By the time we reached the clearing, the entire village was already awake and humming like a living heartbeat. Warm lanterns hung from thick wooden beams, swaying gently in the early evening breeze. The bonfire in the center hadn't been lit yet, but the pile of wood,stacked in a perfect teepee waited like it had a pulse of its own.
Kael walked beside me, one hand resting lightly on my lower back, guiding me as people waved, nodded, or very blatantly stared. I still wasn't used to the staring.
Kiara practically bounced toward us the moment she spotted me.
"There you are!" she chimed, her doe-shifter energy practically glowing. "You came! I was betting Kael would keep you locked inside like a guarded treasure."
Kael shot her a flat look. "Kiara."
"What?" she snorted. "It's true."
I laughed under my breath, and Kael's hand flexed slightly against my back, like he liked the sound way too much.
We joined a circle of people arranging long wooden tables, laying out dishes that smelled heavenly. Someone handed me a bowl of something warm and spiced, and I didn't even get the chance to ask what it was before Kael murmured, "It's safe."
"Good to know," I muttered, taking a sip.
Kiara leaned in conspiratorially. "If he says it's safe, trust him. Last feast, Ryn ate something that made him believe he could shift midair and fly."
"Could he?" I asked.
She grinned. "He could not."
A group of hunters approached then, carrying nets, wooden crates, and something wrapped in thick cloth. Everyone perked up immediately.
One of the men—long hair, wolfish grin, unmistakably familiar—called out, "Caught the rascal trying to steal from the storehouse again."
Kael turned to me. "Forest trickster foxes. They're… bold."
Kiara nodded vigorously. "Bold is an understatement. They'll steal food, socks, shiny stones, your dignity...pretty much anything."
I raised a brow. "Socks?"
"They have a thing for them," another hunter added with a shrug. "Little weirdos."
The group burst into laughter, and even I couldn't hold mine back. It felt bizarre, comforting almost, to be included in something so normal despite all the ears, tails, fangs, and the occasional person casually lifting a crate with one hand like it weighed nothing.
Kael kept watching me. Not in the creepy way, more like he was checking if I was overwhelmed. Or maybe he just liked having an excuse to stare.
Then someone shouted from the center of the clearing:
"Light it up!"
The bonfire roared to life in a sudden burst of flame, the fire climbing high and bright. Sparks spiraled upward like tiny stars trying to break free.
The entire village cheered.
Drums started. Soft at first, then louder. Rhythmic. Wild. Alive.
Kiara grabbed my hand. "Come on! There's dancing, food, storytelling...everything! You have to see it all!"
Kael didn't say anything, but I felt his eyes on me as I let Kiara pull me toward the glowing center of the celebration.
For a moment, surrounded by fire and laughter and strangers who were slowly becoming something else, I realized…
This place didn't feel terrifying anymore.
It felt like the beginning of something I wasn't sure I deserved but wanted anyway.
And Kael… well, he wasn't helping by looking at me like I was the only thing worth watching in the entire damn feast.
The feast had been going surprisingly well.
Warm light flickered from the bonfire, music drifted through the air, and for the first time since arriving in Varena, I didn't feel like every pair of eyes was drilling into me. People were laughing, talking, eating. Kiara kept shoving different foods into my hands. Kael stayed close, not hovering, but unmistakably present, like a silent perimeter made of muscle and mild menace.
It was… nice.
Suspiciously nice.
I was just starting to relax when something tiny tugged at the hem of my dress.
I looked down to see a little boy staring up at me, berry-stained fingers curled around the fabric. His golden eyes were huge, and two small rounded ears peeked from his hair.
"Uh… hello," I said.
He didn't answer. He just blinked once and asked, loud enough to be heard halfway across the clearing:
"Are you the Pure One?"
I swear even the fire paused.
Kael went rigid beside me. Kiara choked on her drink. Several adults turned sharply, their conversations faltering. They weren't hostile just alert, curious, like the word carried weight.
I felt heat crawl up my neck. "Um…"
Before I could form a single coherent thought, the boy continued, even louder:
"'Cause Mama said humans don't exist but you're a human so that means you're the Pure One from the stories, right?"
His mother appeared out of nowhere, mortified.
"Liko—stars above—stop saying that!"
"But it's true!" he insisted. "She fell from the sky just like in the tale—"
"Liko." His mother's voice cracked like a whip, and the kid finally clamped his mouth shut.
Too late.
The whispers had already started.
Kael stepped forward smoothly, placing himself just slightly in front of me, protective without making a scene.
"That's enough," he said, voice calm but carrying that unmistakable edge. "Let her enjoy the feast."
The boy wilted a little under Kael's gaze, but then looked up at me, hopeful and unbearably earnest.
"Is it true?" he asked softly. "Are you really the girl from the prophecy?"
My heart squeezed. Not because I knew the answer but because I didn't.
Kiara swooped in quickly, brushing a hand through the boy's hair. "Liko, sweetheart, Elara's still learning about everything here. Give her time, okay?"
He nodded reluctantly and scurried off, already whispering excitedly to another kid like he had just uncovered some legendary secret.
I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
Kael leaned closer, his voice low. "Are you alright?"
"I… yeah," I murmured. "Just didn't expect it from a five-year-old."
"They hear fragments of old tales and turn them into certainties," he said quietly. "But don't worry. People will settle down."
I glanced around. The crowd was already drifting back into their rhythms, music rising, laughter spreading again. Still, a few glances lingered, the kind that said curiosity had been awakened.
Kael's shoulder brushed mine, steadying.
"If anyone has a problem," he said, his voice soft but iron underneath, "they'll go through me."
Something in my chest loosened.
"Okay," I whispered. "Then I guess I'll survive a feast."
He huffed a small laugh. "You will."
And just like that, the moment slipped back into the night.
Not forgotten.
Just waiting.