Iva walked home as if she were floating outside her own body.
The forest path felt unreal beneath her feet, the trees blurring at the edges of her vision, the sounds of birds and wind fading in and out like echoes from another world. Everything inside her was still spinning—Nick, the red thread, Avalon’s words, the impossible truth that had settled into her bones like a living thing.
Messenger.
The word repeated in her mind with every step.
Her heart, which had been pounding wildly only minutes earlier, now beat with a strange, steady excitement. Fear was still there, yes—but beneath it, something new had taken root.
Hope. Fragile, glowing, dangerous hope.
As she walked, her thoughts began to race ahead of her, forming scenes, rehearsing conversations.
She imagined sitting at the k
