Kael
The Living Forest doesn't sleep. It dozes, pretending to be asleep, when in reality it is waiting for movement. I've learned to listen to it the way you'd listen to an old man complain. With half affection, half resentment. This place has been my home for too many years. I both love and hate it. Still, I always played the Game.
Sure, I would pick favorites throughout the years, but Aria is different. She is more than a favorite. I can feel it, the castle can feel it, and so can the forest. I just fear that Nyxara feels it too. The urge to protect her is too strong, and I know what I have to do.
Aria is asleep. Somehow. Curled on her side in the hollow tree, breath steady, and the knife still clutched in one hand. Her hair has come loose, a dark curtain against the moss. She
