Rafe didn't go back to sleep.
He sat on the edge of the bed with his heartbeat still thundering from the dream… or vision… or whatever had just dragged him into a place that didn't belong to him.
Lyn slept curled against his arm, quietly breathing.Mara snored on the other bed, one leg hanging off the side like she was challenging gravity.
Rafe forced himself to breathe slowly.
A dream shouldn't feel that real.
A dream shouldn't show him leaking aura he didn't even know he had.
And a dream definitely shouldn't include a girl he'd never met speaking inside his head with glowing eyes.
He rubbed his face.
This shouldn't be happening.
He wasn't supposed to be interesting.Or important.Or visible.
He was supposed to be a ghost walking through a world too big to notice him.
But now the world saw him.Hunters.A Director.A Primordial.And a girl who claimed she wasn't dreaming.
He needed answers.
Dawn light crept through the window, turning the wooden floor pale gold.
Selene knocked softly.
"Rafe?"
He opened the door a crack.
"You didn't sleep," she murmured.
He didn't deny it.
"Something wrong?"
Rafe hesitated.
Selene wasn't someone he lied to. But he couldn't explain what happened — partly because he didn't understand it himself.
"…Just thinking," he said.
"Too much thinking leads to sickness," Selene said. "Eat something before we leave."
She didn't push further.But she watched him for a moment longer than normal.
Like she sensed the tremor in him.
Like she saw the shadows behind his eyes.
She walked away.
Rafe exhaled.
He shook Mara awake, gently nudged Lyn, and they headed downstairs.
The inn's tavern was warm and smelled of bread and wood smoke. A few early workers sat at tables, drinking bitter morning tea.
Selene bought food without speaking.
As they sat down, Rafe felt it again.
A gaze.
Sharp. Focused.Not from a crowd.Not from across the room.
From the door.
The girl from the street stepped inside, carrying a leather satchel slung across her back. Her cloak was travel-worn, boots scuffed, and her sharp eyes roamed the room with practiced awareness.
When they landed on Rafe—
She did not look away.
Mara immediately bristled."Oh great. She's back."
Lyn sank lower in her seat.
Selene froze mid-bite.
Rafe's fingers tightened around his cup.
The girl walked straight toward them.
Not hesitating.Not sneaking.Not pretending.
She stopped at their table and stared directly at Rafe.
"You didn't sleep," she said calmly.
Mara stood up instantly."How do you know that?!"
The girl ignored her.
"You were awake when the echo snapped," she continued.
Rafe's blood ran cold.
Selene shifted slightly, her hand drifting toward her staff.
"Explain," Selene said quietly.
The girl didn't even blink.
"I felt a disturbance. A mana echo that doesn't belong to this world. It reached across the dream boundary and pulled him in."
Mara looked horrified.
"What dream boundary?! What are you even talking about?!"
Lyn's voice trembled."Are you… a mage…?"
The girl shook her head.
"No. I'm a Seer."
Selene stiffened.
"That's impossible," she whispered. "Seers died out decades ago."
"Most," the girl said. "Not all."
She returned her gaze to Rafe, studying him like a puzzle she was slowly solving.
"You didn't enter my dream," she said. "You forced your way into it because your soul is too loud."
Rafe swallowed hard.
"You said that before. What does it mean?"
The girl nodded slightly, as if she expected the question.
"It means you have too much happening inside you. Too much presence. Too much noise. That third layer of your aura bleeds through your dreams."
Selene slapped her hand on the table.
"What third layer?!"
Rafe winced.
Irden's words hung in the air like a ghost.
The girl finally turned her head toward Selene.
"You're a mage. You should know."
Selene tensed."I don't know anything about a third—"
"You do," the girl said flatly. "You're just afraid to say it."
Mara growled, stepping closer.
"Hey! Watch how you talk to Selene."
The girl didn't even glance at her.
She pointed at Rafe instead.
"He's not just Light. Not just Shadow. And not just Primordial. Something else is inside him. Something older. Something heavy."
Rafe's stomach twisted.
"Older?"
The girl nodded once.
"Older than the Primordial."
Everyone froze.
Selene's face went pale.
"That's not possible."
"Nothing about him is possible," the girl said calmly. "Yet he exists."
Rafe felt his pulse rising.
"What do you want from me?"
The girl blinked.
"Nothing."
That surprised everyone.
She continued:
"I don't want anything. But if you keep leaking that presence, the entire region will notice eventually. And then the Commission will come."
Selene leaned forward sharply.
"You know the Commission?"
The girl nodded again.
"My guild watches them."
Mara narrowed her eyes."You're in a guild?"
"Falcon Guild. Scouting division."
Rafe remembered the small badge pinned to her belt.
The girl turned toward him once more.
"You should leave town today."
Selene stiffened.
"We planned to."
"No," the girl said. "I mean now. Immediately."
Rafe frowned.
"Why?"
The girl exhaled slowly, as if annoyed she had to explain.
"Because the moment you stepped inside this inn, the ambient mana changed. The Director will pick up the disturbance within hours."
Lyn trembled.
"She's looking for us already…?"
The Seer nodded.
"She's always looking. But now she knows the general area."
Selene stood abruptly.
"Mara. Lyn. Pack your things."
Mara's eyes widened."We're going now?!"
"Yes," Selene said. "Right now."
Rafe turned to the girl.
"Why are you helping us?"
She paused.
Then said, very quietly:
"Because I saw your future."
Everyone went silent.
Rafe felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine.
"What did you see?"
The girl met his eyes.
"You burn."
Rafe swallowed.
"That… doesn't sound good."
"It isn't," she said."But I also saw this."
She pointed at Mara.Then Lyn.Then Selene.Then Rafe again.
"You don't burn alone."
Mara blinked."What does THAT mean?!"
The girl didn't clarify.
She simply pulled her cloak around herself and stepped back.
"You don't know how to hide yet. But you should learn quickly."
She turned toward the door.
Stopped.
Then added:
"Also… if you enter my dream again without permission, I'll bite you."
Rafe blinked."What—?"
But she was already gone.
The door swung closed behind her.
Silence filled the inn.
Mara finally broke it.
"…I hate her."
Selene was pale."We're leaving. Now."
Lyn clung to Rafe.
"Is she… dangerous?"
Rafe shook his head slowly.
"No. Not dangerous."
But he couldn't shake the feeling in his chest.
Not danger.Not fear.Something else.
Something like… resonance.
Whatever that girl was — Seer, scout, something more —
He was sure of one thing.
This wasn't the last time he'd see her.