"Malion."
Aurelia said the name as though it were not new to her lips but an echo of something long buried, something she had once heard in whispers or read in an old tale. Her voice lingered on the syllables, soft yet deliberate, enough to stir curiosity in the young man before her.
Malion narrowed his eyes at her, tilting his head just slightly, as if trying to read the meaning behind her tone. "You sound as though you know who that belongs to."
Aurelia met his gaze with a flicker of mischief. She held the silence a beat longer than necessary, enjoying the way it unsettled him. Then, with a dismissive shrug, she said, "It is a unique name, that is all. Not one I've heard around here before."
Her words were playful, yet her eyes lingered on him, searching. She had spoken his name not with surprise but with recognition, and though she brushed it aside now, Malion felt the stir of unease within himself.
"Where are you from, then?" Aurelia asked, her voice settling into casual curiosity as though she were not prying into something delicate.
Malion hesitated, then answered, "The other town, past the eastern ridge."
Aurelia's brows arched, skepticism dancing across her face. "The other town? That's rather vague." She dropped herself onto a low branch of an oak, swinging her legs slightly. "You don't look like one of them either."
The forest around them was dimming, shadows stretching long as the sky bruised into twilight. Aurelia leaned back against the bark, relaxed yet sharp-eyed, while Malion stood a few paces away, studying her as though she were some puzzle.
"Aren't you afraid?" he asked suddenly, his voice breaking the forest's hush. His eyes glinted with the faintest edge of danger. "It is getting dark, and you hardly know me. Aren't you afraid I might do something to you?"
Aurelia laughed lightly, her tone steady, carrying no trace of fear. She leaned forward, her chin resting on her hand. "You could try," she said, the words slipping from her mouth like a challenge.
The corner of Malion's mouth tugged upward, a smirk forming. Her confidence intrigued him; it was unlike the trembling caution of others he had met. But her bold reply stirred something else in Aurelia—a reminder.
Her smile faltered as her mind returned to her task. She was wasting precious time. Quickly, she straightened, brushing off her skirt as she stood. "I should be going," she said, turning away. "I have something important to do."
She didn't give him time to ask what. Her pace quickened, urgency in every step. Yet not long after, she sensed it—the quiet but deliberate sound of footsteps trailing behind her. She stopped abruptly and turned.
Malion stood only a few feet away, arms loosely at his sides, eyes calm as if he had expected her to catch him.
"Why are you following me?" she demanded, folding her arms.
"To keep you safe," he answered without hesitation.
"I don't need you to keep me safe." Aurelia's tone sharpened. "I can protect myself."
"Then pretend I'm not here," Malion said smoothly, his smirk returning. "Keep walking. I'll follow."
Aurelia's brows shot up, her lips parting in disbelief at his audacity. For a moment she only stared at him, then gave a short nod—the kind that said fine, if that's how you want to play it. She turned back around and resumed her stride.
The forest thickened as she pressed deeper, and soon she found herself at the very spot where her world had nearly unraveled—the clearing where she had fought with Pedro, the man whose corpse now rotted in secret. The air here felt heavier, carrying the ghost of violence past.
Aurelia's eyes swept the ground, scanning with urgency. She dropped to her knees and began combing through the dirt, moving leaves and small stones aside. Her heart thudded, panic edging her breath.
Malion leaned against a nearby tree, watching her with narrowed eyes. "What are you looking for?"
She ignored him, jaw tight.
Moments passed before he spoke again, his tone softer but probing. "What could be so important that you'd come here, of all places?"
Aurelia pressed her lips together, unwilling to answer. Yet his presence gnawed at her, his voice following her thoughts, and at last she exhaled sharply. "My bead. I dropped it here when I passed through."
Malion tilted his head. "Why would you drop something like that if you were only passing?"
Aurelia froze, her hands stilled over the soil. She turned sharply toward him, irritation flaring in her eyes. "If you're not going to help me, then stop asking questions."
The corner of Malion's lips twitched. Her defensiveness confirmed his suspicion that there was far more to her lost bead than she admitted. Still, he pushed himself from the tree and crouched beside her, running his fingers through the earth.
"Fine. I'll help you look."
Aurelia blinked in mild surprise, then turned back to her task. They searched together in silence, though Malion already knew her efforts were futile. The bead she sought was no longer here—it was with him. He had it, and though some part of him considered returning it, instinct told him to hold onto it, at least for now.
Minutes stretched on. The forest was growing darker, the air colder. Malion's sharp ears picked something up then—a faint rustle, too steady and deliberate to be mere wildlife. Someone was coming. He stilled, his head cocking slightly as he listened.
But before he could decide how to warn her without rousing suspicion, Aurelia's body stiffened. Her head lifted, her gaze snapping to the same direction his ears had marked.
"Someone's here," she whispered.
Malion's eyes widened a fraction. Her senses were sharper than he expected for a human. Far too sharp.
The crack of a branch echoed, then a man's voice boomed through the trees. "Who goes there?"
Aurelia's eyes darted toward Malion, urgency flooding them. Without a second thought, she grabbed his hand, her grip fierce and unyielding, and pulled.
"Run!" she hissed.
Malion, startled by her sudden strength, allowed himself to be dragged into a race through the darkened forest. Their footsteps pounded against the earth as the man's shouts followed, swallowed by the night.
And though his mind brimmed with questions, Malion couldn't deny it—the girl's fire, her defiance, her fearlessness—it intrigued him more than anything else ever had.