Zephyr Riddle's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

They moved before the sun cleared the trees, Aldric leaning hard on Zephyr's shoulder. The brand under the bandage pulsed in Zephyr's mind like a second heartbeat. He'd seen that crest once before, on a gate he'd almost walked through with someone he'd almost trusted. He kept his face flat. Aldric didn't ask. Zephyr didn't offer. The path ahead was empty, and the door inside him stayed shut — for now. They stopped at a clearing where a tall stone pillar leaned against the morning fog. Deep carvings ran its length, half-eaten by moss. Zephyr knew the marks. The same antlers wrapped in flame curled around the base, smaller than the brand but the same hand. He set Aldric down against the stone and pressed his palm flat to the carving. Cold. Real. Not a memory this time. "They've been here longer than I thought," he said. "This isn't a gang. It's a road. And it runs through everywhere I've ever tried to build something." Aldric's eyes followed him. Zephyr made himself speak. "I knew someone once. Got close enough to tell them about the granary. Almost." He pointed past the pillar to a split oak farther off, its trunk hollowed out, dark inside. "Left them there with a lantern and a promise. They wore that same crest under their sleeve the whole time. I found out before they did." He swallowed. "I'm telling you because I said I would. The next person I trusted would get all of it. That's you." Aldric reached up and pulled the bandage aside himself. The brand showed clean in the gray light, antlers and flame, matching the pillar exactly. "Then trust me with the next step," he said. Zephyr nodded. The door inside him was open now, and it stayed open. He helped Aldric to his feet. The pillar marked a road they couldn't take, and the hollow tree marked one he wouldn't walk again. Between them, a third way was waiting — narrower, and theirs.