Davian's POV
The ground rushes toward us so fast I can taste my own death.
Kiera's wings beat frantically but the void energy has weakened them. We're going to hit the garden stones hard enough to shatter bones.
Then Elena's silver light wraps around us like invisible hands, and we slow. My stomach lurches as we hover ten feet above the ground.
"I've got you!" Elena shouts from her balcony. "But not for long!"
Her small body shakes with effort. Blood trickles from her nose.
"Let us down!" I yell. "You're hurting yourself!"
Elena releases us. We drop the final distance and I hit the ground rolling, pulling Kiera with me. We scramble behind a hedge as guards pour out of the estate's doors.
"Find them!" someone barks. "Lord Silvercrest wants the girl alive, but shoot the boy if he resists!"
Kiera grabs my hand and yanks me into a run. We sprint through the gardens toward the outer wall. Purple void energy crackles overhead where the estate's protective barrier used to be.
"Your father sabotaged his own security," Kiera pants. "Why?"
"To make it look like your mother did it." The pieces click together in my mind. "He needed an excuse to arrest her. To control you."
We reach the wall. It's twelve feet high, smooth stone.
"Climb," Kiera orders.
"I don't have wings—"
She cups her hands. "Foot. Now."
I step into her hands and she boosts me up with shocking strength. My fingers scrape the top of the wall. I pull myself over and reach down for her.
Kiera spreads her wings to fly up—then cries out.
The void energy has left dark veins spreading across her feathers. When she tries to flap, her wings spasm painfully.
"Kiera!" I lean farther down. "Grab my hand!"
She jumps. Our fingers brush. Miss.
Guards round the corner behind her.
She jumps again. This time I catch her wrist and haul her up with every bit of strength I have. We tumble over the wall together and land hard on the other side.
A busy street stretches before us. Normal people going about their evening, unaware that the Southern Quarter just fell into the void. Unaware that thousands died while they bought groceries.
"Act normal," Kiera hisses, straightening her jacket to hide her damaged wings.
We walk quickly down the street. My heart hammers against my ribs.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"Your mother's study. You said you know where the key is."
"It's in Father's private office. Which is back at the estate we just escaped from."
Kiera stops walking. Turns to face me. "You're telling me we risked our lives to get out, and now we need to go back in?"
"Unless you have a better idea for finding the real ritual information—"
An explosion cuts me off. We both whip around.
The Western Quarter's Skyheart—a massive crystal tower visible from anywhere in the city—flickers. Goes dark. Then explodes in a shower of purple void energy.
Buildings in that district immediately start to tilt.
"No," Kiera breathes. "Not again. Not more people—"
She spreads her wings to fly toward it. I grab her arm.
"You can't! The void poisoning already hurt you. If you fly into that—"
"People are dying!"
"And you'll die with them!" I shake her. "We need the ritual information. That's the only way to actually stop this. Saving a few people now versus saving everyone later—"
She rips her arm free. "Don't you dare lecture me about acceptable losses. Those are real people. They have families. Friends. They matter."
"I know that!" My voice cracks. "You think I don't know? My mother's buried in the Western Quarter cemetery. Her grave just fell into the void along with everything else!"
The words hang between us.
Kiera's expression softens. "Davian—"
"My father murdered her because she discovered what he was planning. Then he had her buried in the district he was going to destroy anyway." Bitter laughter escapes me. "Even in death, she was just another acceptable loss to him."
Kiera reaches for my hand. Stops herself. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Help me stop him." I meet her eyes. "Please."
She looks back at the Western Quarter. More buildings slide into darkness. Screams echo across the city even from this distance.
"We have six hours until your father forces the ritual," she says quietly. "How long to get into his office, find the key, reach your mother's study, and figure out how to reverse the ritual?"
"Four hours. Maybe five if we're lucky."
"That's cutting it close."
"Everything about this situation is cutting it close."
A small smile crosses her face. "At least you're honest about it." She starts walking. "Come on. We need supplies first."
"Supplies?"
"Breaking into your father's office won't be easy. We'll need tools. Possibly weapons. Definitely rope." She glances at me. "You ever picked a lock before?"
"No."
"Figures. Bet you've never even stolen anything."
"I'm a neurosurgeon and atmospheric researcher, not a criminal."
"Well, today you're both." Kiera leads me down a side street into the Veils district. "There's a shop here that sells to rebels. Owner's a friend."
The shop is squeezed between a bakery and a tailor. The sign reads "Nightwind Supplies."
"Wait," I say. "Nightwind? As in Sera Nightwind?"
"Her uncle." Kiera pushes open the door.
