Kael saw the siblings' tears shimmering in their eyes and gently shook his head.

  "Don't worry," he said softly. "This isn't goodbye. We’ll see each other again. I promise.”

  Elia studied his determined expression, then wiped her tears away and returned his confidence with a small, steady nod.

  Suddenly, Noah ran toward Astra and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Kael couldn’t help but smile at her stiff, unprepared posture.

  Noah looked up at her with wide, hopeful eyes. "Will you teach me how to fight like you when we meet again?"

  Astra regarded him thoughtfully at first, her expression unreadable. Then, she nodded briefly and gently loosened herself from his embrace. After glancing briefly at Kael, she walked to her belongings and secured her pack over her shoulders.

  Kael took one last look at the siblings before lifting his own pack and following Astra into the darkness.

  They moved through the fields toward the city, keeping low among the tall grass.

  Kael glanced at Astra sideways as they ran.

  "He seems to like you," he said lightly.

  She stiffened almost imperceptibly before letting out a quiet sigh.

  "I know you're teasing me," she replied, casting him a warning look before turning her gaze forward again. Her expression grew distant. "But I wish it weren't the case. I’m not good with children.”

  Kael sensed there was more beneath those words, but he didn't press the issue. This wasn’t the moment.

  They continued in silence, moving swiftly and carefully as the city grew larger before them. Unlike during their arrival, lights now burned in many windows, and distant voices carried through the night air.

  They had to circle through the fields several times to avoid patrols—guards marching with torches and sweeping the outskirts methodically. By the time they reached the edge of the city, the moon hung high and cold above them.

  They slipped behind a narrow house and pressed close to its outer wall.

  "So far, so good," Kael whispered as he peered around the corner. Several guards were dividing into smaller groups to continue their search. "We made it this far. What’s next?”

  Behind him, Astra scanned her surroundings before looking up.

  She tugged at his sleeve and pointed to the rooftops.

  He turned toward her, already knowing. “Seriously?”

  "There's no other way," she answered matter-of-factly. "We can't draw attention to ourselves here. We don't have time to keep dodging patrols in the streets. The guards were already close to the house. A little longer, and the siblings would have been found."

  She shot him a faintly amused look. "Try to keep up."

  With that, she leapt upward and caught the edge of the roof in near silence. In one smooth motion, she pulled herself up, swung her legs over, and disappeared onto the rooftop.

  "Show-off," Kael muttered under his breath before following. He hauled himself up beside her, and together, they crouched and overlooked the city.

  Without speaking, they exchanged a glance. Astra pointed toward the massive wall rising beyond the clustered houses.

  Then they moved.

  Bent low, they ran across the rooftop and leaped over a narrow gap to the next building, all the while keeping out of the guards’ lines of sight below. Roof after roof, they advanced—two shadows wrapped in black, barely visible beneath the dull silver of the moonlight.

  With every silent step across the rooftops, the wall grew closer until Kael finally spotted the gate on the opposite side of the building they were crouched upon. A wide, open square separated them from it, far too exposed for comfort.

  Kael and Astra lowered themselves flat against the tiles to avoid being seen by the guards stationed along the wall.

  "I count fourteen," he whispered, his voice tight.

  She nodded slightly.

  He exhaled slowly and turned toward her. "I didn't want to appear helpless in front of the siblings, but how are we supposed to handle that many at once? Individually, we’re stronger. But even you would struggle against that many.”

  Astra kept her gaze fixed on the wall, her eyes reflecting the pale moonlight.

  "Most of them are still searching the city and the surrounding fields," she replied quietly. "They would never assume that the killers of the guards would head north." Her lips curved faintly. "The ones left here are the weakest. The least trained.”

  She pointed toward the gate below. "We don't need to defeat them all. Our objective is the gate.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  She traced her finger upward to the structure above. "That room houses the lever mechanism. The wall was built to keep out beasts, not armies. The gate is sturdy, but the mechanism is simple.”

  She looked at him fully now.

  "I'll draw the guards away from the gate at ground level. You take the stairs up to the mechanism room and pull the lever. There should be three or four guards inside."

  Her expression shifted—subtle, but unmistakably worried.

  “Can you handle that?”

  Kael turned back toward the wall as unease settled in his stomach. "It should be possible if I use my ability—"

  "No."

  The word came sharp and immediate.

  He looked at her, startled.

  She exhaled, steadying herself. "You can't use it. The journey ahead will be brutal. We’ll need speed. You’re still recovering from last time.”

  "But—"

  She shook her head, her eyes softening and almost pleading. "Please. It isn't worth the torment that follows."

  Kael held her gaze for a long moment. He could see it now. This wasn’t strategy. It was fear for him.

  He looked away first.

  "Fine. I’ll try without it. But I won’t promise anything. If something goes wrong, or if you’re in danger, I’ll use it.”

  Astra gave him a tired smile and nodded.

  They slipped down from the roof and dropped into a narrow alley, pausing only a moment to steady themselves.

  "Well then," Astra whispered, her eyes igniting with focus. "Let's make this quick."

  They moved.

  Kael surged forward, his sword already drawn. He brought the flat of the blade down against the back of a guard’s helmet with a heavy crack. The man collapsed instantly.

  Another guard turned toward Kael, confusion crossing his face, then recognition. His mouth opened to shout.

  Before a sound could escape, Kael’s fist slammed upward beneath his chin. The guard crumpled.

