Ravenna’s POV
The heartbeat didn’t fade. It grew louder. Slow, patient, like the world itself was breathing under my feet.
I sat by the river long after Thorn and Mira went to rest. The night smelled of wet soil and something faintly sweet, like blooming roots. The water ran clearer now, the silver glow tucked beneath it, harmless, almost shy. But the sound—the heartbeat—was still there, steady as truth.
I touched the surface. The ripples bent toward my hand, following instead of fleeing. My reflection looked back at me, tired eyes, hair tangled from the rain, a face I didn’t recognize completely. For a long time, I thought strength meant control. That if I could hold everything still, it wouldn’t fall apart.
Now the quiet scared me more than the chaos ever did.
A soft step behind me.
