Hours of riding had passed,and the forest had begun to change. Slowly but subtly. The overgrown path wound through ancient trees, their limbs arching overhead like brittle bones. The once-lively sounds of the woods had drowned into a quiet so complete, it felt like its own presence, dense and oppressive. We trailed behind Solas and Cerilla, their usual banter replaced by stiff postures and unspoken tension. The air grew colder, heavier. The forest pressed down on us, almost insufferably close. Unseen eyeslingered in the shadows that leached between dying trees, watching. The silence clung to my skin like the stench of rot that drifted faintly in the stale air. My knuckles whitened on the edge of the saddle. A branch cracked to the left of us. I whipped towards the sound, my silver hair flying around my shoulders.
“Just a branch,” the Commander murmured from behind me.
“Something feels wrong,” I whispered. It felt like spiders were crawling over my skin.
“We are in the Mourning Woods. It feelswrongbecause itis.” His voice sent an unnatural shudder through me. “This is where the veil is the thinnest. The Seven Hells and the six heavens bleed into our world here,” he whispered back almost mockingly. “Things slip through, like monsters.” Fear coiled deep within my core. The Commander pulled on Winston’s reins, bringing the beast to a halt, though it chortled restlessly, as if being here startled it as much as me.
“We are stopping here?” I shrilled. His chuckle reverberated from behind me, radiating into my body.
“You are. I will be going the rest of the way alone.”
I felt the subtle shift of his body as he dismounted behind me, the warmth of him vanishing only to return in the press of large hands encircling my waist. He lifted me from the saddle with unsettling ease, as if I weighed nothing at all. His touch lingered just a moment too long as he sat me down. His fingers brushed my ribs before slipping away, slow, deliberate. When I looked up, his eyes were already on mine. Dark, unreadable, and far too close.
“You are safe for now, Little Drownling,” he murmured. His voice was low, rough with something unspoken, and I could feel it settle into my bones like a promise... or a threat.But it was the unexpected ease that seeped into my body that surprised me. He had muttered a word I had never felt before: safe. I had never known safety, never been allowed the luxury of it. How was it that, in the presence of the Commander of Death, standing in a forest filled with monsters, I believed him?
I swallowed and took a step back from him, the stale air rushing between us. One side of his mouth twitched into a predatory smirk.
“Clever little thing,” he mused before walking towards Solas and Cerilla. “Patrol the perimeter the moment night falls and do not let anything happen to my prisoner.” My lip sneered at the word. It was another reminder that I wasn’t free.
“You arenotgoing alone,” Cerilla interjected, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You both cannot come with me. I need her,” he said with a gesture over his shoulder towards me, “alive and far away from the Fates.”
“Solas will stay, and I will accompany you, brother.” She began gathering weapons from the satchel attached to Sugar.
“No, I will not risk you like that. You stay here with Solas.”
“No,” she said, voice tight with emotion. “You protect everyone, all the time. Just this once, let me protect you.”
The Commander sighed, running his hand through his dark curls.
“Fine,” he muttered. His shadows curled tighter around him, thickening like armour, as if they could smother the flicker of emotion in his sister’s voice.
They left Solas and me standing beneath the decaying husks of trees to set up camp. With every step theCommander took into the gloom, questions unfurled through my chest. I needed answers. I busied myself watering the horses, but the silence pressed in, heavy and unnatural. Solas crouched by the fire, stirring grains in a metal pot over the open flame. He hummed to himself like we weren’t surrounded by rot and the crawling sensation of eyes watching from the depths of the woods. Apparently, nothing lived here, not even woodland animals for Solas to cook. The Mourning Woods were utterly dead. His nonchalance grated against the eerie stillness. Every step I took sounded too loud, and every crackle of the fire made me flinch.
We ate in the eerie silence. Solas didn’t seem to mind, and I was too scared the sound of my voice would alert whatever lingered in the depth of the woods to our location. The late afternoon sun shone lazily through the jagged branches, refusing to grace my skin with its warmth as if the Mourning Woods repelled even that.
Solas sat beside me on the log, the fire crackling between us.
“What are they looking for out there?” I whispered.
He gave me a sidelong glance. “Ah, youcanspeak. Thank the heavens, I thought the Commander stole your voice again.” He laughed at his own comment before shovelling another spoonful of grains into his mouth. “The Commander is seeking the Fire Fates. They are dangerous creatures who knoweverything.If they don’t burn you to a crisp and you can understand their riddles, that is.”
I tucked that information away. A being that held every answer to every unanswered question I had was more than alluring. A part of me worried for Cerilla, the other hoped the Commander would come back with scorch marks on his stupidly handsome face. A monstershould have the face of a monster, not one carved by the Gods.
“And he left me here with you? What if I run? What if I kill you?” I asked seriously.
“I am not worried. You risked your life to save mine already.” He huffed a quiet laugh and gave me a knowing smile. “You do not want to admit it, but you like us.”
A scoff escaped me. “Oh, how could I not like you all? I’ve been dragged into foreign lands as a prisoner to play a part in a war no one’s explained against an unknown enemy.”
He sighed before lowering his voice. “The enemy is the Seven Hells and the Gods themselves.”
A shiver tore up my spine and I lowered my voice. “How is that possible? The realms were sealed when the Sea Goddess died.”
He studied me, jaw tight. “Yeah, one thousand years ago. Her magic has faded, and her Relics are impossible to find to see if we can reinforce them.”
I blinked, caught off guard. I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat. Had I weakened the veil by taking the power from the axe?
