Eldermarch, Before Dawn
The city was quiet, the kind of hush that comes after a storm but before the world remembers how to breathe again. Selene sat alone in the Veil's candlelit archive, her hands trembling as she sorted coded messages and false passports. Her eyes, rimmed red from sleeplessness, kept drifting to the window, where the sky was a bruised purple.
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the ache that never left—the hollow where her sister's laughter used to live.
Memory: The Night of Fire
Selene's mind wandered, unbidden, to the night everything changed.
She was sixteen, her little sister barely ten. Their mother had died years before, and their father had vanished into the king's endless wars. It was just the two of them, scraping by in the lower alleys of Eldermarch.
That night, the soldiers came—drunk, shouting, searching for "traitors." They dragged neighbors from their beds, set fire to the baker's shop, and kicked in doors at random. Selene hid her sister in a cupboard, whispering, "Don't make a sound. I'll come back for you."
She tried to lead the soldiers away, but they caught her, beat her, and left her bleeding in the gutter. When she crawled home, the house was burning. She screamed her sister's name, but the only answer was the crackle of flames and the distant, cruel laughter of men in uniform.
She never found her sister's body. Only a charred ribbon in the ashes.
The Archive: Present
A tear slid down Selene's cheek as she traced the faded ribbon she always kept in her pocket. The pain was old, but it never dulled.
Mira entered, pausing when she saw Selene's face. For a moment, the hardened lieutenant said nothing. Then she sat beside her, silent.
"I should have saved her," Selene whispered, voice raw. "I was too weak."
Mira's jaw tightened. "You were a child. The fault is theirs, not yours."
Selene shook her head. "I see her in every girl we rescue. Every time I forge a new identity, I wonder—if I'd been smarter, faster, could I have changed it?"
Mira placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You save lives now. That's what matters."
Selene let the silence stretch. "Do you ever forget, Mira? The ones you lost?"
Mira's eyes darkened. "No. I carry them with me. Every day. That's why I fight."
A Mission in the Rain
A coded message arrived—urgent. A young girl, orphaned and alone, was hiding in the ruins of the old market. The king's men were searching for her.
Selene volunteered. "Let me go. I know those streets."
Mira hesitated. "Are you sure?"
Selene nodded. "I have to."
The rain was relentless as Selene slipped through the alleys, memories haunting every step. She found the girl—small, shivering, eyes wide with terror—curled beneath a broken cart.
Selene knelt, offering her hand. "It's okay. I'm here to help."
The girl stared at her, silent. Selene saw her sister's face, pale and frightened.
"Come with me," Selene whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you."
They moved through the shadows, Selene's heart pounding. She heard boots, shouts, the clatter of armor. She pressed the girl against a wall, holding her breath as soldiers passed by, their torches flickering in the rain.
When the danger was gone, Selene led the girl back to the Veil's safehouse. Only then did she allow herself to cry, holding the child close, mourning her sister all over again.
The Weight of Ashes
That night, Selene sat by the fire, the rescued girl asleep beside her. Mira watched from across the room, her expression unreadable.
Selene took out the charred ribbon, tying it gently in the girl's hair. "You're safe now," she whispered, though she wasn't sure if she believed it.
She looked into the flames, feeling the ache of loss and the faintest flicker of hope. Maybe she couldn't save her sister. But she could save someone else.
And for tonight, that would have to be enough.
Chapter 19 End