Gabriel didn't tell anyone about the woman.

He returned to camp an hour later, after the fog had fully cleared and his hands had stopped shaking. The others were asleep except for Adan, who watched from his position near the fire.

"You were gone a while," Adan said quietly.

"Needed to think."

Adan studied him in the firelight. "You find what you were looking for?"

"No."

That was all Gabriel offered. Adan was smart enough not to push.

Gabriel lay down next to Tess. She stirred, her hand finding his automatically.

"You okay?" she mumbled, half-asleep.

"Fine. Go back to sleep."

She squeezed his hand and drifted off.

Gabriel stared up at the stars.

The woman confirmed what I suspected. Someone powerful is manipulating me. Killing for me. Clearing my path.

And I have no idea how to stop it.

Or if I even should.

The Order had agents everywhere. If she was telling the truth, those bodies were all spies who would have reported his location. His movements. His abilities.

Which means she'd been protecting me.

But her reasons...

A beast that cannot be controlled.

The words echoed in his skull.

Sleep came eventually, but brought no rest.

...

They broke camp at dawn and pushed hard northeast. Four more days to Kelmar.

The terrain gradually flattened as they descended from the hills into farmland. Neat rows of winter wheat, brown and dormant. Scattered homesteads with smoke rising from chimneys.

They passed farmers working their fields. Got suspicious looks but no challenges. Gabriel kept his hood up, hiding his eyes.

By midday they reached a proper road. Packed dirt worn smooth by wagon wheels and foot traffic. Other travelers appeared. Merchants with loaded carts. A pair of soldiers heading south. A family with children.

Normal people living normal lives.

It felt alien.

They stopped for a meal at a crossroads where someone had built a well and a simple shelter. A dozen other travelers rested there, eating and watering horses.

Gabriel's group sat apart from the others. Force of habit.

Mera distributed food from their dwindling supplies. Dried meat, hard cheese, bread that was more stone than bread.

"We'll need to resupply in the next town," she said. "Maybe find an inn. A real bed would be nice."

"We're not stopping," Gabriel said.

"We've been walking for three days straight. Everyone's exhausted."

"Then they'll be exhausted in Kelmar." Gabriel bit into the cheese. It tasted like salt and regret. "We don't stop until we're on a ship."

Mera's expression tightened. "You're pushing too hard."

"I'm pushing as hard as necessary."

"For what? We escaped Ariya. The Order doesn't know where we are. Why are we running?"

Gabriel looked at her. Really looked at her. The intensity in her eyes. The way her hands gripped the food package too tightly. The tremor in her voice.

This isn't really about rest.

"Because stopping gets people killed," he said quietly.

Mera held his gaze for a long moment, then looked away. "Of course. You're right."

But the words came out wrong. Forced.

Tess caught Gabriel's eye from across their circle. Her expression asked the same question he was thinking.

What's happening to Mera?

...

They walked until evening, covering another fifteen miles. Made camp in a fallow field beside a small copse of trees. No fire tonight. Too many people on the roads. Too much chance of drawing attention.

They ate cold rations and settled in as the sun set.

Gabriel sat with his back against a tree, the book in his lap. He'd been avoiding it since the Isle of Giants plan formed. Every time he used it, every vision it showed him, he felt something shift inside.

But he needed to understand his power better. Needed to learn control.

His thumb traced the leather cover.

Tess appeared beside him. "You're thinking too loud."

"How do you figure?"

"Your jaw does this thing when you're working through problems." She touched his face, right where his jaw met his skull. "Tightens up. Like you're physically chewing on thoughts."

Gabriel's jaw relaxed slightly. He hadn't noticed.

Tess sat down next to him, close enough that their shoulders touched. "What's bothering you?"

"Everything."

"Narrow it down."

Gabriel was quiet for a moment. Around them, the others were settling in. Gilbert already snoring softly. Ennu sitting perfectly still, awake but motionless. Adan on first watch.

Mera knelt beside her pack, organizing her supplies with obsessive precision.

"Mera's getting worse," Gabriel said quietly.

Tess followed his gaze. "I've noticed."

"The way she looks at me. The things she says." Gabriel shook his head. "It's not normal gratitude anymore."

"No," Tess agreed. "It's worship."

The word hung between them.

Gabriel's hand tightened on the book. "I saved her from bandits. That's all. Nothing divine about it."

"You don't get to decide how people see you." Tess leaned her head against his shoulder. "But you can decide how you respond to it."

"How do I respond to someone who thinks I'm sent by god?"

"You tell her the truth. That you're just a man trying to survive."

"She won't believe me."

