Chapter 327: Another presence
(Back at Calareth)
Autumn did not release Jasper.
Her hands remained cupped around his face as if she were simply checking him for fever, thumbs brushing lightly beneath his eyes.
To everyone else it looked like a mother grounding her son after a shock.
Nothing more.
But beneath her palms something stirred.A slow current.Warm. Deep. Dangerous subtle.
Autumn inhaled softly.And channeled what was left of her.
It slipped from her chest like a thread pulled from the heart of a tapestry—thin at first, almost invisible. A pale pulse that passed from her skin into Jasper’s.
No light.
No spectacle.
Just a quiet transfer of something that should never have been given away.
Jasper stiffened.
Not visibly.
Just a fraction.
Like a cold body suddenly feeling warmth.
His pupils steadied.
The trembling in his shoulders softened.
Autumn leaned closer, her voice calm—too calm."Look at me."
Jasper obeyed.
"Still here?" she asked quietly.
He gave a crooked nod.
Another pulse left her.
This one deeper.
It slid through her bone and blood, stitching his existence back into the moment like invisible thread forcing torn fabric together.
Behind them the soldiers were still recovering from the temporal shock.
Dax stood only a step away, tense, watching.He could see Jasper stabilizing.He could see Autumn holding him.But he could not see the slow dimming of the woman in front of him.
But Autumn’s mother could.The voice came immediately.Sharp.And cold, "Stop!" was the instruction.
Autumn’s fingers tightened slightly against Jasper’s cheek.She did not answer.
Another thread slipped free from her.Jasper exhaled shakily.The faint shimmer around his outline smoothed.
For a second he looked almost normal again.But Autumn’s vision blurred.Just slightly.
"Autumn!!!"Her mother’s voice hardened."You are feeding him your life."
Autumn smiled faintly."Of course I am."
Jasper frowned."You said anything?"
"Nothing," she murmured softly to him, brushing her thumb under his nose where the blood had been.
Another thread pulled loose.This one hurt.It felt like something tearing somewhere deep behind her ribs.The world tilted for half a heartbeat.
Her mother’s voice rose."You still have work unfinished."
Autumn ignored her.
"You cannot empty yourself for one life," the voice continued, echoing like distant thunder beneath the trees. "The world still requires you."
Autumn’s smile grew softer.Tired."But he is my world...how can I watch him go..."
Another pulse passed into Jasper.
His breathing steadied further.The faint echo in his voice vanished.He blinked slowly.
"Why do I suddenly feel like I slept for a week?"
Autumn tilted her head slightly.
"Mother’s touch," she said gently.
He huffed. "That’s creepy."
Behind them, Dax’s brow furrowed.Something was wrong.He could sense it. But he could see it.
Autumn’s scent had changed.Fainter.Like a candle burning lower."Autumn," he said cautiously, "maybe we should—"
"I’m fine," she replied without turning.
Another thread slipped from her chest.Her fingers trembled now.Jasper caught the movement.
"Hey," he murmured, grabbing her wrist lightly. "Your hands are freezing."
"Don’t be dramatic," she said lightly.
Her mother’s voice dropped to a whisper that cut deeper than shouting."You will die before he stabilizes."
Autumn’s eyelids fluttered.
"If needs be...," she answered simply.
"You cannot do this."
"A mother ca do anything for her children...you know that more than me...."
"You are needed,Autumn.A thousand sons and daughters will die if you don’t fulfill your duty."
Autumn looked at Jasper.At the stubborn set of his jaw.At the eyes that were so painfully familiar.At the life they were yet to live.And she laughed softly under her breath.
"I always was terrible at priorities."
Another surge left her.This one ripped.Her breath hitched.For a moment her knees weakened.
Dax noticed.He stepped forward instantly."Autumn."
She steadied before he could touch her.
Jasper’s eyes sharpened.
"Mamma...?"
He was beginning to understand something.
Not the mechanics.But the feeling.Like warmth spreading through veins that had been freezing moments ago.He looked at her more carefully.
Her skin was pale.Her lips slightly colorless.
"Mamma," he said again, quieter.
Autumn brushed his hair back from his forehead. "You talk too much," she murmured.
