We walk out together.
My chaos magic stays quiet.
For the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe.
Chapter 5
Kaia
We move.
Because I said so. Because Seren is out there. Because sitting still feels like waiting to die.
Kieran disagreed. I watched his golden eyes hold mine—ancient authority versus someone who’s done listening. He backed down.
Damn right he did.
Now everyone’s following in silence, exhausted and pissed off, and I’m pretending my hands don’t shake every time I adjust my pack.
Mouse perches on my shoulder, tail twitching against my neck. Bob’s at my right, bristling. Patricia walks beside me, notebook blazing—scribbling what, I don’t know, but it looks aggressive.
The newer shadows keep glancing at the trees like something’s going to step out.
My legs ache. My chest feels tight. The bonds pull in directions that don’t make sense.
Keep moving. Just keep moving.
I look back. Finn’s near the front, quieter than usual. His chaos magic sparks but doesn’t spiral. Malrik stays close to him, shadows softer around them both.
Torric and Aspen seem restless, their magic flaring as steam rises between them.
Kieran keeps his distance, watching me like I’m about to break.
I won’t.
Something’s off.
They’re judging me. Have to be. For Darian. For claiming him when I don’t even know what that means.
Finn won’t look at me.
Malrik’s hiding something.
Kieran’s angry.
I’m being paranoid. Right?
But the bonds feel wrong—strained, pulling, like wounds that won’t close.
And my shadows are acting weird.
Walter drifts toward the trees, pulses once, then floats back. He does this three times in five minutes.
Carl vibrates too fast, like a compass that can’t find north.
Linda keeps tugging shadows backward, forcing them into formation.
Bob stops walking entirely and just stares into the woods, edges flaring.
