Liana's POV
The cold always came before the light.
Frost clings to the inside of the fortress windows, painting spiderwebs across the glass. The hallways whisper with silence—disciplined, cold, as if even the stones themselves remember their purpose. The smell of steel, sweat, and faint mana residue never really fades. She's gotten used to it. Somehow.
Liana walks with practiced quiet, tray in her hands, warmth rising from the bowl of soup as steam coils into the morning air.
Same path. Same weight in her arms.
Same door. Same boy.
Kael's door.
She knocks—soft, polite.
No answer.
She waits.
Then knocks again, a little louder. Still nothing.
"…Kael?" Her voice barely rises above a whisper.
No response.
Her lips press into a thin line. Her hand reaches for the handle, hesitating for half a second—then she pushes the door open.
A low creak. Cold air.
Empty.
Her eyes scan the room.
Bed, untouched.
Sheets smooth.
Sword rack—bare.
He's not here.
Her heart drops—not in panic, but in that slow, sinking way that leaves your chest hollow.
He's never been late. Not once.
She steps inside. Sets the tray down. Soup forgotten.
Something's wrong.
She waits.
Sits by the bed, cloak still draped over her shoulders. The one he lent her two nights ago when the fortress heat crystals failed.
She tells herself he's fine. That he went for early training, or maybe took a patrol shift.
But it's already noon.
She's checked the courtyard. The mess hall. The upper barracks.
Nothing.
Her fingers twist together in her lap. She glances at the door every few minutes. Like a fool.
Still no Kael.
"Where the hell is Kael?" Daren's voice cuts through the clang of practice swords.
Nicholas frowns, panting. "Missed the whole morning session. And now evening?"
John wipes sweat from his brow. "He's not the type to disappear. Did any of you see him yesterday?"
All three turn toward the edge of the field—where Liana stands near the wall, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"Oi, you," Daren calls. "You were with him yesterday, right? Where is he?"
She meets their gaze. Calm. Steady. The way she was trained to be.
"He's sick," she lies. "Fever. Didn't sleep."
John raises a brow. "Kael? That guy doesn't even blink when he's injured."
Nicholas scoffs. "He fought with a cracked rib last week."
Liana doesn't flinch. "Even he has limits."
They fall quiet.
She turns away before they can ask more. Before they can see the tension in her shoulders.
Before they can hear the lie in her breath.
It's quiet again. Too quiet.
The fortress groans in the wind, and the candlelight flickers against the walls. Liana sits at Kael's desk, his chair too large for her, his cloak pulled tightly around her frame.
Her eyes burn from lack of sleep. Her fingers run across a map—a rough layout of the fortress perimeter, one she snuck from the archive wing. She's circled every place she's checked.
All empty.
The thought punches air out of her lungs. She grips the edge of the desk to steady herself.
She doesn't cry.
She moves to the window, stares out into the dark snow-swept night.
"Where are you, Kael…"
She presses her forehead to the cold glass.
"I'll keep lying for you. I'll cover your absence, your secrets. I'll protect what you don't say."
She closes her eyes.
"But please…" Her voice cracks, barely audible.
"…Don't make me wait too long."
The night passes.
And Kael still doesn't return.
Liana sits curled up beside the cold hearth in his room, a blanket draped around her shoulders, but it offers no warmth. The tray of untouched soup sits on the desk, long gone cold. The candles have burned down to nothing, leaving the room in shadows.
Her eyes are red, rimmed with exhaustion.
She hasn't slept.
Not a single blink.
She stares at the doorway.
Hoping.
Waiting.
But it remains closed.
The sun rises again—soft and golden—but it brings no comfort. Only dread.
Two days.
He's been gone for two days.
Her lips tremble as she presses her forehead against her knees.
"He wouldn't leave me…" she whispers, voice hoarse. "He promised."
He'd never leave her behind. He said that. Back when she was shaking and silent, terrified of being sent away from the fortress again. He looked her in the eyes and said—
"As long as I'm here, you'll never be alone again."
So where is he now?
Tears threaten again, but she wipes them away fiercely.
No. Not yet.
Crying won't bring him back.
He didn't run. He wouldn't. He has nowhere to go, and no reason to vanish—not without telling her.
Something happened.
Something is wrong.
Her heart clenches.
What if he's still out there, in the Dark Forest? Injured. Alone. Waiting for help.
She bites her lip until it bleeds.
He made her promise not to tell anyone.
She trusted him. Obeyed him.
But now?
Now…
Her hands tremble as she stands up, Kael's cloak still draped around her like armor.
"I… I have to tell the commander," she whispers.
Even saying it aloud feels like a betrayal. Like she's breaking the one thing he asked of her.
But it's been two days.
Two days of silence.
Two days of fear.
Two days of nothing.
"I waited, Kael. I waited as long as I could…"
She clutches the edge of his cloak and presses it to her chest. The fabric still smells faintly like him—like dried herbs, cold metal, and forest wind.
"I'll take the blame later. I'll face your anger. But I can't wait anymore."
She walks to the door, hesitating one last time.
What if he returns just after she leaves?
What if he truly didn't want anyone to know?
No.
She shakes her head and pushes those thoughts aside.
If something did happen—if he's bleeding somewhere in that cursed forest, calling her name—
She'll never forgive herself for sitting here doing nothing.
Her steps echo down the hallway, swift and determined.
The fortress stirs as soldiers pass by, unaware. No one suspects that the boy who trained harder than anyone is missing. No one knows that the girl walking silently among them is hiding a secret that's clawing at her soul.
She approaches the heavy door to the Commander's office, heart pounding.
Her fist hovers mid-air.
What if they punish Kael? What if they don't believe me? What if I'm too late—
She shuts her eyes, breath trembling.
Then knocks.
"I need to speak to the Commander. It's about Kael Thorne."