Jade Goldlight's Arc

Chapter 3 of 20

The blink dog still pressed against Jade's chest when an old woman stepped from the crowd and gestured for her to follow. The square hushed as Jade walked, Raihan padding close, smoke drifting from his black coat. The villagers parted, eyes wide, voices already starting to whisper. The woman led her past the lively tavern, where patrons spilled onto the porch to watch. Beside it stood a bronzed statue of a blink dog, collared and proud, the name RUNE carved into its base. Jade stopped. The small creature in her arms lifted its head and stared at the shrine, ears pricked forward. "Rune saved this village, long ago," the old woman said softly. "We do not forget." The whispers around the tavern grew warmer. Word had already raced ahead of her — the stranger who fought the hooded thing, who shielded a child, who held one of Rune's kin safe in her arms. A broad man in a mayor's sash approached, his young daughter half-hidden behind his coat. He bowed his head to Jade. "You have a home here, if you'll take it." He pointed past the rooftops to a treehouse cradled in pink cherry blossoms, lanterns glowing in its windows. Jade's throat tightened. She had wanted to be counted on, not feared. She nodded once, steady. Raihan brushed her hand with his nose, purple eyes calm. The mayor's daughter stepped forward, arms open, and the blink dog blinked gently into them. "I'll keep her safe till morning," the girl whispered. Jade watched them go, then turned toward the blossoms and the warm wooden door waiting above.