They hadn't expected the settlement to be this alive.
From a distance, Aelindra had only seen faint rooftops and drifting smoke. But as she and Severin followed the young man, Caelan, down the final slope of the forest path, the world widened. Houses tucked into the curve of the river. People moving between market stalls. The scent of spiced bread drifting through the air. Lanterns strung between wooden beams, swaying gently in the breeze.
It felt… ordinary.
Which, after the grove's humming magic and Seraphine's eyes that seemed to see straight through skin and bone, was almost startling.
Caelan walked ahead of them with an easy, rhythmic stride. There was something disarming in his presence, sunlight made human. He tossed a smile over his shoulder.
"You two look like you've travelled through a storm and a dream at the same time."
"We came through the grove," Severin said.
Caelan stopped mid-step. "Ah. That explains the expressions."
"What expressions?" Aelindra asked.
Caelan pointed between them. "Yours looks like you're carrying a secret you don't care to explain, and his looks like he's still trying to understand the secret you don't care to explain."
Severin let out a breath that might have been a laugh. "That's… not entirely wrong."
Aelindra blinked. "I wasn't aware I had an expression."
"You have many," Caelan said, amused. "Just subtle ones."
Severin glanced at Caelan, not hostile, but watchful. "Seraphine sent us to find someone who could help."
Caelan raised a brow. "Did she? Well, that's an honor. Or a warning. Hard to tell with her."
"You know her?" Aelindra asked.
"Everyone within a day's travel knows her. She's… hard to miss. Like an omen in human form." He gestured for them to follow. "Come. You can rest and eat. You both look like you've been living on air."
They walked into the settlement.
And the world changed again.
A New Place
The town felt warm, not just in temperature, but in spirit. Children ran between houses, kicking stones or chasing each other with sticks. Women hung dyed cloth from lines, the fabric rippling in the wind. Men carried baskets of river fish or carted barrels toward the small tavern at the center of town.
It was loud, chaotic, alive.
Aelindra watched everything with the same calm she wore everywhere, but something inside her shifted. She recognized she should feel nervous or overwhelmed by so many strangers, but instead she felt… curious. Like each movement was a new piece of a puzzle she'd never bothered to solve before.
Severin walked beside her, eyes scanning everything with reflexive caution. But he didn't seem anxious, just alert.
Caelan led them toward a house near the riverbank. A garden thrived outside it, full of green herbs and blue flowers that leaned toward the sun.
"This is mine," he said proudly. "Well, borrowed. My aunt technically owns it, but she's off helping birth goats in the next village, so I get to pretend I'm responsible."
He pushed the door open and gestured grandly. "Please, enter my humble chaos."
Aelindra stepped in. The house smelled of lavender and wood smoke. Light draped across the floor in soft stripes.
Severin followed her inside, but his eyes lingered briefly on Caelan, evaluating him.
Caelan didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he noticed everything and simply didn't care.
"Sit," he said brightly. "I'll get water. And maybe stew, if my aunt left me any that isn't burned. I make no promises."
Aelindra sat at the table. Severin sat across from her, hands clasped loosely.
"You okay?" he asked her quietly.
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
He studied her for another second. She held his gaze without stirring.
Then he nodded, accepting her answer.
Caelan returned balancing three mismatched bowls and a loaf of warm bread.
"I bring you nourishment and questionable culinary skill."
"Thank you," Aelindra said simply.
Severin took his bowl, inspecting the contents. "Smells good."
"That's because my aunt made it, not me," Caelan said cheerfully. "If I'd cooked it, the pot would be on fire, and we'd be eating regrets."
Aelindra dipped her spoon into the stew. "It's excellent."
Caelan froze. "Was that a compliment?"
"Yes," she said.
He pressed a hand to his chest dramatically. "Seraphine sent me two miracles."
Severin shot him a look. "Only one of us is a miracle."
"You're right," Caelan said, pointing at Aelindra. "It's her."
Severin stared at him.
Caelan smiled innocently.
Aelindra blinked between them, trying to decipher the subtle shifts. She felt the weight of the attention but not the discomfort.
Only awareness.
This is new, she thought.
This… noticing.
After they finished eating, the evening sun began dipping low. Caelan suggested showing them the river properly.
"It's peaceful around sunset," he said. "Good place to think. Or avoid thinking. I do both."
They followed him to the riverbank. The water shimmered gold, moving with the lazy confidence of something ancient.
