Page 102 of Ashen Souls

He reached for the card reader. While he processed the payment, I carefully set the ring back into its velvet box.

Before turning to the door, I dug a pen from my bag, grabbed one of the shop’s business cards from the counter, and scribbled my number on the back. I pushed it across the glass.

“If you find out anything else about where it came from, who brought it in, or whether your grandfather remembers something, let me know,” I said. “I’d be happy to pay for the information.”

He looked at the card and slipped it into his pocket.

“I’ll ask him on one of his better days. No promises, but sometimes things surface when you least expect them.”

“Thank you.”

Harper and I stepped onto the street, the shop bell clanking behind us.

Harper kept her silence until we reached her car. The second she stopped, she pivoted to face me, not even reaching for her keys.

“What just happened in there?”

My fingers curled tight around the box buried in my coat pocket. “I saw him.”

“Who?”

“Daeren.”

Harper grabbed my elbow and steered me away from the car. “Right. This clearly isn't a drive-and-talk kind of conversation, and I am not waiting until we get back to Vesbridge. We're getting food, and you're going to sit down and tell me everything.”

We didn't speak again until we found a small Chinese restaurant a few blocks down. Red paper lanterns hung beneath a weathered awning, and the heavy scent of garlic and ginger drifting through the open door cut right through the lingering scent of old magic. We picked a table on the empty patio, shielded from the street's glare by climbing vines and wooden trellises.

Just the low murmur of music from the kitchen and birds arguing in a nearby elm.

Harper set her sunglasses on the table and leaned back in her chair.

“Okay,” she said, folding her arms. “What was that? You’re still shaking.”

Condensation beaded against my water glass. I pressed my fingertips to the chilled surface, letting the cold settle my nerves.

“I had a vision,” I began. “The ring pulled me into a memory.”

“Of course it did.”

“Daeren was there,” I forged ahead. “But not the way he is now. The wings were gone. His eyes were different.”

“Different how?”

“Clear. Deep blue. And… gentle.”

She nodded once. “Naturally.”

I swallowed hard. “He was marrying someone.”

Harper’s mouth twitched. “Let me guess. You.”

“Not me. Someone who looks like me. Her name was Avelia.”

Harper watched my face, waiting.

“They exchanged rings. The exact same ring I just bought. Same symbol. Same geometry. But there was an inscription inside it.”

She dropped her elbows onto the table. “What did it say?”