The next two days were spent in the pump house, transforming from reluctant allies into a synchronized unit. Elias put Lyra through a brutal, necessary crash course in stealth and survival, leveraging the speed of their mental connection.
He taught her how to hold her breath for extended periods, how to move her weight without disturbing dust, and the proper way to handle a small, weighted throwing knife. Lyra, in turn, refined their psychic coordination.
"Don't just think 'danger'," Elias coached, pressing his back against hers in the cramped space, simulating a watch post. "Project the specific threat. Guard patrol, Sector Four, two minutes. Be precise."
"It's difficult to separate essential information from... background noise," Lyra projected, her mental tone filled with exasperation. Elias felt the 'background noise'—her constant processing of her family's fate, and the burgeoning, confusing attraction she felt for her hardened, lethal partner.
"Discipline," Elias emphasized, the word firm. "Focus. You felt my pain. I now feel your... distractions. They are a liability."
The 'distractions' were the most volatile part of the training. One moment, they were executing a perfect, silent takedown drill; the next, Lyra's intense focus would include the observation of the way the lamplight highlighted the grim set of Elias's jaw, or the quiet, steady rhythm of his heart beneath his coat.
During a simple exercise in silent movement, Lyra stumbled. Elias caught her, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist. As their bodies pressed together, the blue sigils on their wrists flared.
We can't do this, Elias thought, his mind an immediate, defensive wall. We can't confuse the bond with... He couldn't finish the thought, but Lyra received the anxiety instantly.
It's not confusion, Elias, she projected back, her mental voice a soft sigh. It's an acknowledgment. We are closer than any two people have ever been. We shared a heart-stopping descent, we share every pain, and now we share every secret. The attraction is an effect of the bond, not a cause. We can either fight it and waste precious energy, or accept it as another facet of our synergy.
Her pragmatic acceptance of their unexpected desire startled him. He released her abruptly, the professional killer in him momentarily stunned by the scholar's emotional logic.
"Acceptance is weakness," Elias muttered, turning away. "Control is strength. The mine requires strength."
Their final preparations focused on Lord Cassian Solstus, the Mine Warden.
"Cassian is vain and predictable," Lyra explained, pointing to a crudely drawn map of the Mine's surface facility. "He never leaves the Surface Vault—where the Warden's Key is kept—and he despises the Low City. He takes a single, nightly ritual: a rare, highly potent Aether-infused wine, delivered to him precisely at midnight by a trusted steward."
"The wine is our opening," Elias concluded. "I neutralize the steward, take his clothes, and make the delivery. You remain hidden near the ventilation shaft, watching for any magical disruption."
"The Warden's Key," Lyra cautioned. "It's not just metal. It requires a significant amount of Aether energy to activate the final vault door. Cassian will have a personal defense shield, too. Even if you get close, he'll be protected."
Elias smiled—a grim, humorless flash of teeth. "The key won't be his only source of energy."
He reached into his pack and pulled out a small, intricately carved wooden dart. "Neurotoxin from the Spite-Viper. It doesn't kill quickly, but it shuts down the nervous system, including the magical centers of the brain. He won't be able to channel Aether energy for the shield or the key."
Lyra studied the dart, impressed by its lethal efficiency. "Good. Then, once he is incapacitated, we have ten minutes to use the key, retrieve the Memory-Crystal, and escape before the morning shift change."
The plan was audacious, relying heavily on split-second timing and the silent, flawless coordination provided by their Binding. The stakes were no longer just their lives, but the very stability of Aerthos.