Chapter 20 - Eyes Watching

Sid sat still beneath the twisted roots of a massive fallen tree, his back resting against the hollow trunk. The air around him was damp, the scent of blood and crushed earth still clinging to his skin. His shirt was in tatters, body marked with half-stitched wounds, layered in dried crimson and the sting of makeshift medicine. The pain had dulled, but not enough to forget.

He closed his eyes—not to sleep, but to remember.

Clawed fangs. Dozens of eyes gleaming in the dark. The rhythm of the wolves as they circled, their timing, their aggression, how they shifted when one of them fell. He recalled the Alpha's speed, the way it feinted before every lunge, the subtle twitch in its hind legs before a true attack. Every detail etched itself deeper into his thoughts.

Speed. Too slow.

Strikes. Too wide.

Timing. Sloppy.

Endurance. Fragile.

He could still feel the teeth ripping into his arm. The weight of the Alpha crashing into him. The strain of swinging a blade that refused to cut when it mattered.

He gritted his teeth and exhaled.

"Not enough."

He wasn't cursing the wolves. He wasn't even mad. If anything, he was… grateful. They had shown him where he stood. And how far he still had to climb.

As he steadied his breath, unaware of how much time passed, he remained oblivious to the two silent figures watching from far above.

Two figures sat silently in the vast stillness of space.

No words. No motion. Just eyes.

From where they hovered—so far removed the world beneath looked no larger than a fruit in the palm—they watched everything. The torn forest. The trail of blood. The barely breathing boy who had just barely escaped death.

Silver exhaled through his nose, faintly amused.

"Not bad, kid."

Avi said nothing.

Silver turned slightly, catching the faintest twitch in her jaw.

"You tensed," he said.

"...I know."

Silver leaned back again.

"Don't forget His instructions."

"I know. Unless… half dead." she replied. Her voice was flat. Resigned.

A quiet moment passed.

Then Avi murmured, "That uncle and nephew pair... really is something."

Silver raised an eyebrow, but let her speak.

"He could've found the scattered ones nearby. Easier kills. Instead, he walked straight to that pack."

She shook her head slightly. "You can't call it bad luck. But it sure as hell isn't good either."

Silver's smile returned, slow and crooked.

"They attract trouble. Runs in the blood."

They shared a look—half pity, half admiration. Then both turned their gaze back to the silent world below.

Neither spoke again.

And neither noticed…

Another pair of eyes is watching.

Silent. Still. Undetected.