The Hollow

Chapter 2•2 The Choosing

She was pressed against the wall of a baker's shop, half-hidden in shadow. Her dress was simple—gray, patched at the sleeves. But her hair... her hair was impossible to ignore. Reddish-brown shot through with strands of pure silver. Fire and moonlight. It fell across her shoulders in soft waves, catching the golden torchlight and glowing like embers.

She was not in the line. She was not a maiden presenting herself.

She was nothing.

And yet.

He could not look away.

There was something about her. Something in the way she held herself. Something in her eyes—light brown, warm, like honey in sunlight. They were watching him without fear.

Without fear.

Everyone feared him. Everyone. But she looked at him like he was a man. Not a monster. Not a lord. Just a man.

He stepped off the stage.

The crowd parted.

He walked toward her—slow, deliberate, each step echoing in the silence.

Nola grabbed Sheraya's arm. "What is he doing?"

Sheraya could not answer.

Varek stopped in front of her. He was so tall she had to crane her neck to see his face. Up close, he was even more beautiful. Even more terrifying.

"You are not in the line," he said.

"No, my lord," Sheraya whispered. "I am not a maiden presenting myself."

"Then what are you?"

"A healer."

He tilted his head. "A healer."

"Yes, my lord."

He reached out.

Sheraya remembered her father's warning. Step back. But she could not move. Could not step back. Could not breathe.

His fingers brushed her cheek.

Something flickered.

A flash. A shadow. A feeling she could not name.

Then it was gone.

Varek's hand dropped. His expression did not change. But something in his eyes shifted—something she could not read.

He stared at her for a heartbeat longer. Then he turned and walked back to the stage.

Sheraya stood frozen, her cheek still burning where his fingers had touched.

Orion raised an eyebrow. Caelum glanced between his brother and the girl in the gray dress, his kind eyes curious.

"Lord Varek," Orion said, "shall we return to the court?"

Varek did not look back at Sheraya. He climbed the steps of the stage, nodded once, and stepped through the rift. Orion and Caelum followed.

The golden torches dimmed. The polished wooden stage began to fade. And then they were gone.

The crowd exhaled.

Nola grabbed Sheraya's arm. "What was that? What happened?"

"I do not know," Sheraya said. Her voice was shaking. "I do not know."

---

That night, Sheraya and Nola walked home in silence.

The village was quiet now. The banners had been taken down. The stage had vanished completely, as if it had never been. Only the memory remained—and the strange, burning sensation on Sheraya's cheek where the Fae Lord had touched her.

"He looked at you," Nola said finally. "Really looked at you. He has never looked at anyone like that."

"He looked at all of them."

"Not like that." Nola stopped walking. "Sheraya, what happened when he touched you?"

Sheraya shook her head. "I do not know. A flash. A feeling. Nothing more."

Nola was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "We should tell Father."

"Yes," Sheraya said. "We should."

They turned the corner toward their cottage.

And stopped.