Page 265 of Elemental Becoming

“And that Ardyn is a bitch!”The words come out harsher than I expect.“We’re at a fucking memorial honoring the dead, and she still finds a way to twist it back to me?”

Her voice rumbles through the bond.

“You doubt yourself. Her words cut because part of you believes them.”

I go still.

Because she’s right.

Of course she’s right.

I don’t respond, not at first. I just sit there staring into the fire, the weight of it all pressing down like ash-choked air. The ache in my chest isn’t just from what Ardyn said. It’s from the fact that some part of me still wonders if she’s right.

Still wonders if I deserve any of this. This power. This bond.This place at Thane’s side.

“You will find your way, Virelya,”Calryx says, her voice full of absolute certainty.

I close my eyes.“How can you be so sure?”

There’s no hesitation when she answers.

“Because I chose you. And I never choose wrong.”

Despite everything, I smile. A single tear escapes before I can stop it, and I wipe it away quickly.

“You okay, Thalor?”

I lift my head and blink against the firelight.

Kieran stands a few steps away, his blond waves haloed in gold from the flames behind him. He’s dressed in a tunic and trousers, simple but refined. The mischief he usually wears like a second skin is nowhere to be found. Only quiet concern.

“Yes . . . ” I start, then shake my head. “No.”

And then it all spills out.

“Everything feels like too much,” I say, the words tumbling free before I can stop them. “I keep getting pushed into roles I never asked for. The Spiritborn. Thane’s partner. A symbol. A leader. A weapon.”

The words taste bitter.

“Everyone seems to know who I’m supposed to be except me.”

I pause, swallowing hard.

“And gods, the guilt, Kieran. It’s everywhere. This whole ceremony, this entire night . . . it’s happening because of me. Because they came for me.”

I draw a shaky breath.

“And standing beside Thane? I know what that looks like. Iknowwhat people are saying. And the worst part is, I don’t even know what it means. We haven’t had time to talk about it, and everyone just assumes I belong there.”

I press my fingers to my temples, voice breaking.

“They keep calling me Spiritborn like it’s something sacred. Like I should be proud of it. But half the time, I feel like I’m drowning under the weight of it. Like I’m one wrong step away from proving them all right—that I’m not enough for any of this.”

I don’t know how long I speak. Maybe minutes. Maybe longer.

At some point, Kieran lowers himself onto the bench beside me. He says nothing. Doesn’t interrupt. He just sits with it all, letting the silence stretch whenever I run out of words.

The easy buoyancy that usually surrounds him has settled. He’s no longer the quick, playful gust that sweeps laughter into every conversation, but a calm wind that refuses to leave my side. And when I finally stop talking, when the silence settles between us once more and I’m left sitting in it, hollow and spent, he’s still there.