Someone inside the tear had saved him.
Or something.
A shape flickered at the corner of his vision. Kade spun around.
A woman stood a few meters away, her form shimmering at the edges like heat haze. Her hair drifted upward as if underwater, long white strands weightless. Her face was carved sharp, too symmetrical to be mortal. Her eyes glowed faint gold.
He recognized her instantly.
The Watcher who had pleaded with the Fallen to spare the mortals at the Siege of Aurelon. The one who vanished after being struck down. The one the Council declared erased.
"Seren," Kade said. His voice cracked, not from emotion but confusion.
"You were expected," she said quietly. Her words rippled the air.
He stared at her. "Expected by who?"
"By the Tearborn."
Great. Another thing to add to the list of problems.
Seren took one step forward. The ground under her feet brightened. "You stand in the Interstice. A fragment between places. A wound. A prison. A shelter. It depends on who enters."
