"This must be yours—Miss Victoria."
Sir Mnemon's voice was gentle, almost ceremonial. He held the necklace out to me, chain glinting faintly in the firelight.
For a split second, I didn't understand.
Then panic hit.
My hands flew to my neck, fingers scraping bare skin. Cold rushed through my chest, sharp and dizzying. *Gone.* I must have lost it when—
"Thank you, sir," I said quickly, the words tumbling over each other as I took it from him. The metal was cool against my palm, solid, real. I closed my fist around it like it might vanish again if I didn't.
Sir Mnemon inclined his head in a small bow and stepped away, returning to the carriage. The deserters were bound inside now, the vehicle repurposed into a crude holding cell. He stood watch alone, posture relaxed but unmistakably alert—like a man who did not need to be told twice what danger looked like.
The fire crackled.
"Are you alright?"
The voice startled me.
I turned to see Heiwa standing a short distance away, half-lit by the flames. Leaves clung to her hair, caught in the curve of her horns like careless ornaments. She looked unharmed—but not untouched.
"I'm alright," I said after a beat. "You?"
The image came uninvited—*the gun lifting, the barrel turning toward her*. My body jerked before I could stop it.
"Me?" she replied, brows knitting slightly. "I'm alright."
She clasped her hands together, fingers tight.
"Did you find anything?" I asked, mostly to anchor myself to something practical.
She shook her head. "Nothing useful. Just what was left of their hideout."
An owl hooted somewhere beyond the firelight. The sound was calm. Indifferent. The forest had already decided the night would continue, regardless of what we had spilled into it.
"So… what's the plan?" I pressed.
Miss Li Hua still hadn't returned. The carriage—our carriage—was no longer an option. But earlier, she'd said it wouldn't matter. That the rest of the journey would be done on foot.
Clutching my necklace, I hesitated, then asked quietly, "Are you… okay?"
Heiwa flinched.
Just a fraction. Half a step back before she caught herself.
She looked at me, then down at the ground.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. Her voice was barely louder than the fire. "If my actions frightened you."
"What?" The word came out sharper than I intended. "No. You did nothing wrong."
I stepped closer before I realized I was moving.
"I was the one who froze," I continued, heat rising behind my eyes. "I just stood there. Screaming. If Miss Li Hua hadn't acted—"
My throat tightened.
"It was a miracle," I finished weakly. "They could've hurt you. Or worse."
Heiwa lifted her head then, eyes steady but tired.
"Victoria," she said softly. "You were scared. Anyone would have been."
Before I could answer, the air shifted.
"You two should get some much-needed rest for tomorrow."
Miss Li Hua emerged into the firelight as if she had always been there. Her presence carried weight—subtle, pressing. She looked at me for a moment longer than necessary.
My chest tightened.
"Have some milk from Mnemon," she added lightly, fanning herself as if nothing had happened.
I nodded, though the night suddenly felt too warm. Sweat clung to my temples. As I sat there, unease curled in my stomach.
*I'm forgetting something.*
My hands felt wrong—clean. I let the thought drift, unfixed, and it sank.
The thought hovered just out of reach, slippery and alive.
Later, we returned to our tent.
Heiwa took my hand as we lay down, her grip firm—grounding. The world narrowed to the soft sounds of the forest, the distant crackle of the dying fire.
I stared into the dark.
Sleep circled me but never landed.
Somewhere, deep in my chest, a truth pressed quietly against my ribs—unburied, unmarked, waiting.