CHAPTER 40

“You were there too.”

The words hung in the air, heavy, deliberate. No one moved at first. Kael didn’t speak. He didn’t flinch, didn’t deny it, didn’t react the way Vera expected. Somehow, that silence was worse than any argument, any denial, any lie. Because this silence wasn’t confusion. It wasn’t hesitation. It was confirmation. Vera’s chest rose slowly as her eyes locked onto his face, searching for something deeper than the calm he wore like armor.

“You’re not saying anything,” she said quietly, voice tight, fragile even.

Kael’s jaw tightened. Still nothing. That was all she needed. Her fingers curled slightly at her sides, an instinctive shield against the shock. “So… it’s true.”

“Yes.” The word