Shards of the Moon

la'

sleep t

in flickers-blurred edges of a past I didn't remember living. A burning temple. A scream th

er a layer of cold sweat. Rael sat opposite me by

p when he h

dre

cause my voice ref

he asked what I had whispere

eart still pounding

lling the air between us. But something had shifted. He'd been more distant since we c

id of what he

e, its stone arches twisted by time and ash. I felt s

nside witho

ow hum buzzed in my bones. The columns around us bore carvings of the twi

ost, silent, tense. His eyes ne

is place?"

balance. They were all des

uch a half-shattered mural. It

idn't

licker of guilt on his face.

e information hidden inside you

htened. "An

opped m

know who I am." "Every day I wake up f

e coming back,

ded s

... it wasn't just a temple. It was where the pact was made. Whe

m. "You've bee

n't de

you rea

ed the first fractures in his u

" he said quietly. "Pri

s hit li

back. "You

ed himself. "You don't un

sent to

le

answere

hile grabbing my wrist

rds to me. "I did

at him, h

. "You were the only thing i

ae

on

tination because escape was all I needed. From the shrine. From him. All

Rael was th

weapon he'd bee

for him-what we might ha

war was wri

lready drow