Elijah followed Rodrick up the gangplank, boots still damp from the rain?slick streets, heart still pounding from the narrow escape.

  The moment he stepped onto the deck, the wind hit him—cool and sharp, carrying the scent of wet leaves and distant stormwater. Crew members moved around him with practiced urgency, tightening ropes, checking lines, preparing for departure.

  As Elijah steadied himself, something in the far corner of the upper deck caught his eye.

  Behind a stack of cargo crates and folded tarps—almost hidden—sat three small personal light?sail craft.

  Compact. Sleek. Their frames folded tight like resting wings. Radiant?cloth sails wrapped around each one, glowing faintly beneath the bindings. Someone had tucked them away deliberately, out of sight but not forgotten.

  He admired the design, becoming lost in a thought he couldn't fully grasp.

  Rodrick stopped at the railing, watching Fabella shrink behind them as the jungle canopy stretched out like a dark, endless sea.

  “Elijah,” he said softly, “there’s something you should know.”

  Elijah’s stomach tightened. "About… the seal?”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Rodrick shook his head. "About me.”

  He leaned on the railing, the wind tugging at his coat.

  “When I told you the Veilguard and I had history… I wasn’t exaggerating.”

  Elijah waited, breath held.

  Rodrick’s voice thinned to something almost fragile.

  “I died.”

  The words hit like a stone dropped into still water.

  Elijah blinked.“im sorry what…?”

  Rodrick didn’t look at him.“They killed me. Or thought they did. Executed me for treason—for refusing to hand over something they wanted.”

  His hand brushed the ankh stitched across his coat.

  “The Eye of First Truth.”

  Elijah’s breath caught.“The symbol from the archive…”

  Rodrick nodded.“It’s older than the Veilguard. Older than the layers. Older than the world as we know it. And they fear it. They fear what it remembers.”

  He exhaled slowly.

  “When I woke up again… I wasn’t the same. I shouldn’t have been alive. But the Eye doesn’t let go of its chosen easily.”

  Elijah stared at him, unsure what to say.

  Rodrick finally met his gaze.

  “You’re not the only one carrying something impossible.”

  The sails rustled overhead.The Raven pressed onward.

  For the first time since Maple City, Elijah didn’t feel like the strangest person on the ship.

  Later, as the Raven settled into a steady glide, Elijah wandered toward the rear deck. The three folded light?sail craft caught his eye again—sleek, compact, almost shy in the way they were tucked away.

  He stepped closer, drawn by the faint shimmer of their sails.

  Footsteps approached behind him.

  Jacob leaned against the railing, camera hanging from his neck.“You settling in alright?”

  Elijah nodded, though his voice felt small. "I… think so.”

  Jacob followed his gaze toward the hidden sails but didn’t comment. Instead, he offered a gentle smile.

  “Everyone on this ship carries something,” he said. “Some burdens just speak louder than others.”

  Elijah lowered his eyes. "Mine feels… too loud.”

  Jacob shook his head. "Not to us.”

  The words settled over Elijah like a blanket he didn’t know he needed.

  The Luna Raven drifted into open sky, leaving Fabella—and the Veilguard—behind.

  Elijah stood on the deck, the breeze brushing against his face, the faint glow of the hidden sails behind him.

  For the first time since Maple City…he felt something like safety.

  Not certainty. Not peace.

  But something gentle. Something like a new beginning he wasn’t ready to name.