Page 43 of The Shattered Rite
They turned down another corridor, warmer than the others, with faint orange light bleeding through the seams of heavy wooden doors lining either side.
“Room eleven,” he said, pausing near the door and stepping aside. “You’ll find everything you need inside. You’ll be summoned when it's time for the next trial.”
She stepped past him but paused just inside the frame. “Thank you,” she said again, sincerely.
He blinked. “For what?”
“For speaking with me.” She had noticed that the other guards did not entertain conversation with their chosen.
The guard hesitated… then offered a short, respectful nod.
Eliryn disappeared into the room beyond.
The door clicked shut behind her.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Eliryn stood still.
No screaming. No blood. No watching eyes.
Just warmth. Quiet. Breath.
Her own.
And Vaeronth, steady and impossible in the back of her mind like an old song she’d somehow always known.
The room felt wrong. Luxurious, yes, but like it belonged to someone else. A stranger. Carpet swallowed her footsteps. A porcelain tub steamed in the corner, water laced with lavender. A feast sat waiting on polished wood: bread, cheese, spiced roots, and meat pink at the center. Beside it, a pitcher of water glinted like treasure.
She just… stood there.
For three whole heartbeats.
Then: “Okay. Either this is real, or I’ve actually died.”
Vaeronth, dry as sun-scorched stone:You are alive.
She huffed. “Right. Says the dragon inside my mind.”
Don't sass me when you can't even work up the courage to walk across the room.
“Gods, no need to call me out on it.”
Her knees gave out the moment she neared the food, and she dropped straight onto the carpet like a stone.
A second later, she was tearing into bread, then root vegetables, cheese, anything her shaking hands could grab. It wasn’t graceful. She ate like survival was still a question mark.
Not alone anymore, but still not safe.
Not yet.
Vaeronth watched from within—silent, but present. She could feel him, his vast presence coiled in the bond they shared.
“I’m fine,” she muttered mid-bite. “Completely fine. Normal night. Got chased by monsters, fell through a mountain, found out dragons aren’t extinct after all, bonded to said dragon, got a magical tattoo that may or may not be alive, and now I’m sittingin a room fit for royalty eating more food than I have in an entire season.”
She paused. Swallowed.
“You know, when you say it out loud, it doesn’t sound that weird.”
A pause.
