Evening settled slowly over the settlement, painting the rooftops in warm amber as the last traces of sunlight drifted across the river. The day's warmth lingered, but beneath it… something shifted. Aelindra felt it, not as a thought or sound, but as pressure in the air. A heaviness. A warning threaded through the quiet.
She stood by the riverbank, turning the reed-woven talisman Mara had given her between her fingers. Its texture grounded her, though she wasn't sure why she needed grounding at all, fear was something she had lost. But she felt alert, sharply aware in a way that made the world's edges feel too close.
Behind her, Severin explained two-day-old tracks to Caelan, who furrowed his brow in exaggerated concentration as though effort alone might make the words stick. Their voices muddled together under the hum building beneath Aelindra's ribs.
The river flowed gently, too gently.
Aelindra's hand stilled around the charm.
Severin noticed first, as he always did. He shifted. "What is it?"
"I don't know," she murmured, eyes narrowing. "Something is wrong."
Caelan stepped closer, his relaxed demeanor sharpening into something heavier. "Where?"
Aelindra lifted her gaze toward the treeline on the opposite bank.
"I don't see anything," Severin said quietly.
"That's exactly the problem." Caelan's tone dropped. "The riverbank is never empty at this hour. Fishermen usually gather before dusk. Nets. Lanterns. Noise."
Aelindra nodded. The silence pressed around them, thick and unnatural.
A breeze passed, lifting strands of her hair.
Then, a shout tore through the settlement.
Short. Urgent. Followed by another, sharper, layered with fear.
Aelindra stepped forward, not hesitating for even a breath.
Caelan swore and started running. "Come on!" They ran towards the market square.
Severin caught Aelindra's forearm, not to hold her back, only steady her as the crowd began to surge. "Stay close."
They darted through the market square as villagers turned toward the noise, lanterns swinging wildly, merchants abandoning their carts to join the rush.
Aelindra didn't feel fear. Only focus, cold, clear, precise.
When the crowd thinned enough, she saw it:
A horse collapsed in the dirt, foam and blood streaking its neck. Its rider, a man in his thirties with dust-caked hair, shook uncontrollably, breath hitching in ragged bursts.
Several villagers knew him; voices called his name, hands reached to steady him.
"They're coming, " he gasped. "On the road, less than an hour"
Everyone went still.
Caelan stepped forward, muscles tensing. "Raiders?"
The man shook his head violently.
"Not raiders. Not bandits."
Aelindra watched him closely. His eyes were wide, haunted.
"They wore the mark," he whispered. "The veiled eye."
Severin froze.
Aelindra's pulse thrummed.
The closed eye from her visions.
The same symbol from Severin's nightmares.
Caelan turned slowly, gaze flicking between them. "You two know something."
Neither Aelindra nor Severin responded.
The peaceful days were over.
Before anyone could speak again, another villager emerged from the road, a woman with windswept hair and a satchel slung across her shoulder. She moved with confidence, pushing through the crowd with no fear of the chaos around her.
Caelan blinked. "Marienne?"
Aelindra studied her, mid-twenties, sharp brown eyes, sturdy boots, and the posture of someone used to both danger and responsibility. She carried herself like she belonged in the middle of emergencies.
Marienne's gaze swept over the injured rider, the bleeding horse, then the assembled panic. "I heard shouting from the west path." She knelt beside the rider without hesitation. "Tell me exactly what you saw."
The rider's breath trembled. "Cloaks, dark. Painted symbol, white. A single eye open."
Marienne's jaw tightened. "How many?"
"Six… maybe more."
Murmurs rose through the crowd.
Caelan grabbed her arm. "You shouldn't be here alone"
"I'm not alone," she said, giving him a pointed look. "You forget who trained me."
Aelindra caught the hint of pride in Caelan's exhale, though he tried to hide it.
Marienne finally looked at Aelindra and Severin, eyes lingering a moment too long. Not suspicion exactly, something closer to recognition, though they had never met.
"You're the travelers Caelan mentioned," she said. "Good. We'll need every able body."
Aelindra tilted her head. "What do you plan to do?"
Marienne stood. "Evacuate the outer farms. Get the elders indoors. Move children to the cellar under the meeting hall. And if the riders reach the settlement before we're ready…" She pulled a dagger from her belt. "We buy time."
Severin stepped forward, voice low. "Fighting them outright is suicide. They're trained. Organized."
