Chapter 38: Travelers with secrets

🌃Elias🌃

Seraphina’s lips parted. I saw her glance from one face to another…. Garin's smile, the children’s laughter — and I knew she was seeing what I was seeing. Not a resemblance. A repetition.

This wasn't a coincidence. This was the same moment, the same life, replaying itself in a loop.

“Sit,” Garin said, grinning broadly as if nothing were strange at all. “The fire’s good, the meat’s fresh. You must be hungry from the road.”

They were warm just like earlier, the only new presence was the elderly woman. This couple doesn't seem to recognize us, so was it our eyes playing tricks on us?....it can't be. We both can't be wrong though Seraphina had been wrong all the while, I can't be.

Seraphina didn’t move. Her hand tightened around the lamp. I could almost see her digging her nail into the steel lamp, but the lamp was so hard that she could end up hurting herself.

So no chalant. I get she was surprised, but that didn't mean losing consciousness of your activity. Weird mindset.

The old woman walked past us into the yard, brushing her palms together. “They are travelers, Garin,” she said calmly, as though she belonged here — as though she always had. “Give them rest for the night.”

“Of course,” Garin replied, his voice cheerful, unbothered. “We always have room.”

Always.

The word echoed in my head.

I took a slow step forward, my eyes scanning everything — the clay pots stacked near the wall, the herbs drying on the beam, the small wooden chair Liora had offered earlier.

All of it.

Even the same piece of cloth draped over the fence, fluttering faintly in a wind that didn’t exist.

“Seraphina…” I said quietly. My throat tightened. “This— this is the same house.”

Her gaze flicked to me, her face pale under the flickering firelight. “I know.”

She turned back to the scene, her voice trembling just slightly. “It’s as if we never left.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing.

If this was the same house, the same family, then what did it mean? Had the lamp brought us forward in time? Backward? Or worse — had it trapped us inside a reflection of what once was?

The Curse Bearer’s words came back to me like poison whispering through the blood: “The first game of Who Is Watching Who.”

Was this the game?

Were we watching them… or were they watching us?

The flames from the roasting stag cracked loudly, scattering tiny sparks into the air. I caught the faintest glimpse of Garin’s eyes through the light — they glowed for an instant, unnaturally bright.

Then it was gone.

Liora’s voice broke the silence. “Come, sit,” she said, her tone warm. “You must rest.”

Seraphina hesitated, then glanced at me. I shook my head slightly — but she stepped forward anyway, her movements almost dazed. The old woman smiled faintly behind her, closing the gate once more.

I remained standing, my hand instinctively at my side where my sword should have been.

Something in the air had shifted — subtly, dangerously. The laughter of the children was too perfect, too steady, repeating the same notes over and over like a broken melody.

I looked at the fire again. The stag’s meat glistened as Garin turned it. But the smell was wrong now — too sweet, too heavy. My stomach twisted.

Beside me, Seraphina’s voice came softly. “Elias…”

I turned to her.

Her face was unreadable — pale, uncertain, and yet… fascinated. She looked not at me, but past me, toward the door of the house.

There,

I followed her gaze — but saw nothing.

I looked back at her and her eyes were still stuck in that position. I took the seats they offered.

“Something has changed,” Seraphina informed, leaning closer to me. Her voice barely whispers. “The man called Robert—”

It came back to me. Something indeed had changed. We were supposed to be inside, offered warmth and food and then a man would interrupt. He will be introduced as Robert. But he wasn't here…The Curse Bearer isn't here? Or the man Robert isn't here?

Garin smiled as he turned the skewer once more, the juices of the stag meat dripping into the fire. “So,” he began, voice cheerful and unassuming, “are you two passing through to another place, or planning to stay a while?”

Seraphina and I exchanged a glance. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

The quiet stretched long enough for the crackle of the fire to fill it. I saw her fingers tighten slightly over the lamp resting on her lap, and when she finally drew breath to speak, I already knew she’d say something dangerous… dangerous enough to start another drama in our lives.