"Then you keep telling her until she does." Tess was quiet for a moment. "Or until she becomes a problem."

The implication in those words made Gabriel's chest tighten.

"She's not a threat."

"Not yet." Tess sat up, turning to face him. "But Gabriel, people who worship don't see the person anymore. They see what they want to see. A symbol. A savior. Something perfect."

Her hand found his. "And when you inevitably don't live up to that perfect image, they break. Sometimes they break violently."

Gabriel wanted to argue. Wanted to say Mera would never hurt anyone.

But he'd seen the intensity in her eyes. The way she talked about destiny and divine purpose. The reverence with which she handled the book.

Tess is right.

"I'll talk to her," Gabriel said finally. "Try to make her understand."

"Good." Tess squeezed his hand. "Because if you don't, I will. And I'm not as patient as you."

She leaned in and kissed him. Soft and quick, but enough to ground him.

"Get some rest," she said. "Tomorrow's another long walk."

She moved back to her own bedroll, leaving Gabriel alone with the book.

He stared at it for a long time. Then carefully wrapped it and tucked it back into his pack.

Some knowledge can wait.

...

Morning came cold and clear.

They were on the road by dawn, joining the flow of travelers heading northeast. The traffic increased as they got closer to Kelmar. More merchants. More soldiers. More people.

Gabriel kept his hood up and his head down.

Around midday, they stopped at a small village to buy supplies. Fresh bread, dried meat, waterskins to replace the ones that had cracked. Gabriel paid with silver coins and ignored the suspicious looks.

They were leaving when Mera caught his arm.

"Can we talk?"

Gabriel glanced at the others. Tess watched from near the village well, her expression neutral. Adan stood by their packs. Gilbert haggled with a vendor over cheese prices.

"Make it quick," Gabriel said.

Mera led him a short distance from the others, to where a low stone wall bordered the village square. She faced him, her expression serious.

"I've been praying," she said. "About you. About what you're meant to do."

Gabriel's jaw tightened. "Mera..."

"Please. Just listen." She took a breath. "Three years ago, I was going to die. Those bandits would have killed me after they finished. I prayed, Gabriel. Not to Mazrion. Not to any of the Seven. I prayed to the Maker himself for salvation."

Her eyes gleamed. "And you appeared. Out of nowhere. Like an answer made flesh."

"That was coincidence," Gabriel said. "I was hunting the bandits. You just happened to be there."

"There are no coincidences." Mera's voice rose slightly. "The Maker placed you on that road at that exact moment. Gave you the power to save me. Don't you see? You were meant to be there."

"I was meant to hunt criminals." Gabriel kept his voice level. "That's all."

"You're so much more than that." Mera reached out, her hand hovering near his chest where the scars lay hidden. "You've been marked. Changed. Given power for a purpose."

"I was tortured and experimented on," Gabriel said flatly. "There's no divine purpose in that."

"Suffering shapes the righteous." Mera's hand moved to his face. Her fingers were cold against his skin. "The Maker tests those He loves most. Breaks them down so He can rebuild them into something greater."

Gabriel caught her wrist. Gently but firmly. "Mera, you need to stop."

"Stop what?"

"This." He lowered her hand. "I'm not what you think I am. I'm not some holy weapon or divine instrument. I'm just trying to survive long enough to stop the people who hurt me."

Mera's expression shifted. Something flickered behind her eyes. Hurt. Confusion. And underneath it all, something harder. More stubborn.

"You don't see it yet," she said quietly. "But you will. When the time comes, when you stand against the Seven and burn their temples to ash, you'll understand. The Maker has always had a plan for you."

She pulled her wrist from his grip and walked back toward the others.

Gabriel stood by the wall, his hands clenched into fists.

Tess appeared at his elbow. "How'd it go?"

"She didn't listen."

"Told you."

Gabriel watched Mera pack supplies with quick, jerky movements. "What do I do?"

"Keep her close. Keep her useful." Tess's voice was pragmatic. Cold. "And if she becomes a liability, we leave her behind."

The words were harsh, but Gabriel couldn't argue with the logic.

They'd already lost Hanitz. Lost their home in Eldenreach. Lost any semblance of normal life.

They couldn't afford to lose more because one of their own broke.

"Come on," Tess said. "Kelmar's still two days out. The sooner we're on a ship, the sooner we can put distance between us and... everything."

Gabriel followed her back to the group.

As they left the village and returned to the road, he caught Mera watching him. Her expression was strange. Distant.

Like she's seeing something else when she looks at me.

Something that isn't really there.

The realisation settled in his gut like a stone.

Tess was right.

Mera is breaking.

And I have no idea how to stop it.

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