Page 185 of Cycle Keeper’s Shadow

And yet—it was peaceful. And somehow familiar.

Not safe exactly. Still, like the quiet before waking. A moment stretched thin with potential, caught between two realities. Nothing here wanted to harm her. Nothing wanted to use her. She could exist without consequence.

It was as if she’d been alive in this moment forever. There was a before and there would be an after, but they didn’t matter. yet she couldn’t remember what she’d been doing, or what she was meant to do next.

The whole world waited. She’d wait too.

When she turned, a gazebo she hadn’t noticed before stood in the center of the field, crawling with flowering vines she had no name for—half withered, half in bloom. She stepped silently toward it, then sat on the bench at its heart.

The world was suspended, stopped in time like the memory of life, not the experience of it. It came to her then. She was supposed to make a choice. But she couldn’t remember what was being asked of her, only that it was important.

Time stretched on, and still she waited.

Hoofbeats, soft against the dirt and grass—a rhythm she’d thought she’d forgotten. She spun toward him so quickly she almost lost her balance.

“Pa?” He was there, as if he’d always been there.

Thick, dark hair. Curling black horns so like her own. The same warm, cream-colored skin she’d inherited. His scruffy beard moved as he smiled at her like when he’d spotted her across the square. A smile she hadn’t seen in years; one she wasn’t sure she’d ever see again.

“Little Sprout,” he said, love threading his voice.

She ran to him, not sure if she could touch him, but he wrapped his arms around her. Those arms were real—heavy and strong, just like she remembered. He even smelled the same—fresh carved timber and pine. She buried her face in his chest and breathed deep.

He was gone. But not here. Here he existed, and it made perfect sense. There was no time when they’d ever been apart. No space separating them ever again. They sat together, her father’s callused hand resting in her own.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured into her hair.

“What are we doing here?” She searched his face and found only love as an answer. But she needed more. Without fear, she asked, “Am I dead?”

“Not yet, little one.” His smile was soft and sincere.

Bittersweet relief washed through her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be gone yet, though if this was where she’d end up, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.

“So, we’re not beyond the veil, then?”

He shook his head. “The Hollow Heart…not sure how I knew that.” He quirked a smile at her. “Not sure how I got here either. Some kind of old magic. But you needed me. So I came.” Then he reached out and tugged on her horn, the same way Tav always did. Her cousin learned from the best. “You’ve grown into them well.”

She huffed a laugh and tugged on one of his curled horns in return. “They had a good model.” She swallowed the lump rising in her throat. “I’ve missed you so much. I wish you were still here.”

“I’m here now.” His voice softened, and his deep brown eyes grew sad. “I’m afraid we don’t have long. They still need you.”

A voice cut through the stillness, reckless in its despair.

I know you’re still in there. The voice plucked at her memory like an instrument out of tune.

“Why do I know him?” she asked. “Who are they?”

“You know, Sprout.” Her father regarded her with a smile. His horns tilted the way they always did when he wanted her to puzzle something out on her own.

She squeezed her eyes shut, reaching for the memory, but found only darkness. She shook her head. The voice was tender and comfortable, like an old blanket she knew by heart. But it was unraveling, like the steadiness in it was held together by will alone. And still, she couldn’t place it.

“It’s right there. Do you know him?”

“Not really,” Pa said, though his expression was thoughtful. “But he seems determined.”

Sharp pain suddenly seared across her forearm. Wren gasped and clutched it close. When the burn eased, she held it where she could see it.

“My Spirit mark,” she whispered. She’d forgotten it was there. A shadowed black circle against her skin—the Veilmoon. Surely it was Thornsmile before. “How…odd.”