The Demon in the Wood

“Please, Eryk.”

“That’s not my name.”

He didn’t move. He sat and watched as her eyes went glassy, as her hand dropped away, as at last she slumped backward, her empty gaze fastened on the moon.

spoke his true name, the one she only used when they trained, the name tattooed on his heart. A heart that had not stopped beating. A heart that still had life.

I’m going to die here. They’ll wear my bones.

“I don’t have one.”
“How can you not have one?”
Deep blue like the True Sea. Red like the roofs of the Shu temples. The pure, buttery color of sunlight—not really yellow or gold, what would you call it? All the colors you couldn’t see in the dark.

“What’s your favorite color?” asked Sylvi.

Fear is a powerful ally, but feed it too often, make it too strong, and it will turn on you.

“What’s your favorite color?” asked Sylvi.

“I don’t have one.”

“How can you not have one?”

Deep blue like the True Sea. Red like the roofs of the Shu temples. The pure, buttery color of sunlight—not really yellow or gold, what would you call it? All the colors you couldn’t see in the dark.

Fear is a powerful ally, but feed it too often, make it too strong, and it will turn on you.

know. It’s my own name I’m afraid of forgetting.”
“Your true name is written here,” she said tapping his chest. “Tattooed on your heart. You don’t let just anyone read it.”

He didn’t say anything, but he gave her hand the barest squeeze.

Annika smiled, and to Eryk’s surprise, he found himself smiling back.