Nico was standing on the edge of the treeline when it hit.

     He slowly lowered his hand from the hilt at his side, darkness coiling reflexively beneath his skin like a reflex he had never been able to unlearn. But there was no threat that he could see; instead, there was the echo of Selene’s magic reaching him. He staggered half a step back as the warning left in a gust of wind that carried far beyond his current location. A confirmation that it was time.     

     ‘When it begins, you will know.’     

     He had thought she meant it metaphorically, like some gradual awakening or physical sign that he would be to track or prepare for. But there was nothing gradual about the way the message he’d just received.  Nico’s fingers curled into his palm as the wind settled once more. Somewhere deeper in the forest, birds took flight all at once—an eruption of wings and panic cutting through the silence.

     Selene was gone and he knew it the moment her magic had touched him. He couldn’t help the hollow grief that opened beneath his ribs so fast it almost made him sick.

     “Damn it, Selene…” he whispered, though there was no one to hear it. His voice didn’t belong in this moment. All the years he had spent avoiding this role and telling himself he was not the kind of man who could guide someone like Leah, were for nothing. he still did not feel capable of mentoring her…not after all he had done. Not after what the Order had made him do.

     But even with this knowledge, Selene had chosen him.

     ‘You will help her when I cannot. You will keep her alive when the world turns toward her.’ 

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Nico closed his eyes, the memory of Selene’s voice was infuriatingly steady and now, Leah was waking. It had been two days since Nico began camping outside the archway. When exactly would she be gracing him with her presence? The thought slipped out as Nico exhaled slowly, impatiently forcing his body back into motion.

     He had been pacing for an unknown amount of time at this point, worn footsteps etched into the damp earth just outside the archway that connected Roots Hollow to Eldergrove. He was personally familiar with this particular archway, having crossed it countless times over the last eighteen years. Most of those crossings had been under Selene’s instruction, some under necessity, and others….out of curiosity.

     “No hesitation,” he muttered to himself. A discipline carved into him long before Selene ever trusted him with anything precious.

     His pacing picked up, his pulse beating harder than it had in years—too tightly wound for a man who had spent so long mastering stillness. He forced his attention outward, to the Hollow. Out to the invisible layers of space his magic could read. He went through everything in his head over and over again. His bunker was secure and his magic had not picked up anyone else in the area for at least ten miles out. He had to make sure the coast was clear when she entered the Hollow because he was sure that her presence would be felt all throughout it, whether she wanted it to or not.

     Selene had always called Roots Hollow a “listening place” but Nico had never liked that phrase because listening implied awareness, and awareness implied choice. There was no choice in what was about to happen. Not a choice for Leah and not a choice for him.

     As he continued to pace, memories of past interactions with Selene began to flood his mind along with memories of the small glimpses he’d had of Leah throughout the years. Selene had been extremely protective of her and had never allowed him to approach her or talk to her. He couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of person she had grown up to be, and whether she would be strong enough to face the future that she had not asked for.

     Nico slowed as the terrain shifted beneath him. The veil began to shimmer, rippling as someone attempted to make their way through to the Hollow. Then, just as they had anticipated, Leah stumbled through.

     His breath left him slowly. It had been less than a year since the last time he had seen her—if “seen” could even be called that. And although she was currently struggling to stand, he couldn’t help but admire her.     She was struggling to orient herself, no doubt still feeling the effects that the Veil creates when someone first enters the Hollow. She wore jeans and a simple T-shirt with a cardigan that hung loosely from her frame, entirely unprepared for the Hollow’s colder air. Nico made a mental note to give her one of his cloaks since the cold of the Hollow would freeze her in her current attire. 

   He leaned back casually against the trunk of a white-barked tree near him, crossing his arms as if he had not just been bracing for impact moments ago. Leah was still as beautiful as he remembered—freckles dusted her face in uneven patters and gray-blue eyes stood out with the contrast of her full eyelashes, giving her expression a softness that contrasted the tension in her posture.

     “You made it.” He said calmly, even though his heart failed to slow.