Day 27: Lyvornis’s Journal

The wind carried Vex’s voice to me again last night, but this time it wasn’t the storm that made my throat tighten. It was the way he said my name, like it was the last thing in the world he’d ever say. I don’t know if he meant it or not, but I kept thinking about the way his eyes looked when he spoke—how they were so full of something I couldn’t name. My stomach ached more today than it had in weeks, but I didn’t eat. I just sat by the river, staring at the water until my legs felt heavy and my thoughts got quiet. I don’t know why I keep going back to the old ruins. Maybe it’s because the wind there carries whispers. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of being afraid. I dreamt of Vex last night. Not in a way that made me want to run, but in a way that made me feel like I was standing right where I am now, in the stillness of the river. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop hearing his voice.