ANMELDENKAELGreyhaven was quieter than Blackridge.The villages were smaller, the roads less crowded, and the people paid little attention to passing travelers. That worked in my favor. I wore ordinary clothes instead of my Alpha cloak, and Darius and I avoided the main patrol routes whenever possible. If anyone recognized me before I understood who could be trusted, the search would end before it truly began.Every clue pointed in the same direction.The woman traveling as Eira Vale.The old route hidden in Liora's embroidered map.The investigation Ronan Ashford had quietly built over the years.Three separate trails had become one.By midday we reached a mountain crossroads where three narrow roads met beside a small trading post. Merchants rested their horses there before continuing through the hills. I showed the innkeeper the copied register page carrying the name Eira Vale.His eyes narrowed as he studied it."I've seen that name."My heart quickened, though I kept my voice calm."Whe
ELARAThe attack happened before sunrise.One of Ronan's investigators arrived at Greyhaven's eastern gate barely able to remain on his horse. His clothes were stained with blood, and a deep cut ran across his shoulder. Two guards caught him before he fell, carrying him straight to the healer's quarters.By the time Ronan and I arrived, Tessa was already treating him."He'll live," she said, wrapping a fresh bandage around the wound. "The blade missed anything vital."The investigator opened his eyes as Ronan stepped closer."They knew," he whispered.Ronan knelt beside him."Who knew?""The meeting place... the records... everything."His breathing became uneven."I never reached the contact.""What happened?""There were four of them."He swallowed painfully before continuing."They didn't ask for money. They didn't ask about Greyhaven.""What did they ask?"The man's eyes shifted toward me."They asked where you kept... the woman."Silence settled over the room.They were no longer
KAELThe border records confirmed what my heart had begun to believe.Elara had not died in the northern estate.She had crossed beyond Blackridge.I arrived at the northern checkpoint just after sunrise with only Darius beside me. The guards believed I was reviewing security after the recent attacks near the border. No one questioned my visit. That was exactly how I wanted it. If word reached the council too soon, every trail I followed might disappear before I reached it.The checkpoint commander welcomed us into his office and laid several travel registers across the table."We've already searched these once, Alpha.""I know," I replied. "We're looking for something different now."He stepped aside while I examined the records. Most names meant nothing to me. Traders, healers, messengers, and travelers crossed the border every week. Then I noticed a familiar entry.Eira Vale.The name appeared only once.No destination.No family details.Only a note that the traveler required medi
ELARA The abandoned archive stood exactly where my mother's embroidered map had led us. Time had not been kind to the building. Half the roof had collapsed, ivy climbed across the stone walls, and broken windows allowed the cold mountain wind to sweep through empty halls. From the outside, it looked forgotten. I no longer believed forgotten places truly existed. Ronan studied the entrance before pushing the heavy wooden door open. Fresh scratches marked the lock, confirming what the scout had reported. "We're not the first visitors." "No," I replied. "We're only the latest." Dust covered the floor, but not evenly. Someone had walked through the entrance within the past week. The footprints were blurred by wind and loose dirt, leaving no clear trail to follow. The archive contained only three rooms. The first held broken shelves and damaged ledgers that had rotted with age. The second looked like an office, though its furniture had been overturned long ago. The third roo
KAELThe more I uncovered, the less I trusted the records inside Blackridge.At first, I believed the mistakes surrounding Elara's trial were isolated. Then I discovered the altered security report, the missing guard payments, the manipulated paternity test, and the hidden passage beneath the northern estate. Every investigation led me back to the same invisible hand. Someone had been changing records for years, and they understood the council's system well enough to make those changes look ordinary.That was why I ordered a complete inspection of the council archive.Officially, it was part of a review of old administrative procedures. Only Darius knew the real reason. I wanted to see who became uncomfortable when old files were opened again.The inspection began shortly after sunrise. Clerks moved between tall shelves carrying ledgers while archive keepers compared records against the master catalogue. Everything appeared calm, but I noticed several nervous glances whenever my offic
ELARAI could not stop thinking about the empty compartment in the safe house.Whoever reached it before us had known exactly what to take. They had ignored food, blankets, money, and supplies. Only the records mattered. Every step they took told the same story.They were not searching.They were erasing.The next morning, Ronan entered the archive carrying a small wooden box covered in dust."A scout found this beneath the floor of the safe house," he said. "It must have been overlooked."He placed it carefully on the table.The box was plain and worn by age. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an old sewing kit. Inside were several needles, faded thread, and a folded piece of cloth."That's all?" I asked."So I thought."I unfolded the cloth slowly.It was a small piece of embroidery. Blue thread formed rolling hills beneath a silver moon. Tiny flowers lined one edge, and a narrow river crossed the middle.It looked ordinary.Almost too ordinary."My mother used to sew







