Jelric burst into the bathroom, the door slamming against the wall. Aela was crouched by the tub, pumping water into it, her sleeves rolled up and her hair damp with sweat.
"I got him!" Jelric shouted, rushing over.
He dropped to his knees and unrolled the tarp. Devvyn's body slumped into the half-filled bathtub with a heavy splash, steam rising the moment his skin touched the water.
Jelric pulled back, panting. "What the hell is going on?"
"We don't know," Aela said quickly, still pouring water. "He came in like this, sick, burning up, and when we tried taking that whistle thing off his neck, it got worse. His chest is all burned underneath it."
A thick cloud of steam filled the room, fogging the mirrors, curling around their faces. The heat coming off Devvyn was intense…unnatural.
"Look at this," Aela muttered.
They watched as the water around Devvyn started bubbling—actually bubbling—tiny, frantic boils rolling to the surface like the start of a simmer.
"He's boiling the water," Aela said, her voice strained with panic. "If we don't cool him down fast, he's going to boil to death."
The door creaked open, and Maelis stepped in, her face tight with urgency. In her gloved hand was a small, metallic sphere etched with runes and faintly glowing with pale blue light.
"Move aside," she said quickly.
Aela and Jelric shifted to the edges of the bathtub. Maelis knelt beside it, pressed a hidden latch on the sphere, and a soft click sounded as the runes flared brighter. Then she dropped it into the tub.
The moment it touched the water, a soft hum filled the room. A thin layer of frost spread from the sphere across the water's surface, silencing the bubbling. The temperature dropped rapidly, and steam stopped rising. Within seconds, Devvyn's body stopped twitching. His breathing slowed, shallow but more even. The red flush in his face began to fade.
"That sphere's infused with water crystals," Maelis said, still watching him closely. "It'll keep the temperature cool enough to stabilise him."
Aela let out a long breath. Jelric wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
"I'll stay with him," Maelis added. "He'll need to be watched until the fever breaks."
"But—" Aela started to protest.
Maelis raised a hand gently. "It's alright. I've got it. You two did well. Go. Rest."
They both hesitated, their eyes still on Devvyn's still form, then nodded and quietly left the room, leaving Maelis alone beside the tub, her worry etched deep into her features as she watched her grandson.
Maelis let out a slow, tired breath and eased herself down onto the small stool by the bathtub. The metal of the chair creaked under her as she settled in. Her knees ached, her back throbbed, and she felt like she'd lost ten years out of her remaining time. But she didn't take her eyes off Devvyn.
She reached into the water, letting her hand hover just above his skin, then gently rested her fingers on the surface to monitor the temperature. The chill from the water crystal sphere was steady now, cool enough to stop him from boiling alive.
Devvyn stirred faintly, his brow twitching as he murmured something too soft to catch. Maelis's fingers tightened around the rim of the tub. Whatever this was, she was sure it wasn't a fever. Not the kind any doctor could explain, anyway. She glanced down at the whistle still hanging from his neck, half-submerged in the water.
"What did you bring into this house, boy?" she whispered. "And what in the Primordials' name is it doing to you?"
An hour passed.
Maelis hadn't moved from her seat. Her hand remained in the water, steady and patient, fingers brushing against Devvyn's arm from time to time to make sure he was still there, still breathing, still with her. The water had gone from boiling to a warm temperature. Steam no longer curled off his skin. The redness on his chest had faded slightly, though the mark beneath the whistle still looked angry and raw.
Devvyn stirred. His fingers twitched. His head shifted slightly to the side. And slowly, his eyes opened.
"Devvyn," Maelis whispered, leaning forward quickly.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins spidering through the whites. They didn't focus at first. Then they locked onto her. Without warning, his hand shot out under the water and grabbed hers. "The Remnants," he rasped, voice hoarse and cracked. "They're back. I saw them."
Maelis yanked her hand from his with a startled gasp, stumbling back from the tub. "What are you talking about?" she said, eyes wide. "You're not making any sense."
Devvyn sat up in the tub, water sloshing over the sides. His voice cracked with panic. "There are Remnants in Thaloria! I saw them! I saw them…Warn all the soldiers…"
Aela and Jelric burst into the room.
"What's going on?" Aela said, skidding to a halt.
Jelric's eyes flicked from Maelis's shaken expression to Devvyn's wild, red-rimmed eyes. He stepped forward, hands raised. "Devvyn, calm down. You're scaring your grandmother. You probably had a nightmare."
Devvyn's breathing was ragged and frantic. He clutched the edges of the tub like the room was spinning. "I know what I saw."
Devvyn paused mid-breath, his chest heaving. The panic on his face slowly shifted to confusion. He blinked, then looked around—at the tiled walls, the steam-fogged mirror, the water lapping around him in the tub.
His gaze drifted to Aela and Jelric, standing near the doorway, their faces tense. Then, to Maelis, still pressed against the wall, clutching her hand as if it had burned her.
"I…" His voice was hoarse. "I'm home?"
Maelis gave a slow nod.
Devvyn's shoulders slumped as if the realisation had drained all the strength from his body. He looked down at the water. "What happened to me?"
Maelis narrowed her eyes. "Good question," she muttered.
She stepped aside as Jelric helped Devvyn out of the tub. Water dripped off him in rivulets, soaking into his pants and forming a small trail on the floor as they moved to the sitting room. He tried to wring out the hem of his shirt.
"I should change," he mumbled, shivering.
Maelis waved it off. "That's the least of our worries. Sit."
Devvyn obeyed, plopping onto the edge of the couch with a damp squelch. Aela grabbed a towel and tossed it to him. He dabbed his face, eyes still red, voice still shaky.
Maelis stood across from him, arms folded. "Now. Where did you get that whistle?"
Devvyn hesitated. He looked at Jelric, then Aela, then down at the towel in his lap. "You're going to be mad."
"It's too late for that," Maelis said. "Start talking."
Devvyn sighed. "I needed to get one more steel sheet, and no one had. So I… I went to the black market. I know, I know, stupid. But I didn't want to go back for one more sheet. I figured I'd just get it and leave."
Maelis's jaw tightened, but she didn't interrupt.
"There was this guy selling toys. I saw this little ship I thought Orryn would love, and then I saw the whistle. It looked cool. He gave it to me for free."
Maelis leaned forward. "What did he look like?"
Devvyn winced. "Half his face was… melted. Like it had been burned off, he only had one eye. And his fingers looked charred, too. He said—" Devvyn paused, voice lowering, "he said it happened after a failed bonding with a 6-lux Echo."
"He also said…" Devvyn hesitated again. "He said the whistle blows at a frequency only some creatures can hear. That Valorians used to use them to hunt Remnants. He said it was really old. I didn't believe him, I thought he was just making up stories to sound cool."
"Is that true?" Aela asked, voice quiet. "About the whistle and the Remnants?"
Maelis didn't sit. She paced.
"I've heard stories about those whistles," she said finally. "They were supposedly used during the early Remnant incursions, but there's not much lore around them. I didn't study much of the Primordials and the Remnants era, but…" She looked at Devvyn. "Whatever that thing is, it's clearly doing something to you."
Devvyn tugged gently at the cord around his neck. The moment he did, a flash of heat surged through his body. He hissed and let go, pulling his hand back like he'd touched fire.
"I don't think it wants to come off," he said, breathing hard. "I know how that sounds, but I can't explain it. When I touched it, when I wore it, I saw them. The Remnants. Hulking things, with too many eyes, too many teeth… and they felt real."
Maelis went still. Aela and Jelric exchanged uneasy glances.
Maelis exhaled slowly, her eyes still locked on the whistle hanging around Devvyn's neck.
"Remnants were hunted into extinction ages ago," she said firmly. "So there's nothing to worry about."
"But—" Devvyn started.
"No," she cut in. "We'll figure out what that whistle is and why it's reacting to you, but until then…" She fixed him with a pointed look. "You're grounded."
"Wait, what?" Devvyn groaned.
"You're not leaving this house until I say so. I don't care if it's the market, the yard, or a walk to get fresh air. You nearly boiled yourself alive today. You're grounded. For your own safety."
Devvyn slumped back into the chair, groaning. "You've got to be kidding me."
Jelric gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Aela just crossed her arms, looking very disturbed.
Maelis folded her arms. "Welcome to house arrest, Devvyn. Get comfortable."
