Chapter 351: Watching Stone, Listening Shadows

Chapter 350: Eyes in the Dark

Sophia didn’t answer Brynhild immediately.

The fire crackled softly nearby, the sound steady and low, while the house breathed around them—wood settling, embers shifting, the faint rhythm of a place that had learned how to be quiet when a child slept. Brynhild tilted her head slightly, as if listening not to the room but to Sophia herself.

Sophia finally sighed. "What gave it away?"

Brynhild’s lips curved, not into a smile exactly, but into something knowing. She lifted one hand and gestured vaguely in Sophia’s direction, fingers loose, unseeing eyes fixed on nothing and everything at once. "You did," she said simply. "You’re not being your usual self."

Sophia huffed a small laugh. "That obvious?"

"No," Brynhild replied calmly. "Not obvious. Anyone else wouldn’t notice. But I know you."

Sophia fell quiet again, her gaze dropping to her hands. She rubbed her thumb against her palm, a nervous habit she didn’t bother hiding. After a moment, she laughed softly, more resigned than amused. "You’re right," she admitted. "Something is bothering me. Really bothering me."

Brynhild shifted in her chair, turning her body more fully toward Sophia, her posture attentive. "Then tell me."

Sophia inhaled slowly. "Orion is going to bring the translation from the shrine to the council of elders."

Brynhild’s brows knit together. "The translation," she echoed. "Why?"

Brynhild remembered that Sophia and Eldric had been translating what was written on the shrine. She had also thought that perhaps if Sophia continued translating, then she would get her wolf back, but that hadn’t happened yet.

"Because of the strange happenings surrounding the shrine," Sophia told her. "Things don’t add up. The words themselves are... old. Older than anything we’ve come across before. And the shrine—no one knows who built it or why it was placed there. Why anyone would even write on the altar. Why it’s still standing. It’s just... I think there’s more to it." Sophia told her.

Brynhild was quiet for a beat. Then she spoke softly, carefully. "But that’s not all."

Sophia blinked. "What?"

"There’s still something you’re not telling me," Brynhild said. Her voice wasn’t accusing, just certain. "I can hear it in the way your breath changed. You’re holding something back. Don’t do that with me."

Sophia let out a helpless laugh. "You’re terrifying sometimes, you know that?"

Brynhild smiled faintly. "So I’ve been told."

Sophia leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling as if the answers might be written there. "When I went to the shrine," she began slowly, "when I was translating the writings... I felt something."

Brynhild tilted her head. "Felt?"

Sophia shook her head, then corrected herself when she remembered. "No... rather than saying felt, it’s more accurate to say I saw something."

Brynhild’s expression sharpened instantly. "Saw what?"

"Eyes," Sophia said quietly. "Watching me."

The air between them shifted.

Brynhild frowned. "I don’t understand. Was it Eldric?"

Sophia shook her head. "No. It wasn’t him. He was there, yes, but this... this wasn’t human. It didn’t feel human at all."

Brynhild’s fingers curled slightly against the arm of her chair. "What did it look like?"

Sophia swallowed. "Like a beast. Just looking at the eyes filled me with such dread that I couldn’t even move."

Brynhild went still. "Are you certain it wasn’t one of the beasts in Nirvana?" she asked carefully. "A Skylur, perhaps? Or something similar? Maybe they found their way there?"

Sophia shook her head again. "No. There was no one else there except me and Eldric. It couldn’t be a Skylur or one of the many monsters in Nirvana." Sophia paused. "Or maybe it’s one—but one yet to be discovered?"

Brynhild’s brows drew together deeper now. "And you think it’s connected to the shrine?"

"I’m sure of it," Sophia said. "It happened while I was translating. Like the words themselves drew its attention. Or maybe it was already there, waiting."

Brynhild exhaled slowly. "That’s weird."

Sophia nodded. "That’s what unsettles me. The shrine is shrouded in mystery, and I won’t lie—I’m scared. A little."

"Scared of what?" Brynhild asked gently. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Sophia hesitated, then answered honestly. "The way it looked at me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. I just stood there, staring into its eyes while it stared right back at me. It felt like it knew me. Like it was... pleased."

Brynhild’s jaw tightened. "That explains a lot."

Sophia frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I understand now why Orion wants to bring this to the council," Brynhild said. "This isn’t something to keep between a few people. If something tied to the shrine is becoming aware—or active—then everyone needs to know, especially if it would bring danger."

Sophia nodded slowly.

Brynhild fell silent for a moment, her head tilting as if she were listening beyond the room, beyond the house. Then she spoke again, her tone more serious. "If you saw something like that... are you really sure you still want to take the placement test?"

Sophia didn’t hesitate. "Yes."

Brynhild sighed. "Sophia."

"I know," Sophia said softly. "It’s in the forest. I know it’s dangerous. And yes, what I saw scared me. But that doesn’t change my decision."

"Why?" Brynhild asked.

"Because I’m not a quitter. I’m not aiming to become a hunter, but at least going in there and taking the test will help me know if I’ve gotten better or not. And if a situation arises, I want to know if I can protect myself and the people I care about," Sophia told her.

Brynhild leaned back, her expression conflicted. "If I were in better shape," she muttered, "I’d train you myself. I’d like to see if you’ve improved at all and just know what Orion’s been teaching you."

Sophia smiled faintly. "I know you would."

Before Brynhild could say more, the bedroom door creaked open.

Both women fell silent instinctively.

Lysander stepped out, moving carefully, Raina cradled against his chest. The baby didn’t stir, her breathing even, her small body utterly relaxed. He crossed the room with quiet precision and gently placed her into the cot. Raina shifted once, then settled, still asleep.

Only when he was sure she wouldn’t wake did Lysander turn.

He looked at Brynhild first, then at Sophia. "You can help her," he said to Brynhild.

Sophia blinked.

Brynhild lifted her chin suspiciously. "Help how?"

"With pointers," Lysander said firmly. "Advice. Guidance. Help her improve her instincts and awareness." His gaze sharpened. "But you are not to fight. Not spar. Not push yourself."

"I can pick up a sword?" Brynhild asked him.

Lysander nodded. "You can pick it up, but don’t strain yourself, love, or that incision is going to open up and you’ll be back to only staying in the house."

Brynhild giggled, her whole body excited.

"Oh, and you are not going to do so now. You’ll do it tomorrow after I check the wound. And you only have twenty or thirty minutes, tops," Lysander told Brynhild.

"As long as I get to breathe air outside of this house, I’m good," Brynhild said, making the others laugh.

Then she turned to Sophia. "It seems we have a date."

Sophia smiled at her. "That, we do."

Suddenly, Brynhild smiled as Lysander sighed.

"It seems we have another visitor," Lysander said.

Sophia frowned, watching Lysander and Brynhild. She waited a moment before Lysander moved suddenly toward the door and opened it softly to see Orion standing on the other end.