Theea
"Hers was rare. Really rare," I say as we walk, slipping my thumbs into the straps of my bag. "There were all kinds of classes of magic in her world—earth, fire, illusion, conjuration, healing, shadow. People had bloodlines, family legacies. But hers… lightning? That didn’t exist. Not until her. Not that anyone ever heard of."
I glance toward Elizabeth, half-grinning. "They never figured out why. Why her, why then. One day she was just summoning storms out of the air, and no one could explain it. And then before they had a chance to figure it out—before she could even begin to understand it—she was swept into Caido.
The trees overhead filter the sunlight like water through leaves, and I tip my head up for a second, watching the way it flickers. "Remi, Ronin, Vai… all of them came too. Just—pulled from one world to another. And here? Lightning, immortality… all the strange pieces that made her different back home were just drops in the ocean here."
I let out a soft breath, not quite a sigh. "I guess the mystery died with that world. No answers. Just the memory of a question no one finished asking." My smile comes slow but sure, something warm tugging at the corner of my mouth. "But I kind of like that. That maybe there’s still a thread of her story drifting out there, in some other world, unsolved. Makes her feel big. Like she's a legend somewhere too.
I look at Elizabeth then, unable to hide the spark of eagerness in my voice. I just really love stories. Any kind. Memories. Old ones, new ones. Half-true ones told around fires or carved into trees or whispered like secrets. I think they’re the only real kind of magic that works in every world.
A beat. I tilt my head toward her, hopeful. "Do you have a favorite? A story, I mean?"
I glance toward Elizabeth, half-grinning. "They never figured out why. Why her, why then. One day she was just summoning storms out of the air, and no one could explain it. And then before they had a chance to figure it out—before she could even begin to understand it—she was swept into Caido.
The trees overhead filter the sunlight like water through leaves, and I tip my head up for a second, watching the way it flickers. "Remi, Ronin, Vai… all of them came too. Just—pulled from one world to another. And here? Lightning, immortality… all the strange pieces that made her different back home were just drops in the ocean here."
I let out a soft breath, not quite a sigh. "I guess the mystery died with that world. No answers. Just the memory of a question no one finished asking." My smile comes slow but sure, something warm tugging at the corner of my mouth. "But I kind of like that. That maybe there’s still a thread of her story drifting out there, in some other world, unsolved. Makes her feel big. Like she's a legend somewhere too.
I look at Elizabeth then, unable to hide the spark of eagerness in my voice. I just really love stories. Any kind. Memories. Old ones, new ones. Half-true ones told around fires or carved into trees or whispered like secrets. I think they’re the only real kind of magic that works in every world.
A beat. I tilt my head toward her, hopeful. "Do you have a favorite? A story, I mean?"
cause we waited years and years
just to make it worth the tears
to find out that we're not in this alone
so keep your head up high in these hours of the night
so when atlas drops the world on your shoulders, you still won't fall
