The night after the Seventh Seal was unnaturally quiet.
No beasts stirred. No wind howled. Even the flames crackled softly, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Rael sat cross-legged at the edge of camp, his bare arms streaked with pale gold from the glow beneath his skin. The air around him pulsed with slow, divine rhythm — the seventh seed now fully part of his being.
Each breath shaped the air. Each heartbeat hummed with weight.
Laria stood nearby, silent and composed. She watched the energy spiral off him in waves, the glow that danced behind his closed eyelids, the subtle distortion in the surrounding space.
"He's evolving," Selene said beside her, arms crossed.
"No," Laria murmured. "He's transforming."
Selene frowned. "We've seen him like this before."
"Not like this." Laria's fingers tightened around the flamewood staff she carried. "This time, it's not just power. It's divinity. The balance of light and void. He's becoming what the world has forgotten how to name."
From farther off, Nyssira watched them all.
She sat alone on a rocky ledge, her cloak wrapped loosely around her shoulders, long violet hair unbound. The taste of Rael's kiss still lingered on her lips — not in flesh, but in memory. It had stripped her down to something more fragile than skin.
She remembered the way he looked at her when she broke.
He hadn't pitied her.
He hadn't soothed her.
He saw her.
And now that he did… she couldn't bear the weight of distance any longer.
She stood, trembling only slightly, and made her way toward him.
Rael opened his eyes just as she arrived.
He didn't move.
Nyssira stopped in front of him, and for a moment simply stood in silence, the moonlight catching the curve of her cheek, the uncertain set of her lips.
"I don't want to be a shadow anymore," she said softly.
"You never were."
She reached out slowly, her hand brushing his cheek. "I'm not as bold as Selene. Or as wise as Laria. Or as wild as Kessai."
"You're Nyssira," Rael said, "and that's enough."
Her breath caught. "I'm afraid. But I still want to be yours. Not just in name."
He rose to his feet.
She stepped into his arms.
Their kiss this time had no hesitation. Her hands tugged gently at the fabric of his shirt. He guided her backward through the trees, to a quiet glade surrounded by ivy-draped stones. When her robe fell, he paused, cupping her jaw.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
He undressed slowly — not to seduce, but to honor the weight of this moment. When he lay her down upon the moss, her eyes never left his.
She gasped as he entered her — not in pain, but in disbelief.
Like waking from a nightmare she thought would never end.
Their rhythm was slow, each motion matched by breath, by pulse, by the soft rustle of leaves. Nyssira clung to him, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, her moans hushed but full of surrender.
When she came, it was with trembling sobs that broke something inside her.
And when he followed, his face buried in her neck, his hand pressed against her heart, it was not with dominance.
It was with devotion.
Afterward, he held her in the crook of his arm, stroking her hair.
"You're trembling."
"I feel clean," she whispered. "Like the pain finally has somewhere to go."
Rael kissed her brow. "It has a home now."
She traced a symbol over his chest. "Thank you. For waiting."
He smiled. "I'll always wait for you."
Back at camp, Selene stirred from sleep.
She glanced toward the trees — and knew.
She didn't rage. Didn't break.
But her grip on the dagger beside her bedroll tightened.
Laria sat beside her, brushing her long auburn hair.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you," she said gently.
Selene huffed. "I'm not jealous. I'm territorial."
Laria smiled faintly. "He's not a prize to claim. But I understand."
Selene looked at her. "You don't get angry. Why?"
"Because I already have my moment. And I know another one will come. Love doesn't diminish when shared. It deepens."
Selene didn't reply.
But she understood.
By morning, mist coiled low around the camp. Kessai groaned as she pulled on her boots, muttering curses at the cold. Laria prepared tea over the embers. Hel, as usual, was nowhere to be seen — or simply did not wish to be seen.
But Shaevari was.
She stood leaning against a tree, arms folded, cloak still damp with dew. She watched Rael return with Nyssira, both freshly clothed but unmistakably changed.
When he passed her, she spoke without turning.
"You'll ruin her, you know."
Rael stopped. "You're wrong."
"She's soft. You're fire. That always ends the same."
Rael walked closer. "Then why are you still here, watching the flames?"
Shaevari smirked. "Because I want to know if you'll burn out — or burn through."
She turned to face him. "You think you've earned my interest?"
"I know I've earned your attention."
That made her eyes narrow.
She stepped into his space — close enough for her breath to touch his lips.
"I'm not one of your priestesses."
Rael didn't back away.
"I don't want you to be."
Shaevari's hand moved fast — a dagger drawn and placed at his throat in the blink of an eye.
He didn't flinch.
Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers.
"You're testing me," he said calmly. "But I won't prove myself with fear."
She held the blade for a heartbeat longer… then slowly lowered it.
"I hate how calm you are."
"You'll hate how much you'll want me later," he murmured.
Shaevari let out a frustrated exhale and vanished into the treetops.
But not far.
That evening, Rael sat beside the fire, flanked by Laria and Kessai.
Kessai leaned over, poking Shaevari's abandoned seat with her scabbard.
"So, does the shadow-fae like long walks in death forests? Or is stalking Rael just a family trait?"
Selene rolled her eyes. "Subtle."
Laria chuckled. "She's curious. But curiosity isn't loyalty."
"I'd like to see her try to stab him again," Kessai muttered. "I'll break her arm."
Rael shook his head. "She's still deciding who she is. Let her."
"She's not the only one," Laria said softly, looking toward the darkened woods. "There's someone else watching."
Rael's eyes flicked toward the distance.
Hel.
She hadn't spoken in days. But he felt her gaze. Always.
Later, as the others slept, Laria knelt beside Rael's bedroll.
"You're tired."
"I'm changing," Rael said quietly.
She reached out, placing a hand over his heart. "And still grounded."
He turned his head toward her.
"Will you stay?"
Laria smiled.
"I already have."
The fire dimmed.
Above them, the stars shimmered faintly.
Rael lay awake, feeling each presence around him.
Selene. Fierce and protective.Nyssira. Devoted and new.Laria. Wise and eternal.Kessai. Wild and loyal.Shaevari. Circling.Hel. Distant.
He was no longer walking alone.
But the path ahead would test what these bonds were built upon.
Because the eighth seed pulsed faintly now.
Calling.
And next… they would walk into a realm not of gods or monsters.
But of forgotten truths.