  Beside him, Astra was faster.

  Three guards fell in rapid succession—no hesitation, no wasted motion. Precise thrusts. Direct to the heart.

  When their eyes met, Kael had to look away from the intensity burning in hers, but a flicker of irritation crossed her face when she noticed the men still breathing.

  He hadn’t killed.

  Not when he could have.

  When the second guard stood before him, unaware and vulnerable, something inside him refused.

  He didn’t understand it.

  But it unsettled him.

  He shook the thought aside.

  Not now.

  He sprinted toward the staircase as the clash of steel erupted behind him. Shouts echoed through the night as more guards realized what was happening.

  "We have to be fast!"

  He was halfway up when two guards burst out from the chamber above, the room that housed the lever, drawn by the noise.

  Kael didn’t hesitate.

  He charged straight at them. At the last second, he sidestepped the first guard, driving his shoulder into the man’s chest and shoving him over the edge of the stairs. The guard’s scream faded as his body tumbled downward.

  Kael turned to the second guard—

  —and faltered.

  The guard was younger than him. Barely more than a boy. His sword trembled in both his hands, and fear was plainly written across his face.

  "Move," Kael said coldly. "Step aside."

  The boy shook his head even harder, though his entire body quivered. His eyes shifted, the fear hardening into something else.

  "No," he said through clenched teeth. "I'll be the one to kill the murderer of my comrades."

  Kael saw it then. Real resolve beneath the terror.

  He closed his eyes for a moment.

  Then he moved.

  Their blades met with a sharp clang. Kael redirected the boy’s strike, stepped in close, hooked his leg behind the guard’s ankle, and drove him to the ground. In one fluid motion, he pressed the tip of his sword to the boy’s throat.

  The blade hovered just beneath the skin.

  “Last warning,” Kael said quietly. “Disappear.”

  For a moment, neither moved.

  Then, Kael withdrew his blade.

  He stepped past the boy, who lay frozen with a ragged breath, and continued up the stairs.

  As he climbed, he glanced quickly toward the square below.

  Astra still held control.

  She moved like flowing water between blades—precise, efficient, and lethal. Guards fell one after another beneath her short swords.

  But beyond her—

  Kael’s eyes shifted toward the city.

  Torches.

  Dozens of them.

  They were moving quickly toward the wall.

  He turned and ran the rest of the way, bursting into the mechanism room.

  Moonlight filtered through a narrow window, illuminating the dust and decay. The stench of alcohol lingered thick in the air. Empty bottles rolled beneath his boots as he crossed the room.

  He ignored it all.

  The lever stood against the far wall—large, iron, and heavy.

  Kael grabbed it without hesitation and pulled.

  A deep groaning sound reverberated through the structure. The entire room trembled as the gears began to turn.

  The gate was opening.

  Kael rushed back outside and descended the stairs two at a time.

  When he reached the bottom and looked beyond the open gate he froze.

  A bright mist rolled toward them from beyond the threshold.

  Dense. Luminous.

  It swallowed the path leading toward the mountains, obscuring everything. Only the jagged peaks in the far distance pierced the white veil.

  A scream tore him from his thoughts.

  He turned.

  Astra had just driven two short swords into the throat of the last guard standing. She ripped the blades free as the body collapsed at her feet.

  The torches from the city were closer now.

  The mist beyond the gate pulsed faintly.

  as if it were alive.

  She turned toward him, walking over with a cool and composed expression—though the bloodlust still flickered unmistakably in her eyes.

  "You did it," she said, almost approvingly. "Well done."

  Kael opened his mouth to respond.

  But he couldn't.

  An arrow cut through the air from the direction of the city.

  It was aimed straight at Astra’s back.

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. She stumbled into his chest. Her murderous gaze shifted instantly to confusion as she looked up at him, about to question him.

  The arrow struck the ground where she had just been standing.

  "Thank you," she murmured quietly.

  But Kael barely heard her.

  His eyes were locked on the advancing line of guards. Dozens of them. Bows raised. Arrows drawn. Others were rushing up the stairs to close the gate.

  "We have to move!" Kael shouted.

  Astra nodded.

  They sprinted toward the open gate.

  Kael hissed in pain when something slammed into his shoulder. The impact spun him slightly, and a shaft protruded from his right side.

  Astra gasped when another arrow buried itself in the back of her thigh.

  Neither of them stopped.

  They pushed forward through the storm of arrows, dodging what they could.

  Another arrow pierced Kael’s arm.

  A third drove into his leg.

  The sound of grinding gears echoed behind them.

  The gate was closing.

  Kael turned to Astra, about to signal that they would make it.

  —when he saw it in the corner of his eye.

  An arrow.

  Fast.

  Too fast.

  It was aimed directly at her back.

  Time narrowed into that single line of death.

  I have no choice, he thought.

  "Kronos."

  Fear gripped him as he reached for his ability, but he didn’t hesitate.

  He would protect her.

  He had to.

  But this time...nothing happened.

  The world did not freeze.

  The air did not fracture.

  The arrow did not slow down.

  Kael could only watch in horror as the arrow continued its deadly path.

  Then a deafening roar shattered the night.

  The ground exploded beneath their feet.

  A force like a collapsing sky hurled Kael backward.

  The gate, the wall...everything burst apart in a thunderous eruption of stone and fire.