The dream came like frost under a closed door.
Devin wasn't asleep in the ordinary way. He had tried. Tossed and turned through hours of silence. The estate was quieter than usual, as if the house itself was holding its breath.
But when the dream took him, it came suddenly—not gentle, not slow.
One moment he was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The next, he was standing in the middle of an endless forest, beneath a bleeding twilight sky.
Everything shimmered.
The trees were tall and ancient, leaves shivering despite the absence of wind. There was no sound. Only the whisper of something unseen, something underneath.
The earth pulsed.
Devin looked down.
Beneath the dirt, he could see them: roots, pale and silver-veined, crawling like veins through the soil, spiraling in every direction. Living. Breathing.
A single word echoed in his head. Not spoken aloud. Not even spoken at all.
Remember.
He turned.
There was a figure in the distance.
A woman, dressed in robes made of bark and silk. Her hair was black as night and bound with green thorns. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth moved as if reciting something very old.
Devin tried to move closer.
But the roots shifted under his feet, pulling him back, urging stillness.
She will awaken the memory.
You must choose before it returns.
The woman opened her eyes.
They were emerald.
And then he woke.
Devin sat upright, breath ragged.
The fire in the hearth was cold.
He rose, not bothering to fix his hair or even grab his coat. He walked out of the estate barefoot, the chill of the stone floor and the soil grounding him with each step.
He definitely didn't know what he felt but he knew where he had to be.
Pain and anguish tore through his heart.
Devin found it it hard to breathe the dream didn't even matter anymore, it wasn't his emotions.
"So much pain..." Devin grunted patting his chest, he gradually stood up.
He didn't know where he was going.
Only that he'd find the source of such emotions.
___________________
And he did
He spotted Elora in the grove behind the market, where the creek split between moss-covered roots. She was alone, crouched near the water's edge, her back turned, shoulders trembling.
Devin approached quietly, boots crunching on frost-kissed grass.
Gradually the pain in his chest dissipated
She didn't turn.
"Hey" he said softly.
She froze.
Remembering something.
He stepped closer.
"I heard about Mara"
Elora remained silent but he could feel the pain in his chest striking again .
'Well I guess she's the source of the emotions' Devin thought
"Mara's death wasn't your fault, Elora. You tried. You gave her time. You gave her peace."
"It wasn't enough," she whispered. Her voice cracked like thin ice.
He exhaled, stepping closer still.
"You did more than anyone else would have. And you're still here. Still fighting. That matters."
She shook her head. "I can't stop thinking about her eyes. How empty they were. How she just... slipped away."
Devin didn't think.
He simply moved.
Devin couldn't help but be mesmerized by Elora
And pulled her into his arms.
The motion shocked even him.
His arms, naturally cold to most, wrapped around her warmth.
She stiffened at first, reluctant
Then melted into him.
Like she belonged there.
Like she had always belonged there.
After some seconds
He felt her shoulders begin to shake.
And then the tears came.
Quiet at first.
Then heavier.
The throbbing in his chest followed
Like it was mourning with Elora.
Sadly too.
He tightened his grip, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other firm at her waist. Protecting. Anchoring.
She didn't speak.
She just cried.
And when she finally looked up at him, her eyes were shining with pain.
It struck him like a blade through the chest again.
It was then Devin knew for sure that Elora would be his undoing. It should have scared him, terrified him still but Devin was willing to embrace this undoing forever, he didn't care what it seems like, he knew he had lots to experience from Elora.
Neither did he know that his choices would only get harder and more painful.
Devin has seen pain before.
The kind worn by warriors too tired to keep fighting. The kind hidden behind measured words at family meetings. The kind children carried silently when they realized magic couldn't fix the broken things around them.
But this—this was different.
Elora cried like the world had finally demanded more than she had left to give. And still, she gave it. Her hands clenched his coat. Her shoulders shook beneath his touch. Her breath caught like it was trying not to break.
And Devin stood frozen, holding her tighter, not knowing what to say.
His knuckles turned white from clenching them from pain
She was warm in his arms, impossibly so. Not with fire—but with life. A living current that hummed softly against the cold of his body. Her magic was quiet now, curled beneath her grief, but it pulsed through her like roots underfoot.
And he swore he could feel it.
Not just the magic.
The bond.
Something between them. Old. Stirring. Unnamed.
She finally spoke, her voice raw. "I thought… if I just worked harder, if I read more, if I tried everything… I could fix it."
"You did everything," Devin said. "Everything you could."
"But it wasn't enough."
He rested his chin lightly against her hair. "No one has enough for something like this. That's not on you. That's on the thing causing it."
She shook her head slowly. "If I were stronger… if I were who I was meant to be—"
"You are."
She looked up, her eyes swollen, lips parted, confusion swimming in her gaze.
"You are," he repeated. "Even if you don't know it yet."
She opened her mouth, but he gently lifted a hand to her cheek. His fingers were cool against her flushed skin.
Her eyes fluttered closed under his touch.
Devin watched her.
Something cracked inside him.
It was quiet—like the breaking of old ice—but it cut deep. He had been trained not to feel like this. Not to get attached. Not to let warmth distract him from cold clarity.
But this girl—this strange, gentle, powerful girl—had melted every wall he didn't know he'd built.
And now she was here.
In his arms.
And it felt… right.
Dangerously right.
"I don't understand why this hurts so much," he whispered. "But it does. When you cry, something in me—bleeds, it hurts
She leaned into his touch, not answering, just breathing.
"I've spent my whole life preparing to protect this town," he said. "And now all I want to do is protect you."
Elora's breath hitched as she stared at him in confusion
Silence stretched.
Not empty—full.
Devin knew he words caught her off guard been that they haven't known each other for long. But they did indirectly, Devin has never been this close with anybody ever in his life except his mother.
She finally looked up a bit unsure her voice barely audible. "Thank you."
He nodded, words gone.
They stood like that for a long while—held together by grief, and something just beginning to bloom beneath it.
Something they hadn't named yet.
They both didn't notice that Hawthorne has altered their fate right then.