Ashen Ridge looked peaceful on the surface.
Quiet streets.Market stalls opening.Mothers sweeping doorsteps.Workers heading out with tools over their shoulders.
But Rafe felt the tension the moment they stepped outside Irden's shop.
Not danger.Not hostility.
Attention.
Eyes lingering too long.Whispers passing too quickly.People glancing at Selene's cloak, at Mara's stance, at Lyn's nervous grip on Rafe's sleeve.
They noticed everything.
Except the most important thing.
The girl.
She leaned against a wooden post beside an empty fruit stand, arms crossed, pretending to be bored. But her eyes tracked every detail with frightening precision.
Short dark hair.Sharp cheekbones.A hunter's posture.A guild badge shaped like a falcon pinned to her belt.
She wasn't hiding.She wasn't blending in.
She simply… watched.
Rafe felt her gaze slide over his skin like a cold fingertip.
Mara noticed too.
She glared instantly."What is she staring at?"
Lyn squeezed tighter."M-Maybe she's just curious…"
Rafe didn't respond.
Because the Primordial stirred.
Not whispering.Not guiding.Just reacting.
Another flame… but dim. Curious. Small.
He ignored the comment — if it was even meant to be one — and kept walking.
Selene led them back toward the inn with long, decisive steps.
"Do not interact with anyone," she murmured. "Not yet."
Rafe nodded.
But the girl… didn't move.
Her eyes followed him like she was solving a puzzle only she could see.
He tried to disguise his reaction, but she caught it.
Her lips twitched.Not a smile.Not a smirk.
Something like acknowledgment.
Someone who knew he knew she was watching.
Rafe turned away first.
Selene pushed them inside the inn.
The door shut.
But the girl remained outside, expression sharpening slightly.
Then she muttered:
"…He's different."
And vanished into the street.
Upstairs in the room, Rafe paced.
He tried to calm the buzz in his chest — the tension between what was happening inside him and what was happening around him.
Mara sat on the bed, arms crossed, watching him.
"You felt her, didn't you?"
Rafe stopped pacing.
"…Yes."
"She wasn't normal."
"No."
Lyn sat beside Mara, clutching the blanket.
"She scared me…"
Mara snorted.
"She scared me because she didn't look scared of us."
Rafe didn't say it out loud, but he agreed.
People were supposed to avoid Selene.To avoid kids near mages.To avoid strangers.
But this girl?She wasn't avoiding anything.
She wasn't even pretending to.
And that bothered him.
Selene entered the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
"We're leaving at dawn. The faster we get out of this town, the better."
Rafe frowned.
"You noticed her too."
"Of course," Selene said. "She's watching us. She's trained. Likely from a scouting guild."
Lyn stiffened.
"Is she dangerous…?"
Selene hesitated.
"Not yet. But keep your distance."
Mara got up from the bed.
"So what do we do now?"
"Rest," Selene said. "Tomorrow is a long day."
But Rafe couldn't rest.
Not really.
Not after everything.
He lay in bed with Mara snoring softly across from him and Lyn curled up at his side.
His eyes stayed open.
He stared at the ceiling.
At the shadows.
And at the faint light beneath his skin pulsing with his heartbeat.
Light and shadow were stable.But beneath them…
Something else stirred.
A third presence.Silent.Heavy.Cold.
He tried to breathe it away.
He tried to pretend it wasn't there.
But the moment his eyes finally closed, his consciousness slipped — not into sleep, but into something deeper.
Something like the echo he experienced with the Director.
But colder.
Darker.
This time, when he opened his eyes…
He wasn't in a forest.Or a ruin.Or a mindscape.
He stood in a space made of nothing but faint blue mist.
A soft voice spoke behind him.
Not the Director.Not Selene.Not the Primordial.
A child's voice.
"You shouldn't let them see you."
Rafe turned slowly.
The girl from the street stood there.
Same dark hair.Same sharp eyes.Same posture.
Except here, her eyes glowed faint gold.
Rafe stepped back.
"How—? Where are we?"
She tilted her head.
"I'm dreaming."
Rafe blinked.
"…I'm not."
She shrugged.
"Then you shouldn't be here."
He stared at her.
"Are you doing this?"
"No."
"Then what—?"
She cut him off by raising one finger.
"Look down."
Rafe did.
The blue mist under his feet wasn't mist.
It was leaking from him.
From the third layer Irden had mentioned.
He stumbled back in shock.
The girl sighed.
"You're… loud."
"Loud?"
"Yes. Your soul is loud."She narrowed her eyes."It's annoying."
Rafe opened his mouth.
Closed it.
"What… are you?"
She blinked once.
"Awake."
And then the world snapped like glass.
Rafe gasped silently and shot upright in bed.
Lyn stirred beside him.Mara snored louder.Selene slept with one eye open in the next room.
Everything looked normal.
Except his heart felt like it was hammering against a cage.
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
The girl's voice still echoed in his ears.
Your soul is loud.
He didn't understand what that meant.
But he understood something else:
She wasn't done with him.
Not even close.