RAVENNA

Part 16

Neive POV

We'd been walking for what felt like hours. Snow still stretched around us, but the landscape was shifting — small patches of life pushing through the frost. Dark shrubs twisted up from the ice like brittle bones, frostbitten but stubborn. The cold clung to our cloaks and skin like it had hands. If Sebastian hadn't known the warming spell, we would've been dead by now.

"Furos'veil," he'd muttered, fingers tracing a sigil in the air.

A burst of amber warmth pulsed around us, wrapping our bodies in a subtle heat that cut just enough of the chill to keep moving.

I didn't thank him. He didn't ask me to. We continued past the shrubs, heads low against the wind, when—

A rustle.

Both of us froze.

Sebastian immediately stepped in front of me, cloak flaring slightly as he drew his wand from inside his coat. His posture shifted — loose, but sharp. Ready.

"What was that?" I whispered.

He didn't take his eyes off the noise."Could be a snow boar. A mountain lion." He paused, voice dipping lower."Or... a demon."I shot him a flat look. "Really?"He shrugged, still tense. "It could be."

Branches parted — and someone tumbled out.

Not a demon. Not a lion.

A boy — young, maybe ten or eleven — rolled out onto the frozen ground with a weak cry, limbs shaking uncontrollably. He was wrapped in a tattered wool coat, face pale, eyes wide and wild with fear.

Before I could speak, Sebastian charged."Hey—" I started, but he was already moving.

Sebastian grabbed the boy by the collar and hauled him upright like a sack of flour, voice rough with suspicion. "What kind of sorcery are you doing out here?" he snapped.

"Is this an illusion? Are you spying? What's in the shrubs?"The boy didn't speak. Just trembled violently, eyes darting between our faces. His lips parted but no sound came out.

His whole body was shaking — and not just from the cold.

I stepped forward, placing a hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "Put him down."He didn't respond immediately. His jaw clenched, breath puffing in white clouds. But he finally lowered the boy, though he stayed close, wary.

The boy crumpled to the ice, hands clutching his coat tightly.

I knelt, heart tight in my chest. There was something in his eyes. Panic, yes. But also confusion. Helplessness. Silence.

I recognized it.

I reached out gently, speaking softly."Hey... it's okay. You're safe now. What's your name?"

Still nothing.

Then I noticed it — the subtle, fluttering movements of his fingers near his chest. Shaky, unsure. Sign  language.

A part of me froze — not from the cold this time.

I knew that silence.

There had been a time I couldn't speak either. After... that incident. I remembered how the world moved too fast, how no one understood, how soundless it all felt.

I shifted my position, slowly forming a sign with my fingers. "Your name?" The boy blinked, then nodded quickly. His fingers responded, clumsy but clear.

Ali.

I smiled gently, and repeated his sign. "Ali. That's a good name." Beside me, Sebastian frowned. "What's going on? Why's he not talking?"