The crunch of gravel halted him mid-step. His head lifted, eyes narrowing as the faint light caught on their surface — sharp, oceanic blue. “Hold where you stand,” he said, the warning low but steady, each word edged with command rather than fear.

The air between them tightened, heavy with the instinct of a predator assessing an unfamiliar presence. Somewhere beyond the broken arches of the old keep, wind swept through the ruins — a ghost’s sigh over ancient stones.

Eirik didn’t move closer. He simply watched, every muscle still, gaze cutting through shadow as though the night itself owed him truth.