Ava
I tried to ignore it. I cleaned the counters, sorted herbs, counted jars that did not need counting. By dusk, the sky had turned to copper. The bell above the door chimed again.
He stood there, rain glistening on his coat, the air behind him thick with mist. For a moment, neither of us spoke.
"You came back," I said.
"I need answers," he replied, his voice calm but edged. "And you are the only one in this town who might have them."
"You should not be here after dark," I said. "The Veil is restless when the sun sets."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You know of the Veil?"
"I have heard stories," I said quickly.
He took a step closer. "Stories do not make the air around you hum with power."
I swallowed hard. "You speak like a man who knows too much about such things."
He held my gaze. "Maybe I do. Maybe that is why I am still alive."
The space between us felt charged, alive with something neither of us could name. I could feel the energy building, pressing against the edges of the room. Then the light shifted.
A faint line of silver spread across the floor, thin and trembling like a crack in glass. From it, darkness seeped out, curling upward before fading.
I stepped back, my breath caught. "What is that?"
He moved between me and the light. "A rift. The Veil is breaking here."
"Why here?" I whispered.
"Because of you," he said without hesitation. "Something in you is calling to it."
The light pulsed once, then vanished. The silence that followed was unbearable. I could hear only our breathing. He turned to me, his expression unreadable.
"You are connected to it," he said quietly. "You keep it alive."
I shook my head. "I am just a healer."
"No. You are something else. The Veil answers to you."
The truth of it sat heavy in the air, even if I could not accept it. I felt seen in a way that terrified me.
He stepped closer, his voice lower. "You cannot keep pretending you are ordinary. The world will not let you."
"And you?" I asked. "What are you?"
His lips curved in something that was not quite a smile. "The reason you should be afraid."
But I was not. I should have been. Instead, I felt drawn to him, pulled by something that had no name. I could hear his heartbeat, steady and deep, matching the rhythm that had haunted my dreams.
Before I could speak again, the door opened. A man stepped in, rain dripping from his cloak. He had the same sharp eyes, the same wariness. "Casimir" he said quickly. But Casimir didn't look at him. Instead his gaze was locked to mine.
The man repeated, urgency in his tone increasing, "Cas!! The rift by the harbor is open. It is spreading fast."
Cas. The name fit him.
He turned to me. "Stay inside. Do not leave this room."
"I can help," I said, but he was already moving toward the door.
"You already have," he said without looking back, and then he was gone.
I stood there, shaking. The scent of rain and iron clung to the air. Outside, thunder rolled. The sea sounded different now, wilder, like something alive.
I pressed my palm to the counter where he had stood, the wood still warm beneath my skin. My heartbeat felt wrong, as if it belonged to someone else.
Then, from the cliffs beyond the town, a howl rose through the storm. It echoed through the streets, deep and unearthly. The sound reached me and settled under my skin. I closed my eyes and whispered the name I had only just learned.
Casimir
************
Casimir Kingston
The rain fell harder by the time we reached the harbor. Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the waves that crashed against the docks. The air vibrated with energy, raw and violent. The rift pulsed at the edge of the water, a tear of light cutting through the mist.
Nicholas drew his blade, its silver runes flaring faintly. "It is stronger than the last one."
I nodded, the sound of my wolf growling deep inside me. "It will not stop here."
The light from the rift twisted, forming shapes that looked almost human before shattering back into smoke. The smell of rot and salt filled the air. I stepped closer, feeling the pull in my chest grow stronger. It led back toward the hill, toward her.
Nicholas called out over the storm. "It is feeding on something. The magic is too stable. It should be tearing wider."
"It is feeding on her," I said quietly.
"What?"
"The healer. Ava. She is holding it back without knowing it."
He looked at me sharply. "Then she is part of the Veil itself."
"Yes," I said. "And that means Elijah will come for her."
The rift shuddered once, then dimmed. The light began to fade as if retreating. The air went still. For a moment, everything was silent but the sea.
Nicholas lowered his sword. "What did you do?"
"Nothing," I said, though the truth was I had called to it, the same way my power called to the wild. It had answered her instead. She had steadied it from a distance.
I looked back toward Haven's Nook, the faint glow of its windows barely visible through the fog. I could still feel her there. Every heartbeat between us carried the same rhythm, steady and strange.
Nicholas watched me carefully. "You care," he said.
I did not answer. The rain ran cold down my face, washing away the ash and salt.
When I finally spoke, it was quiet. "If the Veil binds her, she is already marked. And if Elijah feels her power, he will not stop until he reaches her."
"Then we move her," Nicholas said.
"No," I said. "We protect her. Whatever she is, she belongs to this place. Taking her away would break her, and maybe the Veil too."
Nicholas exhaled slowly. "Then you have already chosen your side."
"I never had one," I said, though the lie tasted bitter.
As we turned back toward the inn, the storm began to ease. The sea quieted, the fog retreating. But the air still trembled, as if holding its breath.
Somewhere behind me, the wolf inside stirred again, restless. It wanted to return to her, to the warmth that had silenced the dark.
When I closed my eyes, I saw her beautiful face. And I knew I would not stay away for long.