The golden chain was cool against my palm as I curled my fingers tightly around it, hiding it inside my sleeve before I forced myself to breathe again. My heart was still thundering, but I couldn’t let it show. Not here. Not now. Not with Varion standing only a few stalls away. I slipped back into the press of the festival, weaving between laughing couples and children darting past with sticky sweets in their hands, until I finally spotted him.
Varion stood at the edge of the crowd, speaking with Jax, the torchlight gilding his golden hair, making him look like the very embodiment of the sun in human form. His presence was grounding, familiar. And yet, as I approached, the hidden weight of the star pendant pressed against my hand like a burn. I shoved it deeper into my sleeve, tucking it
