Heartstone - Chapter 12: Chapter 12
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Avera rose from her seat without a word and stepped out.
The warmth of the fire, the stares, the weight of the prophecy—too much.
One of Marah’s guards moved to follow, hand drifting toward his blade.
But Marah raised a hand. “Let her go.”
She stepped out into the cold, her boots crunching against the ash-laced snow. The night sky stretched endlessly above, stars scattered like ancient whispers. The moon hung low and silver, casting faint light over the broken village.
Marah looked at Dalen. “Go to her.”
Dalen hesitated for a heartbeat, then slipped out into the dark.
He found Avera near the edge of the village, standing beneath a skeletal tree stripped bare by winter. Her face was turned skyward, lips parted slightly, eyes distant—like she was trying to remember something that never belonged to her.
He stood beside her but said nothing.
The silence between them was soft, almost comforting.
Avera spoke first, her voice quiet. “He used to tell me stories under skies like this. Nikola. He’d point out the stars and say they were watching us. That we came from them once, and we’d return when the world no longer needed our blood.”
Dalen glanced at her. “Do you believe that?”
“I don’t know what I believe anymore.” She folded her arms. “I thought I was just a girl raised in the woods. Now I’m some heir to a forgotten bloodline, hunted by ghosts with machines. I don’t want to be some... chosen thing. I just want to survive.”
Dalen was silent for a moment. Then: “You’re not alone, Avera. Whatever I was before, whatever I’ve forgotten… I know destiny trained me to find you. I feel it in my bones. I think I was sent to protect you.”
Avera turned to him, eyes sharp.
“Then tell me this—if they find us again, and they order you to kill me… would you follow that order?”
The air went still.
Dalen met her gaze. “No.”
She searched his face, long and hard. Then slowly, her shoulders relaxed.
“I want to believe that,” she said.
He nodded. “Then let me prove it.”
They stood together, side by side beneath the stars, two strangers bound by fate and shadow. And far above them, a cold wind stirred the sky—as if something was watching. Waiting.
Because deep in the forest, something was coming.
And it was not alone.
The warmth of the fire, the stares, the weight of the prophecy—too much.
One of Marah’s guards moved to follow, hand drifting toward his blade.
But Marah raised a hand. “Let her go.”
She stepped out into the cold, her boots crunching against the ash-laced snow. The night sky stretched endlessly above, stars scattered like ancient whispers. The moon hung low and silver, casting faint light over the broken village.
Marah looked at Dalen. “Go to her.”
Dalen hesitated for a heartbeat, then slipped out into the dark.
He found Avera near the edge of the village, standing beneath a skeletal tree stripped bare by winter. Her face was turned skyward, lips parted slightly, eyes distant—like she was trying to remember something that never belonged to her.
He stood beside her but said nothing.
The silence between them was soft, almost comforting.
Avera spoke first, her voice quiet. “He used to tell me stories under skies like this. Nikola. He’d point out the stars and say they were watching us. That we came from them once, and we’d return when the world no longer needed our blood.”
Dalen glanced at her. “Do you believe that?”
“I don’t know what I believe anymore.” She folded her arms. “I thought I was just a girl raised in the woods. Now I’m some heir to a forgotten bloodline, hunted by ghosts with machines. I don’t want to be some... chosen thing. I just want to survive.”
Dalen was silent for a moment. Then: “You’re not alone, Avera. Whatever I was before, whatever I’ve forgotten… I know destiny trained me to find you. I feel it in my bones. I think I was sent to protect you.”
Avera turned to him, eyes sharp.
“Then tell me this—if they find us again, and they order you to kill me… would you follow that order?”
The air went still.
Dalen met her gaze. “No.”
She searched his face, long and hard. Then slowly, her shoulders relaxed.
“I want to believe that,” she said.
He nodded. “Then let me prove it.”
They stood together, side by side beneath the stars, two strangers bound by fate and shadow. And far above them, a cold wind stirred the sky—as if something was watching. Waiting.
Because deep in the forest, something was coming.
And it was not alone.
End of Heartstone Chapter 12. Continue reading Chapter 13 or return to Heartstone book page.