The air within the sanctuary felt heavier now, thick with the remnants of something unseen. The pendant may have been sealed away, but its presence lingered, whispering in the silence, clinging to the walls like an imprint of something unwilling to be forgotten.
Vivian stood frozen by the water's edge, her breath shallow. Her reflection had returned to normal, the smirk gone as though it had never been there, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something inside her had shifted.
Sebastian was beside her before she even realized he had moved. "What is it?" he asked, his voice steady, but his gaze sharp. He had seen her flinch—seen the way her fingers had clenched at her sides as if she had been burned.
"Nothing," she lied, swallowing hard. "It's nothing."
She turned away before he could press further. They had no time for uncertainty. They had done what they came here to do. The pendant was sealed. The sanctuary would hold. But why did it feel like something had been left undone?
Elaria approached from behind, her gaze flickering between them. "We should leave before dawn. The energy here is… unstable."
Lucian, who had been silent up until now, finally spoke. "Agreed. Whatever is stirring here—it won't take kindly to our presence."
Vivian nodded, but even as they prepared to leave, she couldn't shake the weight pressing against her chest.
The journey back was uneventful, but the silence between them all was louder than any conversation could have been. The forest seemed darker than before, the trees casting twisted shadows against the underbrush. Even the wind carried something foreign, whispering through the leaves in a way that made the hairs on Vivian's arms rise.
She hadn't told them what she saw.
She hadn't told them about the smirk.
But it was there, at the back of her mind, a lingering presence that refused to fade. It wasn't just the pendant. It wasn't just the darkness they had sealed away.
It was her.
Sebastian's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "We'll stop here for the night."
They had reached a clearing, the remnants of an abandoned outpost barely visible in the overgrowth. The structure was nothing more than a few broken walls, but it was enough shelter for them to set up camp.
Vivian sat near the fire, her hands stretched toward the flames, but the warmth did nothing to chase away the cold that had settled in her bones.
Lucian sat across from her, watching. "You're not yourself."
She met his gaze, forcing a small smile. "I haven't been myself for a long time."
His expression didn't change. "What happened at the sanctuary?"
She hesitated, fingers tightening in her lap. "I thought I saw something," she admitted. "But it was just a trick of the water. Nothing more."
Lucian's eyes narrowed, but he didn't push further. Instead, he simply said, "We're never truly rid of the things we fight."
Vivian looked away, unable to meet his gaze. She knew that better than anyone.
The night was restless.
Vivian dreamed of shadows. They slithered beneath her skin, curling through her veins, whispering in a language she didn't understand. And at the center of it all—
Her own face, staring back at her.
The smirk was there again, but this time, it spoke.
You can't hide from me.
Vivian woke with a start, her chest heaving. The fire had burned low, casting the clearing in long, stretching shadows. She sat up, pressing a hand against her temple, trying to steady her breath.
A figure moved at the edge of her vision.
She turned sharply, expecting one of the others—but there was no one there. Just the trees. Just the dark.
And yet, she felt something watching.
The night pressed in around her, suffocating in its silence.
Maybe the pendant was sealed.
Maybe the darkness was gone.
But something had stayed behind.
Something inside her.
And it was waiting.
To be continued...