I wrap Rhett's hoodie tighter around me and start walking again, following the stone path through the trees. Everything here is soft and glowing and peaceful, but all I can think about is the sound of Jace's laugh. The way none of them turned around.
The way they talked about being wanted like it was just another Tuesday.
I've never been wanted. Not really. Not in a way that didn't come with conditions or expectations or someone trying to use me for something.
But watching them get that attention—attention that only existed because they stood next to me—made something in me hurt. Something I don't have words for.
Maybe it would've been easier if they'd actually done something. Kissed someone. Flirted back. That would've been clear.
But this? This felt like watching them discover they could have anyone they wanted. Because of magic I didn't mean to give them.
Magic that made them glow, apparently.
I think about leaving. It wouldn't be hard. Pack the few things I have, walk away before anyone notices I'm gone. It's what I've always done when things got complicated.
You disappear before they notice you're breaking.
That was Theo. Calling me out. Seeing through me when I thought I was being careful.
And here I am again, walking alone, thinking about running.
"I'm still here," I say out loud, because maybe if I say it enough times, I'll believe it.
The ground pulses under my feet.
Not scary. Not demanding. Just... awake. Like the Ether heard me and decided to pay attention.
I look up, and suddenly I can feel them. All the people camped beyond the garden. Families sleeping on the ground. Kids curled up in tents that aren't warm enough. Strangers who followed something they felt without knowing what they'd find.
They came here because of me. Because of what I am.
And they're sleeping on dirt.
I take a step forward, then another, until I'm standing at the edge of where the garden meets the forest.
The Ether stirs. Waiting.
I don't know what I'm doing. I just know I can't let this be what I offer people. Cold ground and rough camping and nothing else.
I step across the line.
Everything changes.
Trees bend without breaking, branches weaving together like they're dancing. Moss rises from the ground, soft and glowing, forming walls that feel alive. Leaves press and shape themselves into roofs that let in just enough starlight.
The forest doesn't become something else. It just... opens. Makes room.
Dozens of small homes bloom into existence. Then more. Each one different, shaped by need and comfort and something deeper than just shelter.
I stand in the middle of it all, watching the Ether work without me telling it what to do. It knows what people need. Knows how to help.
For the first time today, I feel like I did something right.
Something that matters.
I'm still staring at the glowing moss walls when I feel eyes on me.
Just... watching.
