Chapter 28 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
AERIS
I barely had time to steady myself before the light bled away and solid ground reasserted itself beneath my boots.
Eryndor smelled different.
Not the polished incense and stone-dust of Virelia, but damp earth, smoke, and something sharp…pine resin, maybe, or old magic soaked into bark and soil. The air was cooler too, brushing against my skin like a quiet warning.
I swayed, just a little.
Kael’s hand tightened reflexively at my wrist, steadying me before I could embarrass myself by tipping over entirely.
“…I’m fine,” I muttered, even as the world finished settling back into place.
“I know,” he said. “You’d have argued even if you weren’t.”
I shot him a look. “Excuse you.”
We stood just beyond a treeline, the faint glow of distant lanterns marking where Eryndor’s outer settlement began. Low buildings clustered together ahead, their rooftops uneven, smoke curling lazily into the slowly brightening sky. It looked older than Virelia. Rougher. Less forgiving.
Kael released my wrist and reached into the inner pocket of his cloak.
Then he pulled out… clothes.
I blinked.
And then blinked again.
“…Are those—” I started.
“Yes,” he said calmly. “For you.”
I stared at the bundle in his hands. Dark wool, soft leather, muted greens and browns. Practical. Travel-worn. Nothing like the academy-issued robes I was still wearing.
“You came prepared,” I said slowly.
“I prefer not to improvise when it can be avoided.”
He handed them to me, then produced another set for himself…equally plain, equally unremarkable.
I frowned. “You don’t exactly travel light, do you?”
“You don’t exactly want people in Eryndor to know we’re from Virelia, do you?” he said, already loosening the clasp of his cloak. “They don’t… get along.”
That made sense. Too much sense.
There was absolutely no way Eryndor wouldn’t spiral if they realized the Grand Sovereign of Virelia had just stepped into their territory. I’d heard the stories,border tensions, old grudges, unresolved conflicts wrapped in polite silence.
And that was without adding me to the equation.
Right. Because dragging a first-year academy student into foreign territory in the dead of night was already questionable enough.
“Fair point,” I said. “I do enjoy not being arrested or stabbed on arrival.”
“Good,” he replied. “Then change.”
I froze.
“…Here?”
He looked around, unimpressed. “Unless you’d prefer the town square.”
My mouth opened. Closed.
I gestured wildly at the open forest. “You can’t just say that like it’s normal.”
He arched a brow. “We’re in a secluded grove. It’s dark. No one is watching.”
He paused. Really paused this time.
Then…“Oh.”
A beat.
“I didn’t mean—” He cleared his throat, turning slightly away. “I’ll give you space.”
He walked a short distance off, far enough to be respectful but close enough that I knew he was still on alert.
I exhaled.
Hard.
“Great,” I muttered, already tugging off my robes. “Fantastic. Absolutely thriving.”
I changed as quickly as I could, muttering the entire time. The clothes fit surprisingly well…snug but flexible, worn in just enough to be comfortable. Whoever had chosen them had paid attention.
That realization made my chest do something strange, so I ignored it.
When I finally turned back, Kael was just finishing fastening his own gear.
Without the cloak. Without the regal layers and polished authority.
He looked… different.
Still powerful. Still unmistakably him.
But less like a figure carved into legend and more like a man who walked dangerous roads and survived them.
The mask remained. Unyielding.
His gaze swept over me once, sharp and assessing.
“Acceptable,” he said.
“Acceptable?” I echoed. “That’s all I get?”
“It means you won’t stand out,” he replied. “Which is the goal.”
I folded my arms. “I stand out everywhere.”
A pause.
Then, quietly, “Not today.”
Something about the way he said it made my stomach flip.
He turned toward the narrow path leading down into Eryndor, already moving. “Stay close. Speak only if necessary.”
“And if someone asks who we are?” I asked, hurrying after him.
He glanced back once. “Merchants. Passing through.”
I squinted. “You look like the least merchant-like person I’ve ever seen.”
“I’ll survive.”
He paused, then added, “Names.”
“Oh. Right.”
“I’m Kael,” he said. “Just Kael.”
Of course you are.
“And you,” he continued, “are Aerin. My assistant.”
I blinked. “…That’s it?”
“It’s believable,” he said. “And close enough you’ll respond without thinking.”
I huffed a quiet laugh. “Fair.”
I adjusted the strap of the satchel he’d given me,already filled with tools, vials, and blank parchment.
Fine.
If this was how the night was going to go… then I was ready.
Eryndor had its secrets.
And so did we.
The path into Eryndor wound down gradually from the treeline, the forest giving way to the uneven cobblestones of the settlement. Lanterns swung from low-hanging poles, their weak glow just enough to reveal the warped timbers of the buildings, the smoke curling from chimneys, the scent of baked bread mixing with pine and damp earth.
Kael moved like a shadow beside me, cautious, silent, eyes scanning the narrow streets. I tugged the strap of my satchel tighter, feeling the weight of vials and papers shift against my side. Every sound,the scrape of a boot on stone, the faint rustle of leaves made me jumpy, alert.
“This way,” Kael murmured, nodding toward a quieter lane. The main street was lightly patrolled by guards in dark leather tunics, and though their eyes lingered on us briefly, they seemed accustomed to travelers passing through at odd hours.
I followed, stepping carefully over cobblestones slick from dew.
As we turned a corner, a faint creak announced a presence. A man emerged from the shadows, a lantern swinging gently in his hand. His clothes were simple but his eyes were sharp, taking in every detail.
“Evening or morning, I suppose,” he said cautiously, his voice rough but not unkind. “You two aren’t from around here, are you?”
Kael’s stance shifted subtly, protective without being aggressive. “No,” he said evenly. “We’re travelers.”
The man’s eyes flicked to me, then back to Kael, a trace of skepticism in his gaze. “Travelers don’t often come here in the pre-dawn hours. And they certainly don’t wander with that… confidence.”
I couldn’t help but smile faintly under my breath. Confidence…or at least pretending to have it was part of surviving here.