Shadow Bound Fate

The Journey with Shadows

Lira's POV

The beginning of our journey was cloaked in an uneasy silence. Caius led the way with purposeful strides, while I trailed behind by a few paces, there was a slight limp to my walk while the wound on my thigh continued to heal. Ayla told me it would be fully healed by the time night fell. Caius' movements were fluid and deliberate, as though he had been trained to blend with the wilderness. I matched his pace, my footsteps equally quiet, as we moved through the forest like shadows ourselves. Caius didn't even glance over his shoulder to check if I was still following, which only fueled my irritation. Clearly, my presence wasn't of much concern to him.

As we ventured deeper into the forest, the air around us thickened with an eerie stillness. The trees grew taller and more densely packed, their branches twisting into gnarled shapes overhead, blocking out what little sunlight remained. The sun was beginning to hit the horizon, casting long, ominous shadows that seemed to stretch out like fingers, reaching for us. There was something almost alive about the way the forest darkened. Though I had never ventured this far before, the growing darkness didn't scare me—it fascinated me. There was an ancient quality to the woods, something that whispered of secrets long forgotten.

"We'll stop when the sun hits the horizon," Caius finally broke the silence, his voice steady. "That'll give us enough time to start a fire before night fully falls."

I didn't respond, merely kept walking, letting his words drift past me like the wind through the leaves. He doesn't care to check to see if I'm still following behind him, so I could care less on answering him when he speaks.

As the last rays of sunlight began to fade, we found a small clearing nestled between thick trees. Caius immediately set to work, gathering wood for a fire while I sank down onto a log nearby. The night air carried a slight chill, though not enough to be unbearable. I rummaged through the pack Ayla had prepared for me and found a thin mat to sleep on, along with a well-worn blanket that smelled faintly of lavender. She always thought of everything, even when I hadn't.

"I caught a rabbit," Caius said, returning with the small animal in hand, ready to prepare it for our meal.

I nodded absentmindedly, offering no more than that.

"Not talking now?" he teased, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he knelt to skin the rabbit.

I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the firewood he was arranging. "Ayla told me not to kill you before we reached the camp. I figured it's easier if I just don't speak."

Caius chuckled, his laughter low and almost condescending. "As if you could actually lay a finger on me."

My eyes flicked to him, narrowing slightly as the firelight danced over his face. His confidence was infuriating, but more than that, it piqued my curiosity. I had seen his shadows in action before, but I didn't know their full extent. How powerful was he, really?

Without a word, I unsheathed the small dagger at my side and, with a swift flick of my wrist, hurled it toward him. The blade sliced through the air with a deadly precision.

Before it could make contact, the shadows around Caius surged to life, rising from the ground like a black mist. They intercepted the dagger mid-flight, stopping it mere inches from his face. The shadows coiled around the weapon like serpents, their dark tendrils absorbing the threat with effortless grace.

Caius' eyes snapped to mine, his expression hardening. "Really?" he snarled, his voice edged with irritation.

I met his glare evenly, unphased. "I had to test you. Now I know."

The shadows moved again, slithering back toward me, placing the dagger gently into my hand as though they were sentient beings. "Thank you," I muttered, more to the shadows than to Caius, before sheathing the blade once more.