Page 85 of The Awakening of Essensia

She peeled back the layers of cloth, carefully revealing a dagger unlike any she’d ever seen.

The hilt shimmered with polished gold filigree, etched in delicate patterns that spiralled like vines over the metal. A carved ocean wave crowned the sheath, its crest frozen mid-crash, as though the sea itself had been stilled and gilded. It pulled her thoughts home, to waves battering the cliffs near Anhaven, and she knew this had been made for her.

She glanced up. Elijah was watching her, his expression unreadable. She looked away and drew the blade. It gleamed faintly in the tavern light, the edges deathly sharp. Swirling lines ran the length of the steel, echoing the motion of the tide. It was beautiful. Elegant, yet deadly. It made her chest ache.

“I can’t accept this,” she murmured, sheathing the blade without looking at him.

He didn’t answer right away. When he did, his tone was light, laced with confusion. “You needed a dagger. The Wastelander took your last one.”

“What will people say, seeing a recruit walking around with something like this?”

“That you have friends in high places? A wealthy admirer?’ he huffed a laugh. “Who cares?”

She eyed the dagger. With a gift like this, she might as well be the prince’s whore.

“Take it, Vaelira. You’ll never own a finer blade.”

“That’s the problem. Do you not know what they already call me in the barracks? Do you really think your visits have gone unnoticed? This will only fuel the rumours.”

“To the Abyss with their rumours. The other recruits aren’t even aware of what is going on in this city, and they don’t have your abilities. What does it matter what they say or think? You know who you are. You know the truth. That’s all the matters.”

She eyed the dagger. He was right, of course he was. Their false words were nothing compared to what they were facing.

She stood, strapping the dagger to her hip. It settled in place like it belonged there, but it didn’t, not really. It felt like she was replacing her brother, not his blade. How could something so beautiful make her feel so hollow?

Elijah stepped around the table, his movements smooth and deliberate. He took her elbow and turned her gently to face him. He towered over her, close enough that his scent, earthy and sweet, surrounded her. She just needed a moment without him watching her. A moment to feel this fully and move past it, but he just stood there expectantly.

A tear slipped free. Elijah brushed it back with his thumb. “We need to go,” he said softly.

She sucked in a breath, then followed him into the night.

Their patrol passed in silence. The Noble Quarter was quiet, the high walls and manicured streets giving no hint of unrest. Vaelira hadn’t exactly expected any action this far from New Town. Once, they paused at a sudden sound in a garden, but it was just a cat scrambling over a fence.

Elijah said little. She said less. His presence was steady beside her, but she made sure to keep some space between them. The dagger weighed heavily at her side.

She let out a sigh and was about to tell him she should be getting back, when the moonstone hummed to life at her hip. Ice slid down her spine, and a metallic taste coated her tongue.

“What is it?” Elijah said, stepping closer.

“I’m not sure.” She looked down the street, but she couldn’t see anyone. Or anything.

The moonstone flared again, and she turned on instinct, tilting her head at the door across the street. It was polished wood. Plain. No sign hung outside and no light shone behind the curtains. She took a step towards it, but Elijah clasped her arm, his fingers easily wrapping around her wrist.

“Talk to me,” he said, voice low.

“I can’t explain it,” she said, her eyes still on the door. “There’s something over there. The moonstone… it’s pulling me towards it.”

Elijah stepped around her, his eyes trained on the door. The moonstone pulsed again, hotter this time.

By the Abyss. The curtain moved.

“Did the—”

“Yes.”

Elijah spun on his heel and dragged Vaelira down the street, away from whatever lurked behind that door. She didn’t speak until they were two streets away.

“What do you think was behind there?” she said.