Whereby we could remain invisible in this land, finish our business here and leave as quietly as we came.

“We’re not just traveling,” she said softly. “We came here for—”

“For business,” I cut in sharply, my voice firm enough to draw Garin’s and Liora’s attention. “A short one. We’ll be leaving in a few days.”

Seraphina’s head turned toward me in disbelief.

Garin chuckled, unbothered. “Ah. Travelers with secrets,” he said with a grin. “Every journey’s got its reasons.”

Of course. And I respect that he gets it. Even though a certain person was dying to reveal everything. The way she thinks always catches me unfresh.

Even Liora smiled faintly at that, and the old woman gave a knowing hum, her eyes gleaming under the shawl’s shadow. Seraphina was just being unreasonable,I had told the woman we were here for business…

Seraphina leaned closer to me, again, she didn't seem amused that I cut in. She seemed to understand that I was only trying to protect us. Her voice was low enough for only us, even so that the kids with sharp ears wouldn't hear us. “Why did you do that?”

Do what?

“Because we don’t know who they are,” I murmured.

“They’re harmless,” she shot back. “You saw how they treated us. I was only going to tell them the truth. That we came here for the ritual—someone here could help us.”

My jaw tightened. “Or someone could decide to stop us.”

The words came out colder than I intended.

The family’s laughter rippled around us again, easy and untroubled, as if they weren’t hearing a single thing we said. The children had taken to sitting near the fire, feeding twigs into it and watching them spark.

Seraphina sighed, the tension in her shoulders easing just a little. “You always assume the worst,” she muttered.

“Because it keeps us alive,” I replied.

She turned away, and I caught the faintest flicker of her expression—half frustration, half pity. Then she said something that made my stomach sink.

“Everyone here has magic, Elias,” she whispered. “Didn’t you see it? The way they breathe, the air around them—it hums. Even the children. You’re the only one here without it.”

I froze.

Her words struck with quiet precision. I hadn’t noticed before, but now that she’d said it, I felt it—the faint current running through the air, the warmth not from the fire but from something deeper, living.

Every gesture, every sound, even the laughter—it all carried that same undercurrent, a pulse I couldn’t match.

And just like that, I understood what she meant.

Mingling with them wouldn’t just be hard. It would be impossible.

I turned my gaze toward Garin and his family, studying them more closely. The glow of the fire caught strange gleams in their eyes, not quite reflections—something else, something that shone from within.

A shiver traced my spine. It was a curse to exist without magic. I laughed coldly inwardly. Are we here for me? I don't think so. I might as well get killed when they find I'm with ni magic.

I might seem nonchalant about this Kingdom with magic, but I've heard and witnessed how brutal they can be towards those without magic. And that is why Seraphina had no regard for me, because she thinks that before I lift my sword arm, she would have taken me down with her magic.

Hahahaha. The air on my body rose, itching me.

When the meat was ready, Garin carved it with a small, worn knife and handed us pieces wrapped in thin leaves. “Here,” he said. “Fresh as the morning hunt.”

Seraphina smiled politely. My throat felt too dry to mutter a thank. I took a bite. And the flavor? The flavor was deep and spiced, each bite filling me with a warmth that wasn’t only physical. I caught Seraphina glancing at me once, as though she’d felt it too.

The children, who had been whispering and giggling behind Liora, suddenly spoke up.

“Are you two married?” the little girl asked, her eyes wide and bright. “Or are you brother and sister?”

Seraphina almost choked on her bite. I felt my ears burn.

Before either of us could answer, the elderly woman rapped her cane lightly against the ground. “Mind your tongue, little one,” she scolded, though her voice held amusement. “Can’t you see they’re a couple?”

Seraphina went completely still.

Garin laughed heartily, Liora joined in, and even the children giggled again. I exhaled slowly, refusing to meet Seraphina’s gaze. If I did, I knew she’d be glaring—or worse, smiling.

But she didn’t do either. She just looked away, silent.