Chapter 118 – Ash and Iron
The envelope felt like a live coal against Kairo's chest during the long walk back to the safehouse—a derelict signal cabin crouched beside an abandoned stretch of railway. Rust had claimed the frame, the roof sagged like a tired spine, and the air inside was heavy with the smell of oil and damp timber.
Kairo entered first, scanning the corners out of habit before setting his pack on the table. Elira followed and locked the door, sliding the bolt into place with a metallic scrape.
"You going to tell me what's inside that thing?" she asked, nodding toward the envelope he'd guarded since the meeting.
"Not yet," Kairo said, peeling off his gloves. The tone wasn't sharp, but it had the weight of finality.
Her arms folded, her back against the door. "You keep saying that. One day you'll wait too long, and I won't be here to hear the answer."
His eyes met hers—steady, dark, and unreadable. "If that day comes, it'll be because I wanted you far from the blast."
Without further discussion, he set the lantern closer and broke the wax seal. Inside was a single yellowed sheet, the edges curled from age. Across it, tight handwriting listed coordinates, dates, and names—most of them men Kairo knew were dead. In the upper corner, drawn in faded grey ink, was a symbol he recognised instantly: a perfect iron circle split by a vertical line.
Elira leaned in. "That's Feretti's old family crest. I thought he stopped using it years ago."
"He did," Kairo said, flipping the page. "Which means whoever left this wants me to think this trail leads back to his beginnings… or it really does."
On the reverse side was a diagram of supply routes. Smuggling lines disguised as grain shipments, stretching across three provinces. One date was circled in bold strokes—tomorrow.
Elira's brows knit. "That's the border drop, isn't it? The one everyone swears doesn't exist?"
Kairo's jaw tightened. "It exists. And tomorrow, Feretti's men will be moving something big through it."
"You're thinking of hitting it."
"I'm thinking of burning it," Kairo corrected. His gaze hardened. "If we cut that artery, we choke half his operations before winter's end."
She let out a slow breath, reading the danger in his voice. "You realise he'll come at you harder than ever after that."
A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. "That's the idea."
Elira shook her head, half in disbelief, half in reluctant admiration. "Then I guess we'd better not sleep much tonight."
Outside, the wind rattled the broken panes, and somewhere far down the tracks, an empty railcar groaned in the dark—like the mountains themselves warning of the fire to come.