Page 99 of Shadows of Change

"You don't understand." Kaia stands, her shadows swirling around her like a cloak. For a moment, I swear I see the ghost of wings in their movement. "Alekir spent centuries hunting Valkyries. He corrupted their souls, twisted them into monsters, all because he wanted..." She touches the Heart of Eternity. "He wanted what I can do. What I am. And if he finds out I'm here, that I survived..."

"Then we'll kill him," I say simply. The words come out steady, but beneath them I feel a surge of unshakable resolve. This isn’t bravado; it’s a promise. My shadows stir in agreement, mirroring the certainty hardening in my chest. Failure isn’t an option—not this time.

She stares at me, those violet eyes wide with surprise. Behind her, I notice Mouse's approving nod.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," Finn agrees, moving to stand beside me. His shoulder brushes mine, a casual touch that carries surprising weight. "We're kind of invested now. In case you hadn't noticed."

"Also," Torric adds with a feral grin, "I've been looking for someone worth fighting. An immortal soul-stealing psychopath sounds perfect."

"Idiots." Kaia's voice shakes, but there's something like desperate hope beneath the fear. "All of you. Complete idiots."

"Yet here we are," Aspen says quietly. He hasn't moved from his post by the door, but his calm voice carries through the room. "Though I have to ask—if Alekir's truly immortal, how exactly are we planning to stop him?"

A fair question. One that makes Kaia's shadows coil tighter.

Mouse's voice cuts through the tension, low and deliberate. "Alekir is no god," he says, his tone sharper than I’ve ever heard it. "He is a parasite. Sustained by the souls he has corrupted and twisted into fuel for his own power. Every life he has stolen keeps him tethered to existence, clinging to strength that isn't his." Kaia glances at Mouse, her expression caught between gratitude and something closer to fear. "The Valkyries he destroyed," she adds quietly, her hand moving almost unconsciously to where her shadows gather. "Their strength is part of him now. But the Heart of Eternity—" She hesitates, swallowing hard. "It was the one thing he could never touch."

"You're holding back," I say, watching her carefully. The shadows shift, and I catch Bob making what looks suspiciously like a shushing motion at the others. "There's more."

"There's always more," she says with a bitter laugh. "But trust me, the less you know about exactly what Alekir can do, the better chance you have of—"

"If you say 'surviving' one more time, I'm going to scream," Finn interrupts. He steps closer to Kaia, ignoring the way her shadows ripple warningly. "We get it. You're trying to protect us.Very noble. Very tragic. But has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, we want to protect you too?"

Something flickers in Kaia's eyes—pain or memory, I'm not sure which. "The last people who tried to protect me ended up—" She gestures at her shadows, and the weight of centuries hangs in that simple movement.

"Bound to you forever?" I ask quietly. "Standing guard over the thing they died protecting? That doesn't sound like failure to me."

Kaia's breath catches. Even Mouse looks surprised, his violet eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

"They're right," Aspen says, finally moving away from the door. "Whatever's coming, we face it together. All of us." He glances at his brother. "Right?"

Torric rolls his eyes. "Obviously. Though I still want to know how exactly a baby Valkyrie ended up with an army of shadow warriors for babysitters."

Mouse lets out a low rumble, his tail flicking with deliberate precision. "They were warriors once. And if they choose, they will be again."

"They're not—" Kaia starts, then stops as one of her shadows—Patricia, I believe, makes an unmistakably rude gesture at Torric. Despite everything, a reluctant smile tugs at her lips. "Okay, maybe they are a little bit like that."

"See?" Finn grins. "Even Bob agrees with us. And Bob is never wrong."

The shadow in question straightens proudly while Mouse makes a sound suspiciously like a snort.

I watch it all—the way Kaia's tension slowly eases, how her shadows remain protective but less frantically so, the careful way Mouse observes our reactions. There's still more she isn't telling us. Much more, if the weight in her eyes is any indication.

But for now, maybe this is enough. This careful balance between truth and protection, between past and present. Whatever truths Kaia hasn’t yet shared, I’ll wait for them. Because right now, the only thing that matters is showing her she isn’t alone in carrying this weight."

Finn grins. "But seriously, if those shadows can fly, I’m calling dibs on the first aerial shadow ride.

64. Malrik

Hours of planning and questions have taken their toll. I watch as Kaia's responses grow slower, her words dragging like they're weighted down. Her shoulders sag, and her head tilts slightly to the side, as though even holding it upright takes too much effort. Her shadows droop with exhaustion, their once-fluid movements now sluggish and uneven, pooling at her feet. Even Bob's militant posture has softened, though he still maintains his guard near the door with Carl and Steve at his side.

"Enough," I say finally, cutting off Finn's fifteenth question about time travel logistics. "She needs rest."

"I'm fine," Kaia protests, but the way she's curled deeper into my armchair betrays her.

"You're barely conscious," I point out. "And my bed's right there."

---