Varek is aware and focused on me.
The flicker under my ribs eases, the uncomfortable edge of old instinct dulling as something steadier moves in to take its place. Warmth follows, reassuring and solid, like a presence that doesn’t need to announce itself to be felt.
I exhale, not realising I’d been holding the breath.
Right. That’s… new, or maybe it isn’t. Maybe I’ve just stopped fighting it.
“I’m gonna go find him,” I say, already stepping back.
Jamie blinks, thrown off by the sudden shift. “Already?”
“Yeah.”
“You were just getting interesting.”
“I’m always interesting.”
“Debatable.”
I huff a quiet laugh, but my focus has already shifted. The pull is stronger now, clearer, and I don’t see a reason to ignore it.
Caly watches me again, more intensely this time. “You’re leaving because of him,” he says.
It isn’t a question, and I don’t treat it like one.
“Yeah.”
Something in his expression shifts, like that confirms a theory he’s been working through. “That makes sense,” he says.
Jamie looks between us, clearly missing whatever just passed. “Right. Cool. Guess we’ll just stay here and be incredibly entertaining without you.”
“Try not to reorganise anything by texture,” I throw over my shoulder.
Caly’s smile is slow, deliberate. “No promises.”
I shake my head, already moving. “You’re both a liability.”
“We’re awesome that way!” Jamie calls after me.
I lift a hand in vague acknowledgement, moving towards the outer boundary of the settlement. The path is familiar now, but I barely register it. The bond does most of the work, guiding me without effort.
The closer I get, the stronger the awareness becomes.
I step out into the brighter stretch beyond the settlement and find him already there.
Varek stands a short distance ahead, as though he had anticipated exactly where I would emerge. The light catches the contours of his body, picking out the shifting tones of his skin and the faint glow of markings that seem more pronounced out here.
He looks composed, but the moment his gaze finds me, something shifts.
It’s subtle, but I feel it through the bond before I fully see it—relief loosening through him, followed closely by a thread of concern that anchors his attention firmly on me.
His eyes move over me in a single, thorough pass, taking in everything. Not just a glance, not just recognition—it’s more an assessment… a confirmation that I’m standing, moving, breathing the way I should be.
“You are well?” he asks.
The words are simple, but the weight behind them isn’t.
“I’m good,” I answer, nodding once.