Behind her, the invisible voice sounded almost desperate now."If you fall here, the balance collapses."
Autumn’s shoulders sagged faintly.
"If...," she replied gently. "that’s how history works."
"You are not allowed to be this selfish."
Autumn chuckled weakly."That accusation..."
Another flicker struck Jasper.A ripple across his outline.Autumn reacted instantly.
Another thread—This one thicker.
The moment it left her body the forest dimmed.Her heart stuttered.
Jasper inhaled sharply as if surfacing from deep water.
His eyes widened."Stop."
That word came from him now.Not the unseen voice.He grabbed her wrists."Mamma what are you doing?STOP IT RIGHT NOW. "
She tilted her head innocently.
"Mothering."
"No..."
His grip tightened.
"You’re giving me something."
Autumn did not answer.
Behind them the sea crashed violently against the rocks.Wind whipped through the trees again.The world felt unstable.Like a structure balancing on too few beams.
Dax stepped closer, voice low."Someone tell me what’s happening."
No one did.
Because at that exact moment—Autumn swayed.Just slightly.Jasper caught her before she could hide it.
His stomach dropped."Mamma..."
Her smile remained.Soft.Fading."Oh," she whispered lightly, as if surprised."That’s... sooner than I thought."
Her mother’s voice came like cracking ice across the sky."You are killing yourself."
Autumn’s eyes closed for half a second.Then opened again.Still smiling."Worth it."
Jasper’s heart slammed violently in his chest."Mamma stop."
Another flicker ran through him.Weaker now.But still there.Autumn felt it.And without hesitation—She gave again.
The thread tore free.Her breath vanished.The forest spun.And for one horrifying moment—Both of them swayed together.
Like two candles burning from the same dying flame.For a moment the world narrowed to breath.
Jasper’s fingers gripped Autumn’s coat.Autumn’s hands trembled against his face— like a heart struggling to maintain rhythm.
Another thread had just torn free from her.
And the cost hit.Her vision dimmed at the edges.Sound stretched.The wind slowed into a hollow whisper.
"Mamma—STOP! Stop it...I said stop now..."His voice sounded distant to her now.Like he was speaking from underwater.Her knees weakened again.The ground tilted.But before gravity could claim her—Something changed.
Suddenly.
Abruptly.
Like a drought-stricken land tasting rain for the first time in months.
Warmth flooded back into her chest.
Not the fragile warmth she had been forcing into Jasper.
No.
This was deeper.Richer.
It filled her veins like liquid sunlight, rushing through muscles that had been moments from collapse.
Her heartbeat steadied.
Her lungs expanded fully again.
The weakness vanished so quickly it felt unreal.
Autumn blinked.
Once.
Twice.
The dimming forest snapped back into sharp focus.Jasper was still holding her, eyes wide with fear.But she wasn’t fading anymore.The threads she had torn from herself seemed... replaced.Not fully.But enough.Enough that the crushing exhaustion lifted like fog burned away by morning light.
Autumn exhaled slowly.Relief softened her shoulders.A small smile touched her lips."Oh."
She lifted her gaze slightly, speaking quietly into the air only she knew how to address."Thank you, Mother."
Jasper frowned.
Autumn’s tone was warm with exhausted affection."How many more times are you going to step in like this?"She chuckled faintly."I know I make questionable decisions but really—"
"Autumn." Her mother’s voice cut through the moment like a blade.Sharp.Panicked.Autumn froze.The smile faded slowly."That... wasn’t me."
Silence fell inside her mind.A cold ripple spread down her spine. "What?" Autumn whispered internally.
Her mother’s voice came again, no longer controlled."There is another presence."
The air around them felt different now.Denser.Like something had stepped into the world without making a sound.
Autumn’s pulse quickened."Where?"
"I don’t—" Her mother’s voice faltered.Then sharpened urgently."Behind you."
Autumn felt it then.
A touch.
Gentle.
Warm.
A hand resting lightly against the middle of her back.Not threatening.Just... there.
Her body stilled completely.
Jasper noticed immediately.
"Mamma?"
But she didn’t answer.Slowly—Very slowly—Autumn turned...she looked over her shoulder.
