The blue kinetic blast didn't just clear the alley; it flattened the stone walls like they were made of parchment. Kaelen pulled Nyra behind a crumbling pillar as the Inquisitors' screams were swallowed by the roar of displaced air.
"You're insane," Kaelen coughed, waving away the glowing dust. "That was enough aether to level a city block."
Nyra didn't answer. She was staring at him, her violet eyes no longer playful. They were cold. She held a small, charred parchment she'd snatched from the lead Inquisitor's belt during the chaos.
"I found this," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper that felt heavier than the explosion.
The Shattered Hero
Kaelen reached for it, but she pulled back. "The official story, Kael... the one the Kingdom tells? They say you failed to protect the Princess. They say you were drunk on duty when the assassins struck."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. The scar running down his shoulder throbbed. "I was there. I fought. I failed. That's the end of it."
"No," Nyra stepped closer, the moonlight catching the jagged edge of the stolen parchment. "This is a royal ledger from the night of the attack. It says the 'assassins' were paid in Royal Gold. Your own King signed the order, Kael. He didn't want the Princess saved. He wanted her gone, and he needed a fall guy."
The world seemed to tilt. Kaelen's heart hammered against his ribs. The King—the man he had bled for—had orchestrated the massacre?
The Real Price
"Why are you telling me this now?" Kaelen's voice was a low, dangerous growl.
Nyra tucked the paper into her boot. "Because the Ember Heart doesn't just rewrite history, Kael. It records it. If we get that Heart, we don't just get rich. We get the proof. We can bring the whole High-Glass crashing down into the mud."
She leaned in, her smirk returning, though it didn't reach her eyes. "But there's a catch. The ledger also says who led the assassins that night. It wasn't some random mercenary."
She paused, the suspense thick enough to choke on.
"It was someone you trust. Someone who's waiting for us at the rendezvous point right now."
The Cliffhanger
A shadow moved at the end of the alley. A tall, hooded figure with a familiar silver-hilted rapier. Kaelen's old mentor. The man who had trained him.
"Is that him?" Nyra whispered, her hand drifting to her belt. "Or are we walking into another trap?"
TO BE CONTINUE