The Traveler.
The Heart.
The Bond.
The Crown.
The Choice.
The map led Xavier through a tight alley, past a stone shrine flickering with carved flames. The streets here were quieter, residential, with small houses packed tightly together. Snow muffled his footsteps as he counted doors, finally stopping before a narrow building with blue shutters.
He knocked three times, then twice more.
The door opened a crack, then wider.
"I thought maybe you weren't coming," Naomi said, pulling him inside and quickly shutting the door.
The small room behind Naomi was lit by a single lamp, casting long shadows across walls papered with faded floral patterns. Xavier stepped inside, shaking snow from his boots onto the worn welcome mat.
"I got lost," he said, not bothering to mention his strange encounter with the fortune teller. "Vykengard's streets make no sense."