Inside, shelves overflow with everything from climbing gear to communication crystals. A grizzled man with wings similar to Sera's looks up from behind the counter.
His eyes widen when he sees Kiera. "Sky and stars, girl. Heard you got dragged into some aristocrat nonsense."
"That's one way to put it." Kiera moves to a shelf and starts grabbing items. "I need lockpicks, rope, two smoke bombs, and your best void-dampening charm."
"Planning something stupid?"
"Extremely stupid. How's Sera?"
The man's face darkens. "Wish I knew. Haven't seen her in three days. She was supposed to check in."
Kiera's hands still on the rope. "What do you mean you haven't seen her?"
"She missed our weekly dinner. Won't answer her comm crystal. I went to her apartment—place was torn up. Signs of a struggle."
My stomach drops. "Lord Silvercrest," I say quietly. "He told your mother he has Sera in a private detention facility. He's using her as leverage."
Kiera rounds on me. "You knew?"
"I just found out in the study! Right before we escaped—"
"And you didn't think to mention it?"
"There hasn't exactly been time!"
"There's always time to tell me my best friend is being held hostage!" Kiera's voice rises. "What else haven't you told me?"
"Nothing! I swear—"
"Your father mentioned something else." Her eyes narrow. "A trigger. An explosive he planted in Sera's cell. He said if your mother didn't surrender, he'd activate it."
The shop owner slams both hands on the counter. "An explosive? You're telling me my niece has a bomb—"
"We'll get her out," Kiera cuts him off. "I promise."
"How? You don't even know where this detention facility is!"
"Actually," I say slowly, "I might."
They both turn to me.
"My father has three private facilities. One in each quarter. The Western one just fell, so that's out. The Southern is compromised by void energy. That leaves the Eastern facility." I pull out my tablet and bring up building schematics. "Here. Underground complex. Maximum security."
Kiera studies the screen. "Guards?"
"Dozens. Plus automated defenses."
"Getting in will be suicide."
"Getting in alone would be suicide," I correct. "But if we had someone on the inside who could disable the security systems—"
"You can do that?"
"My father gave me emergency override codes years ago. In case something happened to him." I scroll through the tablet's encrypted files. "I never deleted them."
Kiera's uncle crosses his arms. "And you expect me to believe some aristocrat actually wants to help?"
"I don't care what you believe," I say flatly. "But your niece has maybe six hours before my father either kills her or uses her in a ritual that will destroy the entire city. Your choice whether to trust me or not."
He studies my face for a long moment. Then nods. "Kiera trusts you enough to keep you alive. That's worth something." He starts pulling items off shelves. "Take these. On the house."
"We can't—"
"You save Sera, we're even."
Kiera loads the supplies into a pack. "We need to split up," she says. "You go to the Eastern facility. Get Sera out. I'll break into your father's office and find the key to your mother's study."
"Alone? That's—"
"The only way we have time for both." She hands me a smoke bomb and a void-dampening charm. "The facility will have comm crystal jammers. Once you're inside, I won't be able to reach you. You'll be on your own."
"So will you."
"I've been on my own before."
Something about the way she says it breaks my heart.
"Kiera." I catch her hand. "What I said earlier, about my research—"
"Save it." She pulls away. "Actions matter more than words. You want me to believe you didn't mean to hurt Windborn people? Prove it. Save Sera."
"And you?"
"I'm going to find out exactly what your father's planning. Then I'm going to destroy him." Her eyes flash with determination. "One way or another, this ends tonight."
We leave the shop and split up at the corner. I head east. Kiera heads west.
I'm halfway to the facility when my tablet buzzes.
A message from an unknown contact: "Dr. Silvercrest. We need to talk about your father. About your mother. About what really happened twenty years ago. Meet me at the Old Archives. Come alone. You have one hour. —Dr. Elias Vane"
My mother's old research partner. The one person who might know the truth.
But Sera needs me. The facility rescue can't wait.
My tablet buzzes again.
Another message, this one with an attached image.
It's my mother's research notes. Pages I've never seen before. And at the top of the first page, in her handwriting: "The Void Speaker's true identity—"
The rest is cut off by the image border.
My hands shake.
Everything I've wanted to know. Everything that could explain why my father became a monster. Why my mother died. Why any of this happened.
One hour to meet Vane. Or rescue Sera now and possibly never learn the truth.
I look east toward the detention facility. Then west toward the Old Archives.
And I realize with sinking certainty that no matter what I choose, I'm going to betray someone I care about.
The tablet buzzes one final time.
A third message, no sender information: "Choose wisely, Davian. Your next decision determines who lives and who dies. And I'll be watching. —The Void Speaker"