LOGINAshbourneThe pressure gauge steadied at exactly where it needed to be.I adjusted the valve on the Luna’s Breath chamber before stepping back from the glass tank, watching silver vapor coil slowly through the reinforced container like living smoke. The laboratory lights reflected faintly across the surface while the filtration systems hummed softly around me.At least something in this world still obeyed reason.I removed my gloves carefully and placed them beside the microscope station before reviewing the latest extraction readings scrolling across the holographic display. The numbers were lower than I preferred, but still usable. Redward’s soil had always produced the purest concentration before the continent lost access to it nineteen years ago.A disappointing waste of potential.“Sir… the stabilization curve is holding, but the containment pressure…”“It’s inefficient.”The interruption came before the young researcher could finish. He froze instantly beside the secondary conso
Lyra“No way.”The words tore out of me before I could stop them.Kael straightened immediately beside me, concern flashing across his face. “What’s wrong?”My pulse hammered violently against my ribs as Kyra’s words echoed through my head again and again.I looked at Kael, but it felt as though the world around me had suddenly shifted off balance.“What if Kyra’s right?” My voice came out thinner than I intended. “What if Silver-mist really came from my mother?”The thought alone made my stomach twist, memories I had tried not to touch came rushing back all at once. My parents had gone back to Redward that night, but they never returned.A violent rumble split through Ashland, rattling the warehouse walls as distant voices rose in confusion across the settlement.Kael and I shot to our feet immediately.“What’s happening?” I asked, looking around sharply.“I don’t know.”Another tremor rolled through the ground before Kyra’s voice suddenly cut through my thoughts.‘Look to your righ
LyraWe returned to Ashland in silence.The world blurred around me as Kael pulled me forward through the yard, his hand wrapped tightly around mine whenever my steps threatened to give out beneath me. Everything inside me still felt numb, hollowed out by shock so deep it barely seemed real yet. I tried not to picture Jaxen being dragged away while I stood helpless miles away, unable to do anything at all. I should never have let him come.The thought repeated endlessly inside my mind like punishment.This was my fault.And worse than that, I had blamed Kael when he had clearly fought to protect him. I only needed to look at the restraint still hanging from his wrist, at the bruises darkening his hand where metal had bitten into skin, to know he had tried. Kael would tear the world apart before willingly abandoning someone he cared about.The moment we crossed into the yard, movement stirred around us.Elsa reached us first, relief already beginning to brighten her face before it va
KaelI stood beneath the shadow of the buildings across from High Spire, my gaze locked on the heavy iron doors Jaxen had disappeared through nearly twenty minutes ago.Twenty minutes was nineteen minutes too long for a 'quick look.'Rain lingered in the air without falling, the clouds overhead swollen and dark enough to swallow the last traces of evening light.Warden’s Pass carried on around me as though nothing was wrong, merchants dragging carts through crowded streets while distant train rails screamed against metal somewhere deeper in the city. But beneath all of it, another scent had started bleeding into the air.Iron. Smoke. Victor Ashbourne’s guards.He was here.My hand drifted toward the blade resting against my hip while my wolf paced violently beneath my skin, restless enough to claw its way free if I let it.“Don’t do anything stupid, Jaxen,” I muttered under my breath.The words felt hollow the second they left me. Because the truth was, I should never have let him go
Wardcrest Warden’s Pass never truly rested.Neither did I.I sat behind the massive steel-lined desk in my office while my assistant moved steadily through the schedule for the day, his voice blending with the distant hum of the city beyond the glass walls.“Midday inspection with the western transit division,” he continued while scrolling through the holographic panel in his hands. “Followed by council correspondence from Blackmere and…” He paused briefly.“A requested meeting from Alpha Victor Ashbourne.”The words settled heavily into the room. My expression didn’t change, but something inside me tightened instantly.Of course Victor was requesting a meeting. At the very least, he already suspected enough.“Cancel it,” I said flatly.My assistant blinked once, clearly caught off guard. “Sir?”“You heard me.”There was a brief hesitation before he nodded stiffly and continued through the rest of the schedule, though I barely listened after that. By the time he finally left the off
JaxenI really need to stop hanging around people who could flip cars with their minds. It is terrible for my blood pressure.Kael and I moved through the crowded streets of Warden’s Pass beneath the towering stone arches of the outer district. The city swallowed sound differently than Ashland did. Everything here echoed—wheels grinding against cobblestone, merchants shouting over each other, guards barking orders somewhere near the checkpoint gates.Kael walked a step ahead of me, calm as ever, his hood shadowing most of his face while I adjusted the strap of my pack for what had to be the hundredth time that morning.“You’re twitching again,” Kael muttered without looking at me.“I’m not twitching,” I whispered back immediately.“You checked your pocket four times in the last minute.”“That’s called caution.”“That’s called panic.”I clicked my tongue under my breath, but my hand still drifted instinctively toward the inside pocket of my vest anyway, fingers brushing against the s
LyraElsa stood before me, hands folded lightly, her gaze steady. “Eleven… no, seventeen years,” she corrected softly, almost to herself. “Before any of your… friends arrived. Before anyone thought to make this place anything more than what it was.”Kyra’s voice broke in, gentle but teasing. “Thin
Unknown Victor’s voice cut through the room like a blade dragged across stone.“Who?” he demanded. “Who dared use my pass?”I didn’t look at him immediately.The Operations Chamber was designed for control—low ceilings reinforced with alloy ribs, walls layered with screens that pulsed faintly with
LyraMurmurs rippled through the training grounds long before the first strike was thrown.They moved like a living thing—soft at first, curious, then swelling as soldiers noticed who stood at the center of the field. Weapons were lowered. Sharpening stones paused mid-stroke. Conversations thinned
LyraWe didn’t leave the yard.Not really.Our bodies stayed there but our minds were already somewhere else, stretching toward a city that shouldn’t exist and somehow did.Kael was the first to move.He crossed to the low table near the perimeter wall, shoving aside a crate of spare parts to clear