"And we're not?" Marienne shot back.
Aelindra watched both of them, her gaze unreadable. "We can't win ."
Marienne frowned. "Then what do you suggest?"
Aelindra turned to Severin, not to ask permission, but to show she already knew what needed to happen.
"We leave," she said. "Tonight."
Caelan blinked. "Leave? Now? With raiders on the road?"
"We're not running from them." Severin's tone was steady. "But we can't protect this place, not against a group marked by the open eye. We need distance. Higher ground. Space to train properly. And if they're connected to our visions, if they're connected to us, staying here puts everyone in danger.
Marienne folded her arms. "You're suggesting abandoning the settlement while riders are approaching."
Aelindra met her stare directly. "If we stay, the riders follow us here. People die. Children die."
The bluntness sucked the air out of the conversation.
Marienne opened her mouth, then closed it.
Caelan rubbed the back of his neck, conflicted. "She's right."
Marienne stared at him. "…You believe them?"
He hesitated, but only for a heartbeat. "Yes." " Seraphine sent them here, there must be a reason for that"
Aelindra's voice softened. "If we leave now, they may follow us instead. Away from the settlement."
Severin nodded. "And we need to commence training. We can't delay anymore."
Marienne's gaze sharpened. "Training for what?"
Severin didn't answer.
Aelindra didn't either.
Marienne studied them for a long, tense moment. Then she exhaled. "Fine. But if you're leaving, you don't go alone. I'll lead you to the ridge trail, here's a safe path through the woods before it forks west. Faster, hidden, and uphill. Riders won't be able to track you easily."
Caelan blinked. "You're coming with us?"
"Not past the ridge," she corrected. "But I'll get you that far."
A shout rose from the far side of the settlement, children being herded indoors. Elders calling out instructions. The rising panic thrummed against Aelindra's skin like vibrations in the air.
"We need to move," Severin said.
Marienne nodded and glanced at Caelan. "Help the elders. Then meet us at the stable. Bring only what you can carry and nothing you'll cry over losing."
Caelan squeezed her shoulder briefly, silent gratitude, then sprinted toward the frenzied crowd.
Marienne turned back to Aelindra and Severin. "You two, come with me."
They followed her as she moved quickly through the settlement's outer streets. Aelindra kept her stride smooth, steady, unbothered by the chaos unfolding around them. She didn't flinch at the shouting, the slamming doors, the fear thick in the air.
Fear wasn't something she understood.
But she did understand danger.
And it was close.
At the stable, she helped Marienne pack supplies onto a single horse—food, water, flint, extra cloaks. Severin checked the saddles while Marienne pointed to the northern path.
"You'll take the forest trail first," she said. "It twists, but it's hidden. Once you reach the ridge, you'll see a stone marker shaped like a split tree. That's where you turn west. Stay on that path and you'll avoid the open valley where riders usually track movement."
Aelindra listened carefully. "How long until the ridge?"
"Four hours at a steady pace," Marienne replied. "Less if you push."
Severin looked at Aelindra. "We'll push.
Caelan arrived moments later, breathless but ready. He tossed two additional packs onto the horse and secured his bow across his back.
"You sure about this?" he asked, voice low.
Aelindra nodded once. "Yes."
Caelan held her gaze a moment longer, searching for something, fear, hesitation, second thoughts, but found none.
"Alright," he said softly. "Let's go."
Marienne walked with them to the end of the settlement, lantern in hand. At the entrance to the forest path, she stopped.
"This is as far as I go." She turned to Caelan first. "Come back alive. Or I'll drag your ghost home myself."
He smirked faintly. "Yes, ma'am."
Then she faced Aelindra. "I don't know why you're important. But I can tell Caelan trusts you." Her eyes flicked to the talisman in Aelindra's hand. "And that means something."
Aelindra dipped her head not quite a bow, but acknowledgment. "Thank you."
Marienne turned to Severin last. "Take care of them." A beat. "And yourself."
He nodded.
Then Marienne stepped back as they lit their torches and entered the forest, the settlement's glow dimming behind them.
The night deepened around them, quiet, heavy, dangerous.
Aelindra walked between Severin and Caelan, her steps light, the talisman warm in her palm.
Ahead, the trees thickened.
Behind them, the open eye drew closer, and somewhere in the dark,
the storm truly began.