POV: Ravenna
The valley shouldn't exist.
That's my first thought as Solace and Havoc spiral down through layers of what FEELS like magic but looks like nothing at all. One moment we're flying over empty forest. The next, the air shimmers and suddenly there's a village below us.
Hidden. Protected. Real.
We land in a clearing at the valley's edge. I shift back to human form, my legs shaking from exhaustion. Theron shifts beside me, immediately scanning for threats because he's THERON and relaxing isn't in his vocabulary.
"What is this place?" I breathe.
Before he can answer, people emerge from the tree line. Maybe a dozen of them. All watching us with cautious eyes. All standing ready to fight or flee.
An elderly woman steps forward. She has the solid build of Earth Kingdom bloodlines, grey hair bound in a practical braid, and an air of authority that reminds me uncomfortably of Master Veyron. But her eyes are kind.
"You are the princess," she says. Not a question. A statement. "The healer who fled the Eclipse."
My hand goes to where my weapon would be if I HAD one. "How do you—"
"We have watchers." She smiles slightly. "Gift-bearers learn to watch for each other. You flew with purpose. With direction. That usually means you were told about us." She pauses. "Who sent you?"
"The young guard at Skyreach," Theron says. His voice is carefully neutral. "He said to fly northwest until we found safety."
The woman nods slowly. "Kael. He's one of ours—family member who chose to serve in Skyreach to provide warning when the Eclipse moves." She looks at us more closely. "You escaped Lady Seris directly. That is... impressive. And dangerous. She will hunt you relentlessly now."
"Let her try," I say with more bravado than I feel. "Who are you?"
"Elder Mira." She gestures to the valley behind her. "Welcome to one of the sanctuaries. This is where gift-bearers come when they have nowhere else to go."
I look past her and really see the village for the first time. Dozens of small homes built into the hillsides. Training grounds. Gardens. A community that shouldn't exist but DOES, hidden in plain sight by magic I don't understand.
"How many?" I ask quietly.
"Here? Forty-three souls." Mira's expression is sad. "Across all sanctuaries? Perhaps two hundred. Not many, considering how long the Eclipse has hunted us. Most gift-bearers never escape. Never even realize they're being hunted until it's too late."
The number hits me like a physical blow. Two hundred survivors. Out of how many killed? Hundreds? THOUSANDS?
"You have healing gift," Mira says, looking at me with those knowing eyes. "I can sense it. Water's gift, rare and precious." She pauses. "You are the third healer we have sheltered here. Master Orin will be pleased to meet you. He has been alone in his knowledge too long."
"There are other healers?" Hope surges in my chest. "Who survived?"
"Some. Not many. Healing is the most hunted gift." Mira's voice is gentle but firm. "The Eclipse fears what creates life more than what destroys it. Death is predictable. Healing disrupts their control." She gestures toward the village. "Come. You have flown far. You need food and rest."
We follow her down into the valley. People watch as we pass. I feel their eyes on us—assessing, curious, cautiously hopeful. I see a young man making shadows dance between his fingers. A woman whose dragon has the unmistakable look of someone with shield abilities. A child who points at clouds and they move.
Gift-bearers. All of them. Living here together. Safe.
"How long has this sanctuary existed?" Theron asks.
"Twenty years." Mira leads us toward a central building. "We built it after the Eclipse destroyed the previous one. They found us through informants. Killed seventeen people before we could evacuate." Her jaw tightens. "We learned. Now we have multiple layers of concealment magic, watchers in every kingdom, and strict rules. No one reveals our location. Everyone contributes skills. We protect each other."
She shows us to a small guest house. Simple but comfortable. Two rooms. A fireplace. Windows overlooking the valley.
"Rest," Mira says. "Tonight we will hold a gathering to welcome you properly. Your friends will arrive tomorrow—we have watchers tracking them as well. They are safe."
Morgana and Saren. They're safe. They're COMING.
Relief nearly drops me to my knees.
After Mira leaves, I sink onto the bed and start shaking. Not from fear. From the sudden, overwhelming realization that we're not running anymore. Not hiding. Not fighting for our lives every single second.
We're safe.
For now, at least, we're safe.
***
Morgana and Saren arrive the next afternoon, looking exhausted and furious and SO relieved to see us alive that Morgana actually HUGS me. Which she never does. Which means she was genuinely terrified.
"You FLEW off and left us on the GROUND," she says, pulling back to glare at me. "Do you have any idea how LONG it takes to walk through a forest following magical directions from a stranger?"
"You're alive," I point out.
"Barely. Saren almost walked us off a cliff."
"That was ONE time," Saren protests. "And I was following the water-sense. It's not my fault the stream went over a waterfall."
They're here. They're safe. We're all together.
I can breathe again.
***
That evening, the village holds a gathering in the central hall. Long tables. Simple food. But the atmosphere is warm. REAL. People introduce themselves—names and gifts shared openly without fear.
I meet Kael's mother, who has weather-sensing abilities. A blacksmith who can heat metal with his mind. A young woman named Lyris who heals like I do. Master Orin, the elderly healer who looks at me with such hope it makes my chest ache.
"Three healers," he says quietly, clasping my hands. "Three of us, here together. I never thought I would see this day."
A man demonstrates shadow manipulation, making darkness dance and twist. A woman shows how her shield gift can protect an entire group. A child proudly displays how he can make flowers bloom out of season.
Gifts. Everywhere. Being used openly. Being CELEBRATED instead of hidden.
For the first time in my life, I don't feel like a target. Don't feel like an oddity. Don't feel like something that needs to be contained or controlled or eliminated.
I feel like I belong.
"You're crying," Theron says quietly beside me.
"No I'm not." I wipe my eyes furiously. "I'm just—there's something in my eye."
"Ravenna."
"Fine. Yes. I'm crying." I look at him. "I've spent my whole life being the wrong kind of princess. Too loud. Too angry. Too MUCH. And then my gift awakened and I became a target. Something to hunt. To kill." I gesture at the hall full of people laughing and talking and being themselves. "But here? Here I'm just... normal. One of many. Part of something."
"You were never too much," Theron says. His voice is rough. "You were always exactly enough."
"You have to say that. You're bonded to me."
"I say it because it's true." He takes my hand. "But I understand. For the first time since I was twenty, I'm in a room full of people who don't look at my scars and flinch. Who don't see me as broken." He pauses. "It feels like breathing after drowning."
I squeeze his hand.
Across the room, Morgana is laughing at something Saren said. Actually LAUGHING, deep and genuine. Saren is grinning back with that playful smile that hides so much.
We're safe. We're together. We're alive.
It won't last—I know that. The Eclipse is still hunting us. Seris is still planning. War is still coming.
But for tonight? For this one perfect moment?
I let myself believe we might actually survive this. All of us. Together.