heart open, testify, tell me i'm not crazy
Marcus felt his stomach drop the moment Nova’s hand turned toward his, her fingers reaching with bright confidence as if the strange pool were nothing more than an invitation. The easy excitement in her voice clashed sharply with the warning that had tightened in his chest the second she’d leaned toward the water. Before she could pull him forward, Marcus caught her wrist. The movement wasn’t rough, but it was firm enough to stop her momentum. “Nova—wait.”
He loosened his grip almost immediately, but instead of letting go entirely he shifted backward on his heels and gently guided them both another step away from the pool’s edge. The surface of the water remained perfectly still behind them. The young hybrid's jaw feathered. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, more serious now, “it’s not like stepping through a doorway and suddenly you’re somewhere interesting.”
He exhaled slowly, searching his memory for the things he had read in the guild library about this place. The descriptions had stuck with him because they had sounded less like magic and more like a warning. He didn't let go of her, afraid she would ignore him and jump in anyway. “People say when you fall in, you don’t arrive anywhere. You just drop into nothing. No ground, no sky, no direction.”
Marcus kept his eyes on hers, trying to impart the seriousness of it all. Part of him regretted bringing them here at all. The Greatwood had a way of guiding travelers where it wanted them, and now that they had arrived at the Eyes of Vi, leaving felt less like a choice and more like a negotiation with the forest itself. “Let’s not test it, okay? I can't...I can't call anyone in case it goes bad.” Not any demigods, not his dad, not her mom.
He loosened his grip almost immediately, but instead of letting go entirely he shifted backward on his heels and gently guided them both another step away from the pool’s edge. The surface of the water remained perfectly still behind them. The young hybrid's jaw feathered. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, more serious now, “it’s not like stepping through a doorway and suddenly you’re somewhere interesting.”
He exhaled slowly, searching his memory for the things he had read in the guild library about this place. The descriptions had stuck with him because they had sounded less like magic and more like a warning. He didn't let go of her, afraid she would ignore him and jump in anyway. “People say when you fall in, you don’t arrive anywhere. You just drop into nothing. No ground, no sky, no direction.”
Marcus kept his eyes on hers, trying to impart the seriousness of it all. Part of him regretted bringing them here at all. The Greatwood had a way of guiding travelers where it wanted them, and now that they had arrived at the Eyes of Vi, leaving felt less like a choice and more like a negotiation with the forest itself. “Let’s not test it, okay? I can't...I can't call anyone in case it goes bad.” Not any demigods, not his dad, not her mom.
m a r c u s