Caelan skipped a stone across it, one, two, three skips before it sank.
He turned to Aelindra. "You ever try?"
"No."
He handed her a smooth stone. "Now you can."
She looked at it, assessing. "I throw it?"
"Sort of sideways. Try to make it kiss the water instead of punch it."
She flicked her wrist.
The stone dropped straight in with a plunk.
Caelan winced. "Well. The water felt that one."
Severin laughed quietly.
Aelindra looked at the ripples. "It didn't seem complicated."
"It's not complicated," Caelan said. "It's just… stubborn. Like most things worth doing."
Severin picked up a stone and flicked it perfectly, his skipping five times before disappearing.
Aelindra turned to him. "How did you do that?"
"Practice," he said with a shrug.
Caelan leaned against a tree, arms folded loosely. "He's showing off."
"I absolutely am not," Severin replied.
"You absolutely are," Caelan countered. "It's fine. I would too if I could do that."
There was no venom. Just humor.
Aelindra watched them, noting the shift in Severin's posture, taller, more sure, more himself.
He wasn't anxious today.
He was comfortable. Confident. Almost… at ease.
It suited him.
As the river darkened with dusk, Severin stepped a little closer to Aelindra. Not touching. Just near.
"You're quiet," he said lightly.
"I'm always quiet."
"This feels different."
She considered. "Maybe I am thinking."
His brows lifted. "About what?"
She met his gaze. "People."
"Good or bad thoughts?"
"Neither. Just… observing."
He nodded slowly. "That makes sense."
A breeze tugged at Aelindra's cloak. She watched the river's surface ripple.
Caelan, a few paces away, watched them both.
Not with intent.
Just interest. Warm, patient interest.
And something blooming quietly beneath it.
But Aelindra didn't notice. Severin did.
His eyes narrowed a fraction, not in threat, but awareness.
Caelan caught the look and smiled. A small, knowing curve of his mouth.
Then he looked away.
Nightfall in the Settlement
When they returned to the house, lanterns glowed in the settlement's streets. Laughter drifted from the tavern. Somewhere, a flute played a soft melody.
Caelan opened the door for them.
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need," he said. "Auntie won't mind. She likes strays."
Severin snorted. "Are we strays?"
"You are," Caelan said, pointing at him. Then he gestured to Aelindra. "She's… visiting royalty."
Aelindra blinked. "Why do you say that?"
"You have the posture for it," Caelan said casually.
Severin nearly choked.
Aelindra simply nodded. "I see."
Caelan laughed. "I like you."
Severin tensed.
Aelindra tilted her head slightly. "Why?"
"You're honest," Caelan said. "And you look at things like you're seeing them for the first time."
She didn't know what to say to that.
Severin stepped in subtly. "It's been a long day. We should rest."
Caelan raised both hands in surrender. "Fair enough. Morning's quieter anyway. I'll show you the market then. And you, he pointed at Aelindra, "can have a rematch with the stone."
She blinked. "Is that necessary?"
"Yes," Caelan said. "For my dignity. You made it sink so fast it hurt my pride."
Severin laughed under his breath.
Aelindra studied them both, the warmth between them, the steadying presence of Severin beside her.
She didn't feel fear.
But she felt something else, soft and quiet and new.
Something like belonging.
As they settle in later, in the small room Caelan prepared for them, Severin leaned against the wall, arms crossed loosely.
"He's… something," he said.
"Yes," Aelindra replied.
"You like him?"
"I don't dislike him."
Severin huffed. "That's a glowing review from you."
"What about you?" she asked.
Severin paused. "I don't know yet."
"But you don't feel threatened?" Aelindra asked plainly.
His brows shot up. "Why would I feel threatened?"
She blinked once. "I don't know. People react strangely to new people."
He stepped toward her without thinking, the lantern light catching the edges of his features.
"I'm not threatened," he said softly. "Not by him. Not by anyone."
She held his gaze, calm, steady.
He looked away first.
"Get some rest," he murmured.
Aelindra laid down.
Severin lingered in the doorway, watching her for a moment longer than necessary.
Then he closed the door gently.
Outside a quiet shift, Caelan sat on the porch steps, elbows on his knees, staring at the dark river. When he heard the door close, he smiled faintly to himself.
He didn't look back at the house.
But he murmured quietly:
"…She doesn't see it yet."
Then he exhaled, leaning back on his hands, watching the lanterns sway in the night wind, completely unaware of how tangled all their paths would become.