The fire crackled low, casting flickering shadows over Liora's pale face. Her wound had been cleaned and bound, but her breaths came in short, pained gasps. Arya sat beside her, holding her hand, feeling useless. She had fought, but not fast enough. Not hard enough.
Cael stood nearby, hands clenched into fists. "They were trained assassins. Someone knew we were coming."
Zephyra knelt a few feet away, her eyes glowing with faint silver light as she traced the air above Liora's wound with her fingers. Ancient symbols formed and shimmered, then faded.
"She'll live," Zephyra said again. "But only if we bargain."
Arya's voice cracked. "What do you mean? Bargain with who?"
"The Forest. The spirits. This land is old and alive, and it remembers debt."
Zephyra stood and gestured toward the dark woods. "There's a shrine not far from here. You'll find it by following the sound of wind chimes. Go alone. Take this." She handed Arya a small crystal wrapped in twine.
Arya looked at Cael. "Watch over her."
He nodded. "Go."
The forest swallowed her whole. Every step echoed louder than the last. Strange shapes moved in the corners of her vision—roots shifting, leaves curling in unnatural patterns. But she didn't stop.
Eventually, she heard it.
The soft tinkling of wind chimes.
She stepped into a clearing where moonlight poured through the trees like liquid silver. In the center stood an old shrine, crumbling with age but glowing faintly with magic.
Arya placed the crystal on the altar.
"I'm here to make a trade," she whispered.
Silence.
Then the wind blew through the trees, forming a voice that wasn't quite human.
"What will you give?"
Her heart pounded. "Take a piece of my power. Just let her live."
"Your power is new. Fragile. Unripe. We want something deeper."
The wind swirled around her, lifting strands of her hair.
"A memory. A truth. A name."
Arya swallowed hard. "What kind of memory?"
"Your happiest one."
Her chest tightened. The image came unbidden: her little brother, laughing in a field of wildflowers. She hadn't seen him since the attack on their village. She didn't know if he was alive.
"I… I don't know if I can give that up."
The wind whispered, "Then she dies."
Arya dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
And she whispered, "Take it."
The wind screamed around her, then went utterly silent.
She opened her eyes and felt… hollow.
She knew she had a brother. She could remember his name. But not his face. Not his laugh. Not the warmth she once held dear.
When she returned to camp, Zephyra looked up and nodded once. "The trade was accepted."
Liora stirred.
Arya ran to her, tears still in her eyes.
Cael watched Arya closely. "What did it take?"
Arya didn't answer. She just sat beside Liora and held her hand until the sun began to rise.