the darkness falls around me at night
I shake my head at the offer of furs, though it’s tempting now that the adrenaline is wearing off and sweat is cooling fast against my back. "I’ll be fine. Might regret it in ten minutes, but I’ll survive, I say, breath curling visibly in the air. I roll my shoulder once, testing the limits of exhaustion. My whole body aches like I’ve been through a dozen sparring matches back-to-back—but I’m upright. Breathing.
I didn’t die. I didn’t get anyone else hurt. I didn’t even get in the way. Maybe they didn’t need me—but I was still here, and I held my own. There’s a deep, quiet pride in that.
My gaze tracks the last traces of smoke and bodies as he moves toward the remains. When he mentions something that works better against the void, my brow furrows, thoughtful. "So—air magic?" I glance toward the nearest corpse. "That’s what you’ve been using, right? It worked better than anything I saw." I tuck the thought away, filing it beside my running list of things I need to learn yesterday.
Then he asks the question, and I straighten instinctively.
"My parents are Kalt Ravenshire and Ashetta Yla," I say, proud without hesitation, even if only one of those names might ring any bells, and perhaps not for him at all. "Most people wouldn't remember my dad, Kalt—he preferred it that way. But my mom…she was on her way to becoming a legend, once upon a time. She used to call Ronin and Remi Taliesin her brothers.
I glance down at my bloodied leather gloves, then wipe them absently on my already-filthy pants. "She gave it up to keep me safe. The fight. Her family. Left everything behind." I shrug, trying to sound casual and light. "I don’t know if I’ll ever measure up to her, let alone any of you, but I’m working on it."
I didn’t die. I didn’t get anyone else hurt. I didn’t even get in the way. Maybe they didn’t need me—but I was still here, and I held my own. There’s a deep, quiet pride in that.
My gaze tracks the last traces of smoke and bodies as he moves toward the remains. When he mentions something that works better against the void, my brow furrows, thoughtful. "So—air magic?" I glance toward the nearest corpse. "That’s what you’ve been using, right? It worked better than anything I saw." I tuck the thought away, filing it beside my running list of things I need to learn yesterday.
Then he asks the question, and I straighten instinctively.
"My parents are Kalt Ravenshire and Ashetta Yla," I say, proud without hesitation, even if only one of those names might ring any bells, and perhaps not for him at all. "Most people wouldn't remember my dad, Kalt—he preferred it that way. But my mom…she was on her way to becoming a legend, once upon a time. She used to call Ronin and Remi Taliesin her brothers.
I glance down at my bloodied leather gloves, then wipe them absently on my already-filthy pants. "She gave it up to keep me safe. The fight. Her family. Left everything behind." I shrug, trying to sound casual and light. "I don’t know if I’ll ever measure up to her, let alone any of you, but I’m working on it."
Theea
and covers me in silence so bright
