CHAPTER FOUR: THE WEIGHT OF RETURN (Part four)
The scarf was weightless.
But Zephryn felt every thread like it was stitched from echoes.
The warmth of it didn't come from the fabric.
It came from the way Selka had wrapped it.
Not with ceremony.
Not with caution.
But with memory.
Like she'd done it before—
or maybe dreamed of doing it when he was gone.
Yolti's voice cracked the stillness.
Quiet, unsure, but real.
"…You're not the only one who lost her."
Zephryn looked up.
Kaelen nodded, not needing words.
Even Bubbalor let out a low, vibrating hum—just enough to vibrate the floor beneath their feet. Like approval. Or mourning.
Or both.
Zephryn ran a hand along the scarf's edge.
"It still smells like ash."
Selka spoke without looking at him.
"It always did."
Yolti raised a brow. "Even before—?"
Selka nodded. "Yeah."
A beat.
"Solara used to say fire leaves its memory in the things we love."
The room breathed.
And for the first time since he'd come back—
Zephryn exhaled.
Not the breath of defense.
Not control.
Not anger.
Just release.
He sat again, slower this time.
And this time… he let the scarf stay.
Kaelen walked to the far wall and pulled down a small bundle he'd hidden months ago behind the resonance map.
"Didn't think you'd come back," he muttered.
Zephryn looked at him.
Kaelen tossed the bundle onto the desk beside the scarf.
It unraveled—
a worn leather strap holding four silver necklace clasps, none complete.
"One for each of us," Kaelen said. "When the Trial ends."
Yolti tilted her head. "Even Selka?"
"She'll pass," Kaelen said.
Selka didn't answer. But she stepped forward and brushed her thumb along the edge of the fourth clasp.
It hummed beneath her touch.
Like it knew her.
Zephryn looked at the pendants.
The scarf on his shoulders.
The memory stone, quiet now.
Then he looked at the others.
Not like strangers.
Not like teammates.
But like people who had waited.
Even when they didn't say they were.