Night settled over Lyria with an uneasy stillness, the lantern-lit sky dimmer than usual as if the city itself sensed something approaching. Althea felt it before she saw anything—an emotional tremor that rippled through the streets like a warning. Unease. Fear. A trembling tension that tasted of hidden danger.Kael paced the small room in the sanctuary, his movements sharp, purposeful, but threaded with frustration. A sealed envelope lay in his hand—black parchment, sealed with deep crimson wax stamped with the sigil of the Nightveil."Kael," Althea said softly, stepping toward him. "What's wrong?"
He didn't answer at first. His golden eyes flickered in the half-light, shadowed by something old and painful. When he finally spoke, his voice was raw.
"They found us."
Her heart dropped, but she kept her breath steady. "How?"
"They always do," he murmured. "Because they know how I think. Because they trained me. Because…" His fist tightened around the envelope. "Because part of me belonged to them once."
He handed her the letter.
Althea read it slowly.
Kael,
You know what we want. Bring the girl.
Or we bring Lyria down first.
Choose wisely. There is no turning back this time.
— The Nightveil Council
Her chest tightened. "They want me?"
"No," Kael said quietly. "They want leverage. They want to break the last thing inside me they never could."
She reached for him. "Kael, look at me."
His eyes softened at her touch.You're not theirs," she said. "Whatever they did to you, whatever they trained you to be your choices now are your own."He closed his eyes as if absorbing the words, letting her presence fill cracks he thought would never heal.
But the moment was fragile because she felt it just as he did.Someone was watching.
She turned sharply. A shadow darted past the window.
Kael moved instantly swift, silent, deadly. He pushed Althea behind him and drew a blade from beneath the table, one she never even noticed was there.
A Nightveil scout crashed through the window, shattering glass across the lantern-lit room.
Kael lunged. The clash was fast, brutal. Sparks flew as steel met steel, Kael moving with predatory grace, every strike fueled by desperation.The scout fought viciously but Kael was quicker finally pinning him with the blade at his throat.
"Why send you?" Kael hissed. "Why now?"
The scout smiled, blood pooling beneath him.
"Because we don't need your choice anymore."
And then before Kael could react the scout dissolved into black mist, a signal flare of dark magic.
"They marked our location," Kael said, his jaw tightening. "They're coming."
Althea felt the emotions of hundreds surging across the city—cold, determined, merciless.
Kael grabbed her shoulders. "You need to leave. Now."
"No," she said fiercely. "We leave together."
He stared at her, something breaking inside him."You don't know what I've done," he whispered.And you don't know what I'm willing to do," she replied. "For you."The city vibrated with approaching danger.Kael pulled her into his arms, holding her as if for the last time.
"Then run with me," he said.
And they escaped into the night just as the city began to burn.