I didn't sleep that night.
Even though the children of the Lost Temple offered us shelter in a ring of stone-carved ruins—lit by floating runes and wrapped in protective wards—my mind churned like stormy seas. The sky above was a mirror of my thoughts: dark, pulsing with slow flashes of violet lightning far beyond the mountains.
The Hollow Temple.
The name alone felt like a prophecy.
Riven sat with his back against a fallen pillar, sword resting beside him. His eyes were open, watching me. Always watching me.
"You're not okay," he said softly.
I gave a hollow laugh. "I don't think I've been 'okay' since the first time I touched the Thread."
He got up, crossed the space between us, and sat close enough for his warmth to bleed into my skin. "You don't have to do this alone, Sera."
"Don't I?" I asked. "What if they're right? What if this power inside me—this Thread—isn't a gift at all, but a loaded blade? What if I hurt people, Riven?"
"You already hurt people," he said bluntly, but not cruelly. "We all do. But you also save people. You pulled Kael out of a Threadrift. You stopped the corruption in the forest. You're still here. That means something."
I turned to look at him.
"Why are you really here, Riven?" I asked. "Is it duty? Guilt? Or something else?"
His jaw tightened. Then he leaned in just slightly.
"I'm here because, somewhere between fighting beside you and watching you stand against impossible things, I started to believe in you more than I believed in myself."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
But before I could answer, Kael stepped into the clearing. His expression was grim.
"They've agreed. At first light, we begin the journey to the Hollow Temple. It won't be easy. The path winds through forgotten lands... and memories that were sealed for a reason."
"What kind of memories?" I asked.
Kael looked at me, then away. "The kind you don't come back from unchanged."
Behind him, the youngest of the sentinels—the girl named Lys—approached holding a glowing relic. It was a disc of woven crystal strands, humming softly.
"This will guide your steps," she said, handing it to me. "But it cannot shield you from what you carry inside."
I accepted it with a trembling hand.
Riven rose beside me. "Let's get some rest. Whatever comes tomorrow, we'll face it together."
I nodded.
But inside, a thread of doubt still pulled tight.
Because deep down… I wasn't sure together would be enough.