"Let's go for a walk."
They had been sitting in silence for a while before Kael finally spoke.
Without another word, both of them rose and began walking along the cliffs. The sun had long vanished beneath the horizon, leaving only the pale wash of moonlight to light their path. The quiet murmur of waves breaking against the rocks followed them as they walked.
"I need your help."
Kael's eyes sharpened slightly as he glanced at her. He had come expecting to assist in some way, maybe carry out an order or deliver a message, but this wasn't how he had imagined it.Syleena, the heir of the Eireindaile family, asking him for help directly.
He said nothing, waiting.
"I know your situation. You were hired by my family to check on me, right?"
Kael gave a single, slight nod.
Syleena let out a soft sigh before continuing.
"Do you know why I was sent here?"
Another nod.
"Wrong."
Her voice didn't waver. Calm, certain, as if she had read his thoughts before he even opened his mouth.
"I wasn't sent here to mature or gain political skills. I was sent here so they could get rid of me."
"Is that so?"
Kael's eyes turned colder at her words.
This time, it was Syleena's turn to nod.
"My family has followed the blade pathway since the time of our first ancestor. Do you know why?"
She gave him a moment before continuing.
"It wasn't just out of tradition or respect. The blade pathway was honest, honorable. In our early days, the only way our family could rise was through battle, by shedding blood and winning wars. The quickest way to earn the people's trust was to protect them… to offer safety."
She exhaled softly.
"But me? For some reason, I awakened as a mind pathway Luminaire. And as I'm sure you've already figured out… that was reason enough for them to want me dead."
"Pathetic, isn't it?"
A faint smile played on her lips, though there was no humor in it.
Kael's eyes lost their sharpness for a moment as his thoughts sank deeper. She had spoken only a handful of words, yet already the gaps were starting to close.
If she was telling the truth…Then everything that had happened so far made perfect sense.
The Eireindaile family had followed the blade pathway for generation, a lineage built on tradition and bloodshed. But Syleena… she had awakened as a mind pathway Luminaire. That alone wasn't unforgivable. She could have abandoned it, switched paths. But from everything he had seen, she took pride in her abilities.
And that was the real problem.
It wasn't just that she was a noble.She was the heir.
Noble families clung to tradition like it was law. To them, it wasn't just power that set them apart from mortals, it was their history, their rigid adherence to the rules they believed shaped their superiority. By that standard, Syleena wasn't just an anomaly. She was a threat.
A noble heir who strayed from the family's path couldn't be trusted with its future.
He understood now.
The Eireindaile family wasn't strong enough to stand alone. Like most noble houses, they leaned heavily on the resources, trade, and loyalty of the mortals in Farkath, and the respect of other noble families. Without that, their influence would wither. And Syleena jeopardized all of it.
Kael flicked his cane into the air, catching it by the shaft. His steps remained steady, his gaze fixed on the ground beneath him, distant, as though following the invisible threads of everything he had begun to piece together.
Take Velthoria and Farkath, for example. Both were thriving cities, yet even Farkath, with all its influence, lacked access to copper. To sustain its economy, it depended on steady trade with cities like Velthoria, which produced the copper it couldn't.
And now… back to Syleena.
The Eireindaile family stood strong under its current head, a rank five Luminaire of the blade pathway. A figure whose presence alone demanded respect and guaranteed stability. But the moment that changed… the moment Syleena inherited that title… everything would begin to shift.
Not right away. But slowly. Steadily.
The noble families projected an image of dignity, tradition, and unshakable values. But behind polished smiles and formal alliances, they played a different game, one ruled by manipulation, politics, and carefully measured power.
High-ranking trade agreements were forged directly between family heads. And as soon as Syleena's succession became inevitable, whispers would start. Deals would be reconsidered. No family would willingly trade with a house led by a mind pathway Luminaire. The risk of unseen influence, of manipulation woven into every negotiation… it would be too high.
One by one, trading partners would pull away, not out of malice, but out of self-preservation. And with that, the Eireindaile family's power would begin to unravel.
Kael understood the current family head's dilemma all too well. It was a complicated position. On one hand, he was sure the man wanted his daughter to succeed, but on the other, her rise would inevitably throw the entire family into a desperate and unforgiving situation.
He couldn't simply strip her of her position, that would spark outrage both within the family and the city. How would their authority hold if the rules suddenly changed whenever it suited the noble family? That wasn't an option.
There was the possibility of forcibly changing her soulbound motes, forcing her onto the blade pathway. But what if she resisted? What if she harbored resentment toward the family? A future head of the family, filled with bitterness and ill will toward her own blood, could be just as dangerous as any external threat.
So that was it.Kael's eyes flickered with a cold gleam as understanding took hold.
The family head must have reached his conclusion long ago.
For the greater good, she had to disappear.
That was why Kael suspected they had sent her to Velthoria, a two-year assignment, distant from the heart of power, with minimal contact and visibility limited to a chosen few. And Velthoria? He had no doubt they had agreed without hesitation.
