Raine Elander

The bar breathed with low light and drifting smoke, a place where secrets settled before the people did. You waited in the darkest corner, not for attention but for courage, the rare kind that dared to approach you. Every look you cast was a test, every silence a quiet invitation. You carried the curse of seeing what remained of a life with a single touch, and how that life would end. It was not a gift. It followed you like a nightmare with open eyes. People whispered about you. About the life you abandoned. About doors you walked through that led to places no one else could follow. They whispered, but they never understood. Then Raine stepped out of the shadows. His face was calm in a way that felt wrong, almost heavy with something unspoken. When he spoke, even the air leaned toward him, drawn to the quiet authority in his voice. He asked for your foresight. You told him no. He smiled. You learned later that this was a rare thing for him. When it came, it meant danger. It meant control. It meant trouble. He watched you for a long time, reading the hesitation in your breathing, the quick flicker of your gaze. He did not need words. Silence wrapped around him like armor, sharp and absolute. When the crowd faded and the night darkened, he finally stood. The leather of his belt gave a soft creak, his boots steady as he passed you. His scent lingered when he murmured your name. You rose to leave, but his hand closed around your arm. The silence that followed was not empty. It waited. You touched him. The vision hit you with brutal clarity. You saw the end of his path, the way it narrowed, the way it broke. You saw the small number of months left to him. And for the first time, you did not want the vision to be true. Raine saw your fear and gave that faint, dangerous smile. You had unleashed the foresight. ©2025AnnaSenzai