“You saw some in the wetlands?” Keegan repeated in disbelief.
My gaze moved deeper into the space, toward the far end where the light dimmed just slightly, where the vines grew thicker, where something else waited just beyond what I could see.
“I’m sure of it.”
The stone’s heat began cooling in my palm as I looked around the large expanse with magical creatures. It was as if this was finally where the stone could breathe again.
Twobble eyed a little bird who looked as if she belonged somewhere in the tropics. The only difference was that her claws looked as if they were made out of diamonds.
“I bet some of these don't even have names,” Twobble said.
I let out a quiet breath, though it didn’t quite reach the place in my chest that had been wound too tight since we left the marsh.
“Some of them probably don’t,” I said.
Keegan didn’t take his eyes off the creatures moving through the space, his gaze tracking one of the winged foxes as it dipped lower, its wings catching the light before it curved upward again.
Small, snake-like creatures with tiny legs and iridescent scales perched along the branches above us, their bodies draped over the limbs like living ribbons, their curious eyes tracking our every step. The way they moved wasn’t threatening, but there was something about the stillness between their moves that made it clear they were paying attention in a way that went far beyond simple curiosity.
I slowed just slightly, my gaze lifting as one of them adjusted its position, the light catching along its scales in a soft shimmer that shifted between brilliant colors. It blinked once, slow and deliberate, and I had the distinct feeling that if I reached out, it wouldn’t hesitate to strike.
“Friendly?” Twobble asked under his breath.
I didn’t look at him. “Define friendly.”
“That’s… not encouraging.”
I chuckled. “Well, they didn’t try to attack me last time I was here.”
Keegan’s hand brushed mine as we walked, not grabbing, not pulling, just there.
“They’re watching,” he said quietly.
I nodded.
“You saw some of these in the wetlands,” he repeated, not quite a question this time.
“Positive.”
The memory settled in more distinctly with shapes in the distance that hadn’t belonged there. Movement that didn’t match the dying land. Wings where there shouldn’t have been wings. Light where there should have only been shadow.
“They weren’t supposed to be there,” I said quietly.
“No,” Keegan agreed. “They weren’t.”
“So maybe Shadowick is housing some as well?”
The stone’s temperature shifted in my palm.
I looked down at it, watching as the faint glow that had clung to it since Gideon handed it over softened.
It wasn’t fighting here or pushing…or calling me. It was settling.
“It feels different,” I murmured.
Twobble glanced over, abandoning his quiet inspection of the jeweled bird. “Different how?”
“Like it’s not trying to go somewhere,” I said. “Like it’s already home.”