Weakening a rival noble house was a rare opportunity, one only fools would pass up. With Velthoria's cooperation, they could reshape these two years into anything they pleased. A whisper here, a false accusation there… Soon, they could paint her as a traitor, brand her with crimes fabricated from thin air. And when the time came, her fate would already be decided.
With both noble families aligned against her, her voice would mean nothing.
As for the public? They would follow wherever the nobility pointed.
That was why she needed someone like him.
Not a pawn of any noble house.Not a soldier bound by loyalty.A mercenary. Someone expendable and neutral.
Kael's gaze sharpened.
Had she seen through it all?Was that why she stopped sending messages? Had she cut off communication, forcing the family's hand, knowing they couldn't send anyone tied too closely to their name?
If that was the case… then maybe, just maybe…She had been playing this game far better than anyone expected.
Kael pushed the thought aside for now, letting his gaze linger on her a moment longer as he quietly reevaluated everything he knew.
But this placed him in a difficult position.
Would he side with the Eireindaile family?Wealthy, powerful, they could make him rich beyond most Luminaires' wildest dreams. That is, if he survived long enough to claim the reward. Because once this mission ended, they wouldn't let him walk away. He knew too much. Escaping both with the payment and his life would be… unlikely.
Or should he back Syleena?
Alone, isolated, a hunted heir with no power to speak of. Could she realistically survive this and ascend to lead her family? Maybe. But the odds were razor-thin. And if she failed, every risk he took for her would mean nothing.
She was weak. Rank one, he was certain of it.
Yet, despite everything, a flicker of pity stirred within him.
Betrayed by the family who should have stood by her side. Hunted like an animal for something she couldn't control. It was absurd.
He glanced at her once more, her sharp features outlined by the pale wash of moonlight, and a soft breath escaped him.
Pathetic.
A faint ripple of distaste stirred in his chest—Toward the Eireindaile family…
His eyes sharpened, cold cutting through thought like a knife.
No.
His arm shot forward, hand snapping around her throat with merciless precision.
She gasped, her body jolting as he lifted her effortlessly into the air, coat and hair whipping in the sudden gust.She hadn't even moved.
"Stop."
His voice came low and calm.
For a heartbeat, Syleena's eyes widened in shock, but she didn't flinch.Her sharp hazel gaze met his, fingers clamping tight around his wrist. Even as her feet dangled, even with his hand crushing her throat, she forced composure onto her face.
Forced.
He stared back.
And there it was, beneath the veil of confidence, beneath the calm,A flicker. A faint tremor of doubt in her eyes.
The seconds dragged.
Her legs gave a twitch, and her grip on his wrist tightened until her knuckles went white. Her breaths came quick and sharp, cracks starting to show in her steady mask.
Kael's grip didn't waver. His arm held her with the stillness of a drawn blade.
As he watched her struggle helplessly, a flicker of sympathy passed through him once more.
Her resistance was futile, a desperate attempt against an opponent she had no chance of overpowering.
He understood that feeling all too well, the frustration of being powerless, of having no control.
For a brief moment, his grip eased, his expression softening.
But then, as if catching himself, his face hardened once more. His eyes turned even colder, a sharp glint of anger flashing within them.
"I SAID STOP."
His voice cut through the air like a blade, raw with frustration and command, laced with unmistakable killing intent.
His grip tightened around her throat, his fingers sinking deeper into her skin, poised to crush her windpipe.
For the first time, he let his strength as a Luminaire surge unchecked.
Her eyes widened in alarm, her face paling as she felt the pressure increase. She kicked and twitched, her grip on his wrist tightening in desperation, she wasn't holding back either.
The more pressure she applied, the more he did in return. Her struggles grew frantic, her nails clawing at his skin, digging deep, but he barely reacted.
If anything, her resistance only fueled his irritation.
His grip tightened further.
He watched as the fight bled out of her, her limbs slowing, her eyes beginning to dim.
She hovered on the edge of blacking out. And right before she slipped, he let go.
She dropped like a cut string, landing hard in the dirt. Gasping. Her chest hitched with ragged breaths as she clutched at the ground, struggling to pull the air back into her lungs.
Kael stood over her, arms hanging loose at his sides. His eyes flat, his face set in a look of faint, smoldering displeasure as he watched her claw her way back from the edge.
Kael had never needed comrades. He didn't believe in friendship. Trust was a currency far too cheap, spent by fools and bought by liars. People betrayed. They deceived. It was in their nature.
The only certainty he'd ever known was himself, his thoughts, his will, the choices he made with a clear, sharpened mind.
But what if even that was taken?
What if his reasoning twisted beneath unseen hands? What if the voice he trusted most was no longer his own?
He could fight enemies in the open. He could survive betrayal in the shadows. But if the ground beneath his mind gave way… there would be nothing left to stand on.
He wouldn't just lose control.
He'd lose himself.