185

185
Marrel pov

When I wake up, the first thing I notice is that the temple is too quiet. There’s no rustle of fabric, no hesitant footsteps, no gentle sound of Arvin’s stubborn breath. It’s just wind against stone and the faint crackle of firewood that no longer feels like warmth.

He’s gone, I know it before they tell me and I find Riven’s bedroll empty. I know it the moment I step into the clearing and feel the air shift like it’s been holding its breath all night. The forest whispers differently, the trees tilt just a fraction too far - all of them are reacting to Arvin, just like the witch said.

Arvin really is gone, god damn it. This time, I thought he wouldn’t run and I had everything under control, but yet again Arvin proves me wrong.

The forest witch is waiting, sitting in the shadows like she’s part of the mountain itself, a thing carved from bark and rot and old secrets.

Her eyes flick open as I walk closer. “You lost something,” she says, using that condescending tone that always gets under my skin more than anything ever had.

I don’t answer, only look around just in case this is one big joke and any moment now Arvin could jump out of hiding to scream ‘surprise’ or any other equally as stupid thing.

“You lost someone,” the witch corrects with a crooked smile.

My jaw tightens, while my eyes still helplessly keep looking for something that I know it’s out there. “Where is he?”

“Not here.” The witch purrs, making herself sound like she genuinely enjoys this fucked up situation more than she should. More than anyone should.

I glare at her and sit on a nearby rock, pinning her down with a nasty glare. “Don’t be coy with me, you were the last to see him.”

She keeps her own eyes locked on me as she slowly stands up, making a whole spectacle out of the simple action. “Was I?”

“Don’t play games with me, I know you’re always watching.” I growl, trying and failing to make my voice sound even.

She tilts her head and shrugs. “And yet, I didn’t stop him.”

Her words hit me right where it hurts the most. I took Arvin away to protect him from Lester and more importantly, from himself, yet I’m failing all over again. “You let him go,” I finally say and look away.

“No,” she replies, stepping closer. “He was never yours to keep.”

I can’t help but jump to my feet, anger surging through me in violent waves. All I’ve heard from this old, barely alive, rotten thing is how Arvin is someone to be kept or can’t be kept by someone. She speaks of him like he’s a keepsake, not a human being with feelings and emotions.

I take a step closer to her, balling my fists at my sides. “He’s the key to everything, he’s the one Lester would burn the world to find. Do you understand what you’ve risked?”

Her smile grows wider as she sees the anger burning in my eyes. “Do you?”

I want to hit her - not out of rage, but out of helplessness. But instead of attacking the old, crusty creature with a smile far too nasty, I speak. “You said you’d keep him safe.”

“I said I’d help him awaken, not that I’d keep him chained.” She claims with another nonchalant shrug.

I point a finger at her and hiss, “he’s not ready, he’s still fragile.”

“No,” she insists, her eyes burning with something I can’t name. “He’s changing and you’re afraid of what he’ll become.”

I stare at her, taken aback. “What did you do to him?”

The witch smirks and lowers her voice. “Only what was already inside. I didn’t give him anything, I merely opened the door.”

“Then close it.” I snarl at her.

She shakes her head and looks at me like I’m an idiot. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“You promised to protect him.” I insist.

“I did protect him,” she snaps. “From you.”

“From me?” I laugh bitterly. “I was the one holding this together. I was the one willing to put my name on the line so he wouldn’t have to bleed. I was the one who tried to believe in something again. And you let him slip away.”

“He didn’t slip, he ran.” She says, as if it makes this any better.

“Because of you.” I growl and take a step closer again.

“Because of the truth,” she corrects. “You think he didn’t see the chains behind your kindness and the purpose in your protection? You think he didn’t hear your plans when you thought he was asleep?”

I shake my head, “I never lied to him.”

“You lied every time you said he had a choice.”

I clench my fists again, this time so hard my knuckles turn white. “He did have a choice.”

The witch arches an eyebrow. “Then why are you so angry that he made one?”

“You think you know him,” I whisper.

She leans in, her voice still a whisper. “I do know him, I know what’s inside him, I know the shadow in his blood, the echo of something older than you or I. I know the thing that stirs when he dreams. And I know what it’s capable of.”

“You speak in riddles.” I hiss.

“Because you can’t handle the truth.” She shakes her head.

I step closer, jaw tense. “Try me.”

She studies me for a moment before she speaks. “He’s not just Lester’s obsession or rebellion’s symbol. He’s not even just a boy anymore. He’s a vessel, a weapon and the last thread of something buried, and now it’s unraveling.”

I stare at her. “What are you saying?”

She tilts her head. “I’m saying that when Lester finds him, because he will find him, you will no longer recognize the boy you sent into the forest.”

My knees nearly buckle. “He’ll come for Arvin, he always does and he will again,” I whisper.

The forest witch smiles like she’s already seen it happen. “And you won’t be ready.”

I sit down, my body can’t carry the weight of my own thoughts, my hands shake, so I bury them into my coat and speak through my teeth. “Tell me what he is.”

She circles me like a vulture. “He is a mirror, he becomes what the world needs most… or fears most, whichever comes first.”

“That’s not an answer.” I growl.

She shrugs, absolutely unbothered. “It’s the only one I have.”

“I don’t believe in fate.” I sharl.

“Then believe in the consequences.”

I lift my gaze to meet hers. “If he dies out there, it’s on you.”

“If he dies,” she says and flashes me a smirk, “then none of us were ever worthy of him.”

I grab her wrist tightly, needing to stop this madness. “You play with fire like it won’t turn on you.”

“And you keep calling fire a boy.” She laughs.

I tighten my hold onto her, needing her to see reason. “You don’t understand what Lester will do.”

“I understand better than you think, I was there when Lester first bled for someone, I was there when he swore he’d never do it again.” She says with a wicked smirk.

I stare. “You knew him? Lester?”

She pulls her wrist out of my hold and backs up. “I still do.”

I point a finger at her, my blood boiling with anger. “Then you know what’s coming.”

She steps away again, grinning. “And I know we deserve it.”

I whisper, “We have to find him.”

“No,” she says and shakes her head. “He has to find himself.”