Eclipse of Fire & Wings

The morning broke with a golden hush, sunlight spilling over the temple grounds like warm honey. The air was thick with the scent of fresh earth and morning dew, the sounds of soft chanting and rustling robes filling the stillness. The world was waking, but it had not yet shed the quiet peace of dawn.

Aaravi had been awake long before the first light touched the temple domes. She had risen with the monks, walking barefoot through the herb garden, her fingers brushing over the leaves still damp with mist. This place had always been a sanctuary, not just for those who came seeking healing, but for herself. Her refuge. Her constant.

But today, it did not feel the same.

Because he was still here.

The man who burned like fire, who carried the weight of old wounds in his shoulders, who had looked at her last night as if she were something he had not expected to find.

She sighed, shaking off the thought. One thing at a time.

A familiar voice cut through the morning air.

"I hope you made enough tea for your brooding friend, child."

Aaravi turned to see Mira standing beneath the flowering archway, watching her with amused, knowing eyes.

"I wasn't aware I had a brooding friend," Aaravi said, arching a brow.

Mira smirked. "No? Then I suppose the man sitting at your father's table, eating his first proper meal in what I assume is years, is just a wandering spirit?"

Aaravi stilled. "He's with my father?"

Mira hummed. "Oh yes. Having what I can only assume is the most intense breakfast conversation ever exchanged between a warrior and a healer."

Aaravi exhaled, pressing her fingers against her temple. Of course.

"Shall we?" Mira gestured toward the dining hall, her smirk widening. "I wouldn't want to miss what I'm sure will be a spectacular display of restraint."

Aaravi groaned, but followed.

The dining hall was one of her favorite places in the temple. It was a place of warmth, where the scent of saffron rice and spiced lentils always lingered, where laughter mixed with the clinking of clay cups and the low hum of morning chatter.

But today, there was something different.

Vihan sat at the far end of the table, across from her father, his expression guarded but not hostile. As if he wasn't sure whether to be a guest or a warrior.

Ravindra, her father, sat with his back straight, his long silver-streaked hair tied loosely at his nape. His face was worn with time but still held the same steady kindness she had always known. His healer's hands, strong yet gentle, rested lightly on the table as he regarded Vihan with quiet curiosity.

Aaravi hesitated.

She had seen her father speak to warriors before. He had healed many over the years, had tended to soldiers who had come seeking something beyond medicine. But he had never sat across from this kind of warrior before.

A man who did not know how to stop burning.

She stepped forward, setting the clay pot down on the wooden table.

Ravindra looked up, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners. "Ah, there she is."

Vihan turned his gaze toward her. Molten gold. Unreadable.

Mira plopped down beside him, tearing a piece of warm bread from the basket. "I was beginning to think Aaravi had abandoned you to the mercy of her father's wisdom."

Aaravi ignored her, though she caught the way Vihan's lips twitched slightly.

She took her seat beside her father, reaching for a cup. "I didn't expect you to be here this morning."

Ravindra took a sip of his tea, his gaze unwavering. "My daughter's patient arrives at my temple, and I do not meet him? That would be rather rude, don't you think?"

Aaravi rolled her eyes. "Patient?"

Her father tilted his head toward Vihan. "He may not have wounds that can be seen, but there is more than one way to heal a man."

A beat of silence.

Vihan did not tense, but he did still.

Aaravi caught the way his fingers curled slightly around the handle of his cup, the way his shoulders remained rigid, even here, even now.

But he said nothing.

Mira, of course, was not done.

"So, Phoenix," she said, chewing thoughtfully. "What's next for you? Off to another war? Another brooding mission of self-destruction?"

Vihan arched a brow. "You certainly don't hold back."

Mira grinned. "Never."

Aaravi sighed. "Mira."

"What? It's a valid question!" Mira waved her spoon at him. "You came here because of a vision, didn't you? And now you're here, but you don't know what comes next."

Vihan was silent for a long moment.

Then, finally, he set his cup down.

"I need to send word to Varun."

Aaravi stilled.

Varun.

She had known that Vihan had not walked away from everything.

That there was still someone waiting for him.

Someone who needed to know he was still alive.

Ravindra nodded, setting his cup down. "We have messenger hawks in the upper garden."

Vihan glanced at Aaravi. "Would that work?"

She nodded. "It's the fastest way."

They walked together through the temple halls, up the winding stone steps that led to the open terrace where the hawks were kept. The morning breeze curled through the open space, ruffling feathers as the birds stirred in their perches.

Vihan approached the largest hawk, a sleek creature with sharp eyes and dark gold-tipped feathers. The hawk tilted its head, clicking its beak as Vihan reached for a small strip of parchment beside the cage.

Aaravi watched as he wrote quickly, his script firm and deliberate.

She caught only glimpses of the words as he tied the parchment securely to the hawk's leg.

Varun,

I have arrived safely.

The healer is as formidable as you expected.

I will write again soon.

Vihan.

He stepped back, nodding once, and the hawk took flight, disappearing into the sky.

Vihan exhaled, watching it go.

Aaravi hesitated before speaking. "Are you ready?"

Vihan turned to her. "For what?"

Aaravi gestured toward the temple's gates. "To leave."

Vihan studied her for a long moment. "You're coming with me, then."

Aaravi inhaled deeply, glancing toward the gardens where her father still sat with the other healers.

Then, finally, she turned back to Vihan.

"Yes."

Vihan smirked. "Good."

Mira's voice broke through the moment.

"Oh, finally! I was worried you two would keep dancing around this forever."

Aaravi groaned. "Mira—"

But Vihan just smiled.

And together, they turned toward the open road.