Nyra vale learned early that shadows were not reflections. They were witness.
The fire crackled weakly in front of her, casting long black shapes against the twisted trees. Her shadow stretched farther than it should have - thin, sharp, wrong. It moved even when she stood still.
"You're restless tonight," Nyra said quietly.
The shadow rippled.
You are close to danger, it whispered inside her mind.
Nyra smiled without humor. "you say that every night.''
And i am always right
She closed the acient grimoire in her hands, the pages still warm from the spell she had stolen.
Around her neck, silver charms rattled softly - wards against possession, madness, and death. None of them worked forever.
They never did.
A raven landed on her shoulder, claws digging slightly into her coat. its red eyes gleamed.
''They're near,'' Nyra murmured.
From the forest beyond the firelight, boots crunched against dead leaves. Not hunters- too careful.
Witches learned to recognize fear.
These footsteps carried certainty.
The Night Court.
Her shadow thickened, curling around her feet like living smoke.
Payment is due, it whispered.
Nyra's fingers tightened around the grimoire. ''you took enough last time.''
you offered it.
A memory stirred - laughter, warm sunlight, a face she could no longer name .
Nyra swallowed.
''How much?'' she asked
The shadow leaned closer, vioce soft and eager.
one truth you have never spoken.
Silence fell.
The raven tilted its head.
Nyra exhaled slowly. In this world secrets were more valuable than blood.
''I was born without a shadow,'' she said
The forest went still.
The fire flickered violently.
For the first time since she bound it, her shadow hesitated.
....say that again
Nyra rose to her feet, power bleeding into her veins as darkness wrapped around her like armor.
''That's why you cling to me,'' she whispered. ''And that's why one day-''
The first arrow flew from the darkness.
Nyra vanished into the shadow as screams followed.
And somewhere deep beneath her feet, the forest listened.