wide enough for three. An old stone ring sat half-buried under moss — once a fire pit, maybe, or a shrine long forgotten. Helios knelt beside it and began clearing debris.
"We'll camp here," he said. "No higher ground, but it's defensible."
Aelira didn't speak. She moved through the clearing in wide, slow arcs, scanning the tree line before finally settling near the edge, her back to a broad oak.
Helios struck flint against steel. Sparks caught. Flame bloomed low and red, dancing in the hollow of the stone ring.
I sat opposite him, shrugging off my pack. The fire's warmth hit fast — too fast. I hadn't realized how cold I'd gotten.
Aelira remained at the perimeter a moment longer before finally returning. She sat cross-legged, one hand resting near her dagger, the other cupped near the fire.
For a long while, none of us spoke.
Then, quietly, Helios said, "Tomorrow we reach the river."
I nodded. "And after that?"
He looked at me, then at Aelira. "Depends on whether they come back."
"I think they will," she said. "And I think they'll bring more."
Helios didn't argue. He just reached for his waterskin and drank.
"You should both sleep," he said. "I'll take first watch."
Aelira was already lying down, her cloak pulled tight around her, one hand still near her weapon.
"Aaron," Helios said again, gently this time. "Sleep. You'll need it."
So I lay back, letting the warmth of the fire lull me, eyes fixed on the stars overhead — quiet, cold, and impossibly far.
Aelira spoke, barely audible.
"Tomorrow will be worse."
"Probably," I murmured.
She didn't reply.
And slowly, the forest faded into a hum. The fire crackled. The stars blinked. The watch began.
And the silence returned.