Elián;

"No, it won’t pass. And although all of them are here, Zethar is the one with the strongest sense for danger. He’s the only brutal enough to stand against what is coming." He replies. And my mouth falls open.

Brutal?? What is coming...? Is this... is this why he suddenly went MIA on me??

"Elien... What is coming?" I can’t help but ask out loud as worry floods every single vein in my body.

However, I am met with no answer.

Of course. He’s always like this. Always shutting me out. He’s the one who belongs to this world. He feels and senses things better than me, and yet, every single fucking time, he shuts me out when he feels like it.

How is this any different from when I first arrived here, and we didn’t know how to communicate with each other??

What’s the point of being able to talk to him if he never tells me anything??

"You’re tired of me, yeah? You... want me to leave. You wish to regain full autonomy over your body?" I ask, standing up, and his response does not miss a beat or waste a second.

"What!?"

"What do you mean what!? I’m trying to get to the bottom of this, so I know what the fuck is going on, and how to approach it!" I snap, and his confused voice follows.

"What—What are you talking about? I don’t want you to leave, I—"

"Well, it doesn’t seem like it, Elien! For fucks sake, I never know what’s really up with you!" I rant, and silence follows.

"I’ve been patient. I never pushed. I waited for you to trust me. To open up to me, to see me as–as a friend, or a brother, or something. But I’m just an add-on, aren’t I? We’ve spent months in one body, Elien. What greater intimacy is there than that?? We’re even carrying a baby. And yet you... You hide things from me! You go days without talking to me! I always have to ask you what’s wrong... I hate it! I hate that this is what our relationship is. Why do you shut me out??" The words roll out of me in a fruatrated torrent, and just as I try to catch my breath... The atmosphere changes.

It’s not Elien... And it’s not my magic.

It’s something else.

The feeling of being... watched. It feels wrong... and cold.

Sharp in a way that doesn’t belong to anything I recognise.

Every muscle in my body goes still as the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

My hand instantly cradles my stomach as my baby moves in response to the shift, and I swallow.

Even she can feel it.

I turn to the mirror at the side, and my heartbeat picks up a pace as I stare at my reflection.

All of a sudden, it doesn’t feel like I’m looking in a mirror...

Goosebumps rise along my skin as I take a subconscious step away from the mirror.

Why does it feel like there are suddenly eyes behind the glass... watching me.

"Elien..." I reach inwardly in fear, and much to my surprise, instead of feeling him retreat, he steps fully into my mind.

Almost like he’s shielding me... from something.

"I’ve found you." A voice suddenly fills the room, and I freeze.

The voice didn’t sound like sound. Instead, it felt... like pressure.

Like something pushing into my thoughts instead of my ears.

And as if my body knows better than me, fear floods me.

"What the hell?" I whisper in fright, and just then, I start to feel Elien’s fear.

It’s worse than mine.

Like a sudden tsunami of fear and a dark, crippling need to run, forming in the back of our joint consciousness.

"Elien...?" I call out loud this time, but now, I get no response or reaction from him.

That strange voice comes again.

"I’ve found you, my precious."

This time it’s closer. Clearer.

Like whatever it is has stepped closer, and is now inside my mind.

My chest tightens violently, and my baby turns in discomfort.

And just like it came, the feeling vanishes. Everything in the room returns to normal... Expect my mind.

The goosebumps on my skin vanish, but I can not bring myself to relax.

"What the fuck just happened??" I breathe as I slowly lower myself to the floor, but still I get nothing from Elien.

It’s almost like, one second he tried to be brave, and the very next second, he bailed.

Is this what he was talking about?? The coming danger?? What... Who—

Elien’s fear then starts hitting me in waves— sudden and overwhelming... spilling through every connection we share and settling mercilessly in my chest.

"Elien?" My voice shakes this time. "Please respond. What’s happening?" I croak, and finally, he answers.

Not in his usually comported, controlled tone... But in raw, horrifying fear.

"No... No, no—" He mutters as his fear spikes, and soon his heightened fear adds to mine.

"He found me." He adds, and my heart skips a few beats.

"What do you mean, he found you? Who found you? Elien, what are you talking about?" I demand, with my panic helplessly rising to match his.

"He found me." He repeats the words desperately with his voice breaking, and I just sit there on the floor. Completely lost and afraid.

"I don’t understand, Elien. You’re scaring me." I whisper as my hands start shaking.

"We are not safe, Elian. I was hoping I was wrong, but I wasn’t. We... We need to leave Nagari. I can’t go back. I can’t— I can’t..." Elien says, and I swallow as my heart practically stops.

...What???

What does he mean we have to leave? We—

Wait!! He mentioned not going back...

Was that... Was that Ballinar??

No... No way. There’s no way.

"Elien, please say something. Who was that? Why do you want us to leave? What the hell just happened? Talk to me!!"