VISION ✔️ || The Keepers of Astraela #1

40.0 || Of Distrust and Celestial Gifts

EVA

IT WAS A TRAP. Eva was sure of it.

Even once the sun began to set, casting buttery light through the surrounding treeline and washing the clearing in lavender and cream, Eva remained inside the cabin. She had holed herself up in the living room since they first "settled in," if she could even call it that.

Emrys had no qualms with the prospect. He had made himself at home, cleaning up in the master bath and changing into perfectly-fitting clothes that he had found upon opening the master bedroom's closet. He seemed to appreciate their lodgings with blissful innocence.

It was a nice shelter and the clearing was quiet... and, most importantly, safe, as Amaya had promised. There had even been a hot meal waiting for them, which Emrys had taken full advantage of before making a break for the hot springs.

None of it made sense. Emrys had shown hesitance when Amaya left them, but any red flags in his mind seemed to melt away the moment they stepped foot into their cabin.

No amount of fine amenities could make Eva trust anything that woman gave them.

Any time she even thought about Amaya's face, rage filled her sight with red. She couldn't stop her dreams from resurfacing—the countless times Amaya had betrayed her own sister. Inside, she knew the intense emotions were Thana writhing against Amaya's torture, but she couldn't ignore it.

While the trance-like fog had worn off the moment Emrys ripped the pendant from her neck, a subtle warmth against her thigh reminded her that the battle was far from over. She may have left the Runestone behind to be washed away by mud, but its pulse had returned the moment she stepped foot inside the cabin, only to find it in her pocket once again.

Thankfully, Emrys had given her space since they arrived. She knew he sensed something off about her demeanor, and she was sure he attributed it to what had gone down at the mire. He had been through enough already. The last thing he needed was to know the cursed stone was still in her possession.

Ever since he left, she had allowed herself to be lost in her thoughts and hoped somehow, some way, she could process whatever was happening—until, finally, the suffocating silence drove her to the cabin's front door.

The warm evening breeze swept across her skin as she approached the water's edge. Emrys relaxed at the edge of the spring, submerged to his neck in the bubbling water. With his head tilted back and eyes shut, he almost appeared to be asleep, but she knew better. It would be a long while before either of them would be able to get a proper rest.

Emrys lifted his head at her approaching footsteps. As he turned to smile at her, Eva couldn't help but notice the tip of Thana's scythe tattoo peeking above his shoulder. It made her hand itch to reach out and pull the weapon from its enchanted ink. She had seen its physical form many times in her dreams, but to see its likeness etched into Emrys' back stirred Thana's energy within her.

"Settling in?" asked Emrys, breaking her from her thoughts.

Eva sat down at the water's edge and tucked her legs in a criss-cross. "Trying."

Emrys cocked his head, slicking back the wet hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. His lips parted for a moment before he shut them again.

While she understood that he was trying to give her much-needed time after the day's events, she wished he would have told her what was on his mind. She didn't want him harboring unspoken feelings—not when she didn't understand Thana's attack herself.

When a calm silence fell over them, her eyes drifted to his left arm. The skin had turned entirely gray from fingertip to shoulder, with even the veins connecting to his chest holding a sickly color as the Touch's progression drew closer to his heart. Emrys' eyes softened at her stare, and she looked away to avoid seeing his dull iris.