The River of Silence cut through the land like an old scar — ancient, sacred, and deadly to cross. On one side lived the Moonfire Clan, keepers of the night, born beneath pale moons and raised on old songs and warning fires. On the other lived the Stormfang Tribe, children of thunder, with blood that ran hot and fierce like the storms they summoned.
No one crossed the river.
But Arelia did.
Wrapped in a silver-gray cloak, she moved through the ashwood forest with the quiet of someone who knew every root and stone. Her heart pounded with every step, not from fear of the dark, but of being seen.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
And he certainly wasn't supposed to be waiting.
The first time she saw him — Kaelen, with stormlight in his eyes and a scar on his jaw — he hadn't spoken. Just watched her from across the river, like something in him remembered her from a dream he wasn't supposed to have.
Tonight was the third time.
The wind whispered through the trees as she reached the riverbank. The water was still — too still. Legends said the river could hear thoughts and carry them to the dead. Arelia had started to believe that was true. Especially with all the thoughts she didn't say out loud.
Then he appeared.
Tall. Wild. Silent.
His presence felt like thunder waiting to break. But when he looked at her, it softened — not like surrender, but like reverence.
"You're late," she said quietly, without looking up.
"I had to wait for the moon to turn," Kaelen replied, stepping forward. "They say it's unlucky to meet when the sky is dark."
Arelia smirked. "You believe in omens now?"
"I believe in you being careful."
She looked at him then — truly looked — and for a moment, neither of them belonged to their tribes. Just two souls standing in the place they were both forbidden to be, wondering what it would cost to keep doing this.
He stepped closer, close enough that the distance between them was breath and nothing more.
"This will get us killed," she whispered.
"I know."
"But you're still here."
"I always would be," he said. "If we had time."