Chapter 81 Eyes, Lies and Cries
Ryven
The man with the flaming blade stepped forward, and for the first time, I saw his eyes clearly.
His eyes burned.
I had to force myself not to react.
They weren’t just bright—they were alive. Fire moved inside them, not as a reflection or a trick of light, but as something real. The flames shifted and flickered, never still, never dimming.
I had read about Celestials before. Old texts, fragments of stories, half-burnt records passed between scholars who didn’t know what to believe. They spoke of beings tied to the sky, to light, to something beyond mortal magic. But none of them mentioned eyes like that.
It wasn’t just strange.
It was wrong.
His gaze stayed locked on me, steady and unblinking, as if he could peel me apart layer by layer and find whatever I was trying to hide. He didn’t rush me. He didn’t press.
He just waited.
And for the first time since we arrived on the ridge, I had nothing ready.
All the planning. All the preparation. Every version of this moment I had played in my head—gone.
Empty.
“Answer him.” Elyndra’s voice cut through the silence inside my skull. “Tell him the Enforcers destroyed your home. You followed them here.”
I swallowed once, took a deep breath, then met the man’s burning gaze.
“After the trouble you caused at Dust,” I began, keeping my voice even, controlled, “the Warden ordered your capture. She believes you’re rebels. She sent Enforcers to sweep our settlement at the heart of Ashwood Forest.”
I took a step forward, just enough to hold his attention.
“They hit our camp,” I continued. “Burned it. Killed anyone who didn’t run fast enough.”
I kept the story vague, hoping the half-truth would be enough to satisfy him.
The man tilted his head slightly, studying me in silence. The flames in his eyes shifted. “So,” he said slowly, “based on what you just told me… you’re either here to take us in… or to kill the Enforcers.” He paused. “Or both.”
There was something in his tone—light, almost amused—but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“You cannot lie to me,” he added. “I have a friend who says your scent is familiar.”
My shoulders tensed slightly.
“You’re the ones who’ve been moving around the edges of the Cursed Forest,” he continued. “The same group of rebels that have been following us."
I exhaled slowly. No point denying that.
“Yes,” I said. “We’ve been near that area.” Helga shifted slightly behind me, but stayed silent. “We noticed an increase in Enforcer movement,” I went on. “That’s why we’re here. Same reason as always.” I met his gaze again. “We take them down. One by one.”
A flicker of something passed across his face.
“Oh, really?” he said, unconvinced.
The way he said it made my skin tighten.
“Because,” he continued, “a rebel team entered the Cursed Forest not long ago. Shot arrows at us without warning.”
I didn’t hesitate.
“They might have mistaken you for Enforcers,” I said. “From what I understand, they followed a group inside. But none of them came back.” I let the words hang for a moment before asking, “Do you know what happened to them?”
The man shrugged, utterly unconcerned, as if we were discussing the weather. “They fell from the trees and were eaten by the wolves.”
A hot spike of anger lanced through me. Ansel. My brother-in-arms, my friend since we were boys running through the training yards of Magnus’s compound. Dead because of whatever games these people were playing in that cursed place.
“And how did they fall from the trees?” I asked, my tone edging toward accusation despite myself.
He shrugged again. “It is the Cursed Forest. Anything can happen there. Maybe they saw a boa on a tree. Maybe they slipped."
I opened my mouth to press him—to demand real answers, not this casual dismissal of Ansel’s death—when a sharp gasp cut through the tension.
The red-haired girl beside him suddenly descended down the ridge, her eyes wide.
I turned.
A small girl stood there as if she had stepped straight out of the shadows themselves. She wore rags that hung off her thin frame like mourning banners, threadbare slippers on her dirty feet. Her face was pale, smudged with grime, but her eyes—those eyes were too sharp, too knowing for a child
For a moment, it didn't make any sense.
“That is not a little girl,” Elyndra snarled inside my head, her presence flaring like ice against my spine. “It is Andreas, the old man on the roof which Magnus used the Veilbreaker on. Take the girl and tell them you will return her to her parents at Dust.”
I moved without thinking, lunging forward.
But the little girl was faster. The girl ran straight past me and into the red-haired girl’s arms. The woman scooped her up instinctively, pulling a small blanket from her bag and wrapping it around the child’s trembling shoulders.
“Did the mist touch you?” the red-haired girl asked gently, voice soft with concern.
The little girl shook her head, burying her face against the woman’s chest.
“How did you get here?”
“The bad men brought me here. To die,” the child whispered.
“What bad men?”
The little girl lifted her head and looked directly at me. A slow, malicious smirk curled her tiny mouth—the expression far too adult, far too Andreas. Her small hand began to rise, finger pointing straight at me.
I stepped in fast, cutting off the gesture before it could land.
“Let me take her,” I said, keeping my tone controlled. “She’s from Dust. The Warden is already searching for both of you. I can return her safely.”
“No!” the little girl cried, turning her face away and clinging tighter to the red-haired woman. “Don’t let the bad man take me!”
“Come here,” I said, reaching for her back. “I’m not bad. I’ll take you back to Dust where you belong.”
The child began to scream, high and piercing.
“Stop,” the red-haired girl snapped, shielding the girl with her body. “You’re hurting her.”
“Ryven, take the girl! Now! Use magic!” Elyndra snarled, her voice a whipcrack in my mind.
“Avenio,” I whispered under my breath.
The spell took hold instantly.
The girl lifted from the redhead’s arms, rising into the air. The red-haired girl staggered, reaching for her, but I stepped forward and pushed her aside just enough.
I reached out, but stopped.
The man with the fire-lit eyes moved faster than I expected.
In one fluid motion he snatched the girl from the air with his free arm while his blazing sword swung up, the tip stopping inches from my throat. Heat rolled off the blade in waves, singeing the air between us.
“Is this the real reason why you are here, Ryven?” he asked, voice low and dangerous, the fire in his eyes blazing hotter. “Do you massacre children too?”
“You idiot!” Elyndra hissed furiously. “He’s going to kill you like he did me!”
I backed away slowly, hands raised, heart hammering against my ribs. “I just wanted to bring the little girl back to Dust because you two can’t do it safely.”
“Don’t believe him,” the little girl cried, her voice cracking with feigned terror even as that smirk lingered in her eyes. “I saw him with the Imperial Advisor. That’s his son!”
The flaming-eyed man’s expression hardened like cooled steel. He handed the girl back to the red-haired woman without taking his eyes—or his sword—off me, then advanced, flames licking higher along the blade.
“Helga! Jehan! Back to headquarters! Now!” I shouted, pinching the travel orb dangling from my neck.
The ridge, the toxic mist, the flaming sword—all of it vanished in a swirl of magic. The world folded, twisted, and spat us out into the safety of our new settlement.
Helga stumbled beside me, catching her balance on a nearby crate. Jehan landed more gracefully, but his face was tight with tension
“What the hell just happened, Ryven?” Helga demanded, yanking her mask down. “Why didn’t you just grab the girl and teleport somewhere? Now we’ve lost our chance!”
I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my sweat-damp hair. The adrenaline still buzzed under my skin like angry hornets. “No. We still have a way to get to the girl. We can use Mira. She and her are friends."
Jehan nodded slowly, his expression grim but thoughtful. “But before we use Mira, let's set up a trap first."
My brow furrowed. "How?"
Jehan smiled. "While you were trying to get the little girl, I went down into the wasteland. There’s a hidden door leading underground. I think that’s where they’re headed.”
I looked at him sharply. “Where?”
“Near the bend of the river,” he said. “Behind an old slab of wood. The mist is thick there. Easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for.”
A slow smile spread across my face.
"Alright thenm Let's set up a trap."