The night wrapped around the village like a heavy cloak, the hush of snowfall muting all but the distant wind. Within the small, firelit home, the air was thick with warmth and the scent of burning wood. The battle was behind them, but its echoes still lingered in their bodies, in their minds.

  Kaavi sat cross-legged near the fire, his eyes closed, his breathing deep and measured. He was still. But inside, the storm had not yet passed. The fight with Oleg had left a mark—not just in the deep bruises across his ribs or the torn muscle in his shoulder, but in the remnants of power that still thrummed beneath his skin, restless and demanding. He needed to quiet it.

  Slowly he began his meditation.

  The flickering light cast shadows against the walls, elongating and distorting them. His breathing slowed. The pain in his limbs dulled, replaced by something deeper—a pulling sensation, an unravelling of thought and self. He let go. He drifted. And somewhere between wakefulness and the void, he felt it again. That presence. The whisper that had brushed against his mind in Oleg’s final moments.

  It was not gone.

  A distant, pulsing pressure stirred at the edges of his consciousness. Something unseen. Watching. Waiting.

  Kaavi’s fingers twitched. A single breath shattered the illusion, and he was back, staring into the fire.

  Across the room, Ilyas watched him with knowing eyes. He leaned against the wall, a cup of warm broth in his hands. “Can’t sleep?”

  Kaavi exhaled through his nose. “Not yet.”

  Ilyas took a slow sip, his gaze steady. “You saw something.”

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  Kaavi’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

  Ilyas didn’t press. He simply sat beside him, the quiet between them stretching like a thin thread. Outside, the wind howled.

  In another room, Viktor lay awake beneath thick furs, staring at the ceiling. His fingers curled into the fabric, his mind replaying Kaavi’s words. Your time will come. But not yet.

  He understood. But understanding didn’t make the waiting any easier.

  His body ached from tension, a tight knot in his chest that hadn’t loosened since they arrived. He hadn’t seen the battle, but he had felt it in his bones. In the fear that clawed at him when the village waited in silence for news. In the moment his grandfather returned, bloodied and exhausted, but standing. Alive.

  Viktor turned on his side, eyes catching the dim glow of the dying fire through the doorway. He had asked Kaavi if they had won. But he had seen the look in his grandfather’s eyes. Yes, Viktor. We won.

  Then why did it feel like something was still unfinished?

  The house was quiet in the early hours before dawn. Danil and Ren had claimed a corner of the room, both wrapped in thick blankets, their breathing slow and steady. Ilyas had finally drifted to sleep, his cup still resting beside him.

  Kaavi remained where he sat, eyes open now, staring into the embers.

  He had hoped meditation would bring him clarity. Instead, it had confirmed something he had feared.

  There were more battles ahead. More dangers lurking in the shadows. Oleg had been a beast, but he had not been the mastermind. He was merely a blade wielded by an unseen hand.

  Kaavi inhaled deeply, grounding himself. There would be time for answers. For now, they needed rest. They would not linger in this village for long. The road still called to them.

  And though he did not yet know what lay ahead, one thing was certain.

  A heavy knock at the door shattered the silence.

  Kaavi’s head lifted, his gaze sharpening. Across the room, Ilyas stirred, blinking away the haze of sleep. The knock came again, steady but firm.

  Kaavi rose, rolling the stiffness from his shoulders as he reached the door. “Who is it?”

  “It’s me Gavril,” came the voice from the other side, hushed but clear. “I’ve returned.”

  At that, Ilyas sat up fully, recognition flashing in his tired eyes. Kaavi unlatched the door and pulled it open just enough to see the figure outside—a man wrapped in a heavy cloak, his face windburned from travel.

  “We need to talk.” the scout murmured, shaking off the snow. “I’ve been watching the neighbouring territories,”

  Kaavi exchanged a look with Ilyas before stepping aside to let the man in...

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