The forest felt alive in a way that made the world lean in to listen.
Roots braided themselves deep into ancient soil, squirrels chased each other in frantic spirals as if racing time itself, and birds traded quiet gossip in the branches overhead. The sky was a muted grey, holding its breath, while the wind moved with a kind of restrained urgency—like it knew a secret and wasn't sure if it should spill it.
It was the kind of scene you'd think belonged in someone else's life—calm, peaceful, almost holy.
But my life had never been polite enough for that.
I took a few measured steps toward the Lady—still nameless, still unreadable—who stood as though she belonged in this strange, half-worried forest. Victoria hovered behind me, staring at the fog-drenched path like she expected ghosts to crawl out of it at any moment.
Honestly… considering Victoria's "special ability," maybe that wasn't the worst assumption.
My teacher had warned me that this woman was different.
She didn't define different, though.
Which is exactly the kind of teacher nonsense that leaves you awake at night replaying worst-case scenarios.
"You said you know something about the conflict," I said, gathering what little courage hadn't evaporated yet. "May I ask the details?"
"Therians," she said with a tired sigh, as if the word itself carried tax.
Then she waved the subject away.
"You'll get your answers—when the time is right."
It wasn't a refusal.
It was worse: a delay.
And delays usually meant danger.
"But first," she said, lifting a hand, "we need to fix your trail. If you're trying to travel unnoticed, you're doing an impressively terrible job."
The bluntness hit harder than it should've, but I kept my mouth shut.
Arguing would've just proved her point.
"The woman you saw back in the forest—Miss Seliregina," she continued, tapping a gloved finger dangerously close to the wound over her heart, "was sent to do what the other man tried. Same orders. Same purpose."
Victoria stiffened.
I did too, though I pretended not to.
I cycled my qi to keep my pulse steady, but even then my heartbeat thudded loud enough that it felt like the trees could hear it.
I glance at the snow covered floor for a bit, spotting footprint that the snow had not concealed.
Then green flame burst along the Lady's arm—bright, sudden, wrong in the way magical things often are. I instinctively stepped forward, ready to counter or dodge or… something. But she raised her other hand, halting me with ease.
"It's just a trick to hide our trail," she said. "Miss Seliregina is probably tracking me. And by association… tracking both of you."
A cold spike of fear slid down my spine.
Someone watching us. Hunting us.
Of course.
An evergreen haze began to spread from her boots outward, creeping across the forest floor like someone spilled the fog and it forgot how to stop.
Victoria, was now perched on a fallen tree, stared into the distance as though she saw something far uglier than fog. She didn't comment. She didn't need to.
The Lady shook her sparking hand as if flicking water off her glove.
Then she sat down, exhaling sharply.
"Anyway. Draken accused your country of the assassination of a high profiled individual and promised military action," she said with a dismissive wave. "But they haven't moved. Not directly."
A shallow breath escaped her lips, misting in the cool air. She blew warm air onto her glove, warming her fingers or maybe soothing herself—I couldn't tell.
"I don't know why you're headed to the capital," she added, fixing me with a look sharp enough to peel paint. "But think this through properly. You're walking into a nest with your eyes half-closed."
I hated that she had a point.
A loose lock of her hair drifted over her cheek. She tucked it back with the kind of grace that made the whole forest seem like a set piece for her.
"But the man who fought members of the Venomous Silence Hall —and won—"
She shook her head.
"That's impressive. To beat someone from that group… that's not luck even though his intervention cost me. That's capability. And if he—your brother trusts you enough to involve you in this, that says a lot."
"So that's who those from that night were," I thought, finally putting names to the masked attackers at the shrine.
Victoria, however, remained politely confused.
"So the attack wasn't from Draken directly," I said slowly.
"But I should still go to the capital and request intervention."
Her gaze softened—barely.
"I see. Then I'll escort you as far as I can."
Her eyes flicked to Victoria with cautious appraisal.
"You cannot hurt her," I said immediately. The words left my mouth sharper than intended.
"I'm aware," she said with a quiet laugh. "No harming your ghost-sighted friend. I promise."
She turned to Victoria.
"You see people, don't you? The dead ones."
Victoria nodded once. Small. Quiet. Heavy.
"That's… not a lot to work with," the Lady murmured, scratching her chin. "But useful, maybe. Eventually."
I suggested we continue walking before something unpleasant caught up to us.
She agreed, rising in a sweep of cloak and fog.
The green haze—emerald, drifted with her like loyal, eerie mist that refused to break formation.
We walked deeper into the forest, our footsteps swallowed by moss and shadow.
"I can't think of any questions right now," she admitted eventually, her face drawn in a troubled line that somehow still looked annoyingly beautiful. "My mind is… occupied."
I could relate.
My qi replenished in a slow, steady rhythm with each breath.
The tension in the air hadn't vanished, just softened—thinned into something manageable, like a storm packing up its luggage but refusing to leave entirely.
As we walked, the sun climbed to her zenith, filtering through the canopy in slanted beams, painting us in bright gold and muted violet. The strange combination made it feel like we were trespassing in a world not built for humans.
But that was becoming common for me.
Too normal.