Kael stopped in his tracks.
The girl sat atop a wooden barrel, near the edge of the bonfire. People laughed, children ran, and music played—but she didn't join them.
Her hair was short and tangled, brown dusted with ash. Her clothes were patchy. A scar carved down her left cheek—from below her eye to her jaw.
But her eyes…
Eyes that were calm.
And when she looked at Kael, she smiled.
A strange smile.
Not of sympathy—but as if to say:
"You finally arrived."
Kael stepped back slightly.
Before he could speak, a man patted his shoulder.
"Outsider, huh?" said the old man with a wool scarf. "Not many come to Tessera."
"I… was just passing through," Kael replied quietly.
"They all say that at first," the man chuckled.
He gestured toward the girl.
"Her name's Ilya. She's... no one. But she sits there every night. Says she's waiting for someone. Maybe it's you?"
Kael glanced at Ilya again. She didn't move toward him or away. She just watched him… as if she knew more than she should.
—
That night, Kael was given space in an empty barn.
Uncomfortable, but warmer than the cold outside.
He slept holding a scrap of cloth.
The Mark on his chest… warm.
When he awoke at dawn, there was a small paper on the ground near his head.
Rough handwriting.
"If you want to know why you ended up here, meet me at the old well. – I"