The feeling didn't come all at once. It crept in slowly, quietly, like something slipping into place without being noticed.
At first, I thought it was just the bond.
Cyris.
The tension I had been feeling from him hadn't completely faded. Even from a distance, I could still sense it—his anger, his restraint, the weight of whatever was happening in that meeting. But this… this was different.
I was sitting by the window, staring absentmindedly at the untouched food in front of me when my chest tightened suddenly. Not like before. Not the familiar pull toward him. This was sharper. Colder.
I stilled, my fingers tightening slightly against the edge of the table.
"…What is that?" I whispered.
Nothing in the room had changed. The air was still. The silence unbroken. Yet something inside me shifted, and a wave of unease crawled slowly up my spine.
Then the images came.
Not clear. Not whole. Just fragments—darkness moving where it shouldn't, wind twisting violently, shadows stretching too far like something forcing its way through a space it didn't belong.
I pushed back from the table and stood up, my movements slow, cautious.
"No…" I muttered under my breath.
My heartbeat quickened, each pulse louder than the last. This wasn't imagination. It wasn't fear. It was real.
I could feel it.
Not from Cyris.
From somewhere else.
Something approaching.
My hand lifted instinctively to my neck, my fingers brushing against the mark. It burned faintly beneath my touch, reacting in a way that made my breath hitch.
"They're coming…" I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
As soon as I said it, the wind outside shifted violently. The windows trembled slightly, a subtle but undeniable response that made me step back.
"That's not normal…" I said, my voice barely steady.
The pressure in my chest grew heavier, and then it hit me—not physically, but deeper than that. A presence. Cold. Heavy. Watching.
A soft gasp left my lips as I reached for the table again to steady myself.
"They know…" I murmured.
The realization settled in slowly, but once it did, it refused to leave.
My chest tightened again, stronger this time—and suddenly, I felt Cyris.
Sharp. Alert.
The bond snapped into place between us, clear and immediate. He felt something too, not as clearly as I did, but enough for his emotions to shift.
"Cyris…" I whispered.
The room felt smaller, the air heavier, like something unseen was closing in. And for the first time since I woke up, I wasn't confused or overwhelmed.
I was certain.
Something was coming.
And it wasn't just dangerous.
It was coming for me.