The world came back in pieces.
Sound returned first—wind sighing through leaves, the distant cry of a nightbird, the soft crunch of boots against forest floor. Then weight. Gravity. Pain in Elara's knees as she staggered forward, barely catching herself before she fell.
Arin's hands were there instantly.
"Elara."
His voice cut through the haze like an anchor thrown into deep water. She clutched his sleeves, fingers shaking, breath coming too fast.
"I'm here," she whispered, though she wasn't sure if she was convincing him or herself.
The Veil was gone.
No silver ground. No constellations beneath her feet. No Aeryn standing in luminous stillness.
Only the forest—dark, familiar, solid.
Ronan stood a few steps away, scanning their surroundings with his dagger drawn, jaw tight. Mira hovered close to him, eyes wide, one hand pressed to her chest as if she needed to feel her heart beating to believe it was real.
"We're back," Mira said softly. "We actually made it back."
Arin didn't loosen his grip. "You vanished," he said, voice rough. "Just—gone. One second you were there, the next—" He swallowed. "I couldn't reach you."
Elara closed her eyes briefly. The memories pressed against her mind like a tide—silver fields, a falling sky, Nareth's grief, the Lightbearers' laughter before it turned to screams.
"I was shown the truth," she said quietly. "About my bloodline. About the curse."
Ronan's eyes flicked to her. "That sounds like the kind of truth that gets people killed."
She met his gaze steadily. "It already has."
Silence fell between them.
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Mira shifted uneasily. "The Veil… it didn't follow us, did it?"
Elara shook her head. "No. But something else did."
Arin stiffened. "What do you mean?"
She hesitated, then placed a hand over her chest. The hum was still there—not loud, not overwhelming, but awake. Watching.
"The light chose me," she said. "But so did the curse. They're… connected. Like two halves of a wound that never healed."
Ronan frowned. "That's comforting."
"It's not meant to be," Elara replied. "It's meant to be true."
They started moving again, deeper into the forest, boots crunching over fallen leaves. The path ahead was narrow, winding between ancient trees whose roots twisted like knuckles breaking through the earth.
For a while, nothing happened.
And that frightened Elara more than any immediate danger.