Nuru teleported silently to where Tavari and the others were, stopping just beyond the trees. Darkness had not yet fallen, but he waited, patient, calculating. As night crept over the forest, he stood, touching his body with deliberate care. Deep, jagged cuts appeared along his knees, face, and back — wounds crafted to make them believe he had been in battle.

  He climbed a nearby ridge, shouting into the night:

  “Tavari!”

  They saw him from below, terror and relief mixing on their faces, and ran. Tavari reached him first, holding him carefully and carrying him back to their small camp. With trembling hands, he bandaged Nuru’s wounds, his worry thick in the air. Then, fumbling, he offered a small bundle of fruits.

  “This is all we have,” he said softly.

  Nuru smiled faintly, taking the fruits and eating. Exhaustion settled over the group, and they drifted into uneasy sleep.

  At dawn, Nuru woke with his body ablaze. The shielding spell he had used to hide his Curse — the one that made him invisible — had become unbearable. His skin burned as though the sun itself had scorched him. Trembling, he removed his clothes and stepped into the river. The water hissed and boiled around him, steam rising like smoke from a fire, his body temperature unnatural, terrifying.

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  Stephen heard footsteps and crept forward, curiosity and worry driving him. Nuru didn’t notice — pain consumed him entirely. He removed the spell just as Stephen’s gaze fell upon him.

  The moment Stephen saw Nuru — the cuts, the searing presence, the unnatural aura — his mind could not comprehend it. His brain, overloaded, exploded from the shock, his eyes oozing blood.

  Nuru gasped, horrified, and rushed to Stephen, trying to revive him, wrapping the spell around him to preserve what little remained. But before he could reach the boy fully, a scream pierced the air: Sarah, Tavari, Matt, Serena — all running toward them, horror etched across their faces.

  They reached the riverbank to see the unimaginable: Stephen, lifeless, in Nuru’s hands, his body still trembling, eyes dark and empty. Silence fell for a heartbeat, broken only by Nuru’s low, haunted growl, and the sobs of those who loved him.

  Tavari dropped to his knees, hands shaking, voice breaking:

  “No… not him… not Stephen…”

  The forest itself seemed to recoil, shadows twisting unnaturally, the river steaming like the breath of a dying god. Nuru held Stephen close, his chest heaving, grief and rage intertwining, and for the first time in a long while, even the Watcher felt powerless against the cruelty of fate.