Three days passed.
Kael's tower was quiet—too quiet. The storm had passed, but the tension hadn't. Elyra remained in recovery, helping Kael refine the Arc-Bow's coils while secretly practicing her magic behind reinforced shields. She was determined to prove she could help, not just run.
But something else haunted Kael: the silence from the capital.
No bounty. No army. No retaliation.
Just… stillness.
Until a shadow arrived.
It came at midnight, slicing the sky like a dagger. A winged shape—feminine, armored in black aethersteel—descended onto the tower roof with a boom that rattled every window.
Kael and Elyra rushed upstairs, weapons ready.
The intruder stood with her arms folded, face hidden behind a half-mask. Her presence bent the air. Magic swirled around her in precise coils—disciplined, terrifying.
"I expected more defenses," she said coldly. "The 'Null Genius' is slipping."
Kael raised the Arc-Bow. "Who are you?"
She stepped forward, removing her mask.
She was young. Maybe seventeen. But her eyes were ancient—silver irises glowing like moonlight.
"My name is Zephyra. Royal Duelmistress of the Obsidian Court. Slayer of twenty-one mages. And I'm here to drag your cursed body back to the throne."
Elyra stepped in front of Kael. "You'll have to go through me."
Zephyra sneered. "Princess traitor. I should've known you'd hide behind a freak."
Kael aimed. "Say that again."
Zephyra's lip curled. "Freak. An abomination pretending to matter. You don't belong in a world of magic."
Then she snapped her fingers.
A shockwave exploded from her body, throwing Elyra into the wall. Kael barely held his ground, firing a kinetic bolt—Zephyra parried it with a spin of her staff, absorbing the blow into a containment glyph.
Her movements were flawless. Calculated. Too fast for Kael's tech to lock on.
She lunged—and slammed him against the stone.
"I should break your neck right now," she growled. "But the Council wants your brain intact. You're lucky I follow orders."
Kael smirked, even as blood trickled from his mouth. "Then it's a good thing I don't."
He jammed a mini-pulse charge into her side and rolled free as it exploded.
Zephyra crashed backward—but didn't fall. Her armor smoked. Her face was livid.
"You dare—!"
"I dare," Kael said, limping back. "Because unlike you, I don't need magic to fight."
Zephyra rushed forward—and the floor beneath her exploded.
One of Kael's mines.
She flew backward, hit the wall—and dropped, unconscious.
---
Later…
Zephyra awoke, shackled in a null-magic restraint built by Kael himself. She glared at him through the bars of the holding room beneath the tower.
"You're lucky I didn't kill you," Elyra muttered.
Zephyra ignored her, staring only at Kael.
"I don't understand you," she hissed. "You're powerless. Worthless. Yet… you beat me."
Kael shrugged. "Brains over fireballs."
She scoffed. "You cheated."
"You call it cheating, I call it surviving."
She stared for a long time. Then… something changed. A flicker in her eyes. Curiosity? Confusion?
Maybe something else.
"You're dangerous," she said quietly.
Kael leaned closer. "So are you."
She smirked despite herself. "I'll escape, you know. And when I do, I'm still your enemy."
"Maybe," he said. "Or maybe you'll realize you're on the wrong side."
And as he walked away, Zephyra watched him with something she hadn't expected to feel.
Doubt.
And fascination.