Learning Auren
Vaerik left without another word.
The corridor settled into quiet the moment his footsteps faded, the tension he carried with him thinning until it no longer pressed against the walls. What remained was stillness, the kind that didn’t demand attention but made it easier to hear everything else.
I stayed where I was for a moment, watching the empty space he’d disappeared into, then let my focus shift inward without forcing it.
“Auren,” I said.
The name didn’t feel unfamiliar anymore. It fit too easily, like it had been waiting for me to use it.
I’m here.
Her voice came through clearly, not layered over my thoughts, not distant. It held its own space, separate enough to recognize, close enough that I didn’t have to reach for it.
I leaned back against the wall, letting
