Chapter Three — The Secrets He Kept
Over the next few weeks, Eiren appeared everywhere Lina went—
sometimes just in time to help her avoid danger that shouldn't have existed,
sometimes watching her from rooftops or forests as if guarding her.
When Lina confronted him again, he finally cracked:
"You weren't supposed to see me that morning at the lake."
"Why?"
Eiren hesitated.
Then, quietly:
"Because I'm not supposed to exist in your world."
He was a Warden, a being who slipped between parallel worlds to keep balance.
No one from Lina's world was ever supposed to notice him.
But she had.
And because of that, something ancient and dangerous had begun to wake.