Anna stared at me with eyes reddened from a sleepless night, waiting for an answer. And I had none, at least, not one that would satisfy us both. Telling the truth meant risking everything. Lying meant destroying the fragile trust we'd managed to rebuild.
"What do you want to hear?" I kept my voice steady.
"I don't know. The truth."
Dangerous notes of irritation sharpened the edge of every word.
"Which truth?"
"Oh, do you have options?" she snapped, venom lacing her tone. "Why did you really come back?"
"What kind of question is that?" My reply was deflection, not defense. "Is it so hard to believe I'm here because of you?"
"Yes. Imagine that—yes."
"Anna—" I reached for her hand, my voice dropping low.
"What?"
She jerked her hand away. A heavy sigh.
"I'm here because I want to be with you." Even I didn't believe the sincerity of those words. Pathetic.
"Well, if that's the truth, then you won't mind this."
With a sweeping gesture, she traced the lines of an unfamiliar circle in the air. Her eyes flashed gold—just as a gash of the same molten light split the space above the table. And just like that, the chunk of reality containing the documents we'd found in the bunker was gone.
"What the hell—?!" The shout tore out of me before I could stop it.
My entire body lunged forward on instinct, fingers grasping at empty air where the artifacts had been. A smirk curled her lips, but her eyes—her eyes were pure disappointment.
"Relax," she said, each word dropping between us like shards of ice. "They're somewhere safe."
I knew I'd failed the test. No point hiding my interest in the journals now, or my irritation at her little performance.
"Don't you want to know what's in them?"
I was on my feet the second she turned her back and strode toward the kitchen.
"Apparently," she tossed over her shoulder, "not as much as you do."
She unleashed all her aggression on the dishes in the sink, the poor plates had never experienced such a violent scrubbing. I reached for Anna's hand, but she shrugged off my touch.
"What are we doing? Why are we fighting again?"
"I'm not fighting with you," she answered without even looking at me.
"But you don't want to talk peacefully either."
"Then talk."
She gave an indifferent shrug and threw the forks into the basket with unnecessary force.
"Listen, you have every reason to doubt me," I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. "Your father... He was researching ways to transfer power directly from bearers to non-bearers. I don't know how far he got with his experiments."
"Why would anyone transfer power?" Her voice held surprise laced with suspicion, as if I was talking nonsense. "We have power stones."
"They're not strong enough."
"Our power isn't infinite either."
"I know. I'm not sure what's wrong with the stones," and I was telling the truth. "I just know Adam was looking for a way to get rid of them."
"That's insane. Our whole world runs on those stones... And how are you involved in this? Is this about that nonsense with entities from another reality?"
"I didn't..."
She cut me off with a sharp gesture. Her gaze flickered past my shoulder to the window, and suddenly she shoved me aside. I stumbled, momentarily losing my balance.
"Kiron," she breathed, so quietly I barely caught it.
"So?"
She kept pushing me out of the kitchen.
"You need to hide."
"Why the hell would I?"
Now it was my turn to sound irritated.
I glanced out the window and made out two or three figures moving in the yellow glow of the lantern above the pathway.
"If they're here to arrest me for using blood magic at the banquet—or to take those documents—you don't want to be seen with me."
Anna snatched a knife from the block in passing.
"You're not actually planning to attack Inquisitors with a knife?" I sputtered, stunned.
She dodged smoothly when I reached for it. She'd anticipated that move.
"Of course not. I'm not attacking anyone."
She moved with precision—not panic, but cold calculation. Channeling kinetic energy into a sigil, she shoved me into the pantry nook. Without hesitation, she drew the knife across her palm and sealed me behind a blood-forged barrier.
"Don't you dare!" I roared, lunging forward. The barrier absorbed the impact and threw me against the wall.
Anna shook her head.
"You can't be seen or heard out there. It'll fade in a few hours unless I release it first."
"Anna! Anna! Let me out!" I shouted, pounding against the invisible wall. My own power surged against it, but her blood held firm. All I could do was watch helplessly from behind the veil.
A polite knock at the door. Anna tossed the knife into the sink and went to answer.
"Good evening, officers." Her voice was smooth, dripping with the cool courtesy of high society. "To what do I owe this late visit?"
Kiron shouldered past her without invitation. Another followed—shorter, dark-haired, stepping hesitantly as if aware he had no right to enter. Behind them, a third: cropped red hair and pale skin stark against her Inquisition's navy uniform. The two lesser officers moved deeper into the house to search, while Kiron lingered beside Anna.
"Officer Chang and Officer Morret will assist me with the search. Is anyone else in the house?"
"No," she answered firmly.
"Really?" Kiron arched an eyebrow.
"What do you want?"
Kiron casually gestured to her hand.
"You're bleeding."
"Cut myself washing dishes," Anna muttered.
Kiron nodded and strolled into the kitchen.
"That's a lot of dishes for one person," he remarked, that slimy smirk playing on his lips.
"What can I say? I hate doing the dishes. What do you want?" Anna pressed more insistently.
She turned toward Kiron but remained planted near the pantry where I was trapped, discreetly kicking my mud-caked boots under the cabinet with her foot. Kiron circled back and thrust a document at her. Anna caught it with her uninjured hand, unfolded it.
"A search warrant? What exactly are you looking for?"
"It's all there in black and white."
Anna scanned the document. I could see her chest rising rapidly with each indignant breath. Kiron suddenly caught her wrist, flipping her palm upward. I slammed against the barrier with all my strength.
"That's a deep cut. Let me help?"
She tried to pull away. His fingers tightened. With practiced ease, he traced a healing sigil across her wound, his voice dripping false concern:
"Where's Williams?"
"Don't know. He left."
"Left?" His tone sweet as honey.
"Yes, left. Shall we keep echoing each other all night?"
He yanked her close until their faces nearly touched.
"Funny—I could've sworn there was a pantry here," Kiron nodded toward my hiding place.
"You're imagining things."
"Liar," he whispered, that smirk twisting his mouth again. "When your little blood ward fades, I'll drag your boy out by the scruff of his neck. Or..." His grip tightened. "Maybe he'll come running to save you? What do you think?"
His gaze pierced straight through the barrier, locking onto me despite the impossibility.
"Good luck," Anna finally shoved him away.
"Why protect him?" Kiron murmured, his voice dropping to a whisper only she was supposed to hear as his eyes remained fixed on the invisible wall separating us. He wanted me to see. "Has Mr. Williams committed some crime? Perhaps removed documents from a hidden cache that rightfully belong to the Inquisition?"
"What cache?" Anna's feigned ignorance rang hollow.
"The cache in the bunker."
"What bunker?" She continued the charade.
"Shall we keep echoing each other all night?" His condescending smile widened.
Anna dropped the act. "You've been following me?"
"I'd call it... protective surveillance. And we discovered that bunker BN-04 contained an unauthorized compartment, conveniently emptied before our arrival."
Anna crossed her arms over her chest.
"You won't find anything here."
"I don't doubt that," Kiron said, his theatrical tone making my skin crawl. "You're clever enough not to keep incriminating documents in your home. But you also rely too much on luck and impulse, acting recklessly." He shook his head with mock disappointment. "What folly—to go chasing after treasures..." A chill ran down my spine as he echoed Anna's words from earlier, "...the moment you got your hands on the key!" He pantomimed turning a key in the air.
Her glare could have frozen lava. Even I'd never been on the receiving end of that. Chang and Morret descended the stairs, coming into view.
"Nothing here," Chang reported. "No energy traces matching what we detected in the bunker."
Anna smirked. For a moment, I felt a surge of pride at her cunning. True, she'd kept me from the documents but she'd outmaneuvered Kiron too. Clever. Ever true to herself.
Kiron's smile never wavered as he gave the order. "We'll send in the Readers. Have them examine every corner."
The fact that the documents hadn't been found didn't seem to bother him at all. Once the Readers arrived, they'd scour the entire house using specialized techniques and sigils to detect any trace of power, including hidden applications. And I'd better found a way out of this trap before they started their work.
"Officer Chang, detain her," Kiron commanded.
Chang hesitated.
"You found nothing. You have no grounds for arrest," Anna pointed out and squared her shoulders. "You have no proof."
Kiron stepped closer, each word laced with threat: "Cooperate, or I drag you in by force."
Officer Chang tactfully interjected, "Captain, we really didn't find any—"
Kiron's gaze remained locked on Anna. "Suspicion of harboring forbidden artifacts. Suspicion of aiding a fugitive. Suspicion of—"
Anna cut him off. "Suspicion isn't evidence!"
"An interrogation is a good tool to get the evidence. Hands behind your back."
He raised his hand, ready to trace the binding sigils.
"Not a chance!" Anna snapped, stepping back. "Until you present actual charges, I won't submit to restraints."
"How touching! You still believe in your rights," Kiron sneered, his smile patronizing. "In an hour, I'll have your confession. In two, a dozen witnesses. Choose: the easy way... or the interesting one."
"Your arrogance is astounding."
Sparks of fire danced around Anna's fingertips as she retreated another step. I shouted through the barrier, begging her not to fight the Inquisitors—desperation and fury threatening to drown my thoughts.
"Ah! Miss Demare wishes to add resisting arrest and assaulting officers to her list of offenses," Kiron sang, spreading his hands wide in a show of harmlessness.
Chang and Morret, however, tensed visibly, bracing for an attack. To my relief, Anna weighed the odds and extinguished the flames.
"Very well, I'll come with you."
"How cooperative. But binding sigils are non-negotiable. Officer Chang."
Kiron waved a dismissive hand, delegating the task. Chang approached Anna hesitantly. Standing beside her tall, proud frame with head held high, he seemed almost pitiful. Anna kept her gaze locked on Kiron as Chang traced the power-suppressing circles around her wrists and neck.
"After you," Kiron commanded, gesturing to the door before casting one final glance toward my hiding place.
They left.
I continued hammering at the barrier with every sigil and raw burst of energy I could muster, but it absorbed each attempt with mocking ease. Finally, I resolved to use the same forbidden method—if blood magic was the only option left, I'd have to risk it.
Gritting my teeth, I tried recalling the blood sigils I'd glimpsed in those banned Inquisition texts. I pricked my finger and drew a purification circle on the floor. The moment my power flooded into the design, I understood the true cost of this magic:
Nausea. Debilitating weakness. A headache that spiked like a hot iron through my skull.
The more energy I channeled, the fainter I became. How did Anna endure this so often?! Just as my vision began to darken, the circle finally gained enough strength to dissolve the barrier. I severed the connection before the damn thing could drain me completely.
I staggered out of the pantry and somehow managed to stand upright. The documents were already lost to me, so, all that remained was to return empty-handed and plan Anna's rescue. I stumbled out into the damp night air and limped toward the gate, where leaning against the iron fence... waited Kiron.
"Well, well... Look who's come crawling out," he drawled. "Seems you'll have to explain to command why you failed your mission."
I channeled the dregs of my energy into my still-bleeding hand, but there was so little left that it fizzled out with a pathetic sputter. The blood ritual had demanded too steep a price.
"Tsk, tsk. Someone's been dabbling in forbidden arts," Kiron mocked, that infuriating smirk back on his face. "We'll have such a long chat about this. And how fortunate that our clever Anna forced you to exhaust yourself—saves us the trouble of unnecessary violence."
He was right. In my current state, drained and weak, I stood no chance against him at full strength, reveling in my failure.
"Shall we go have that little talk, Mr. Williams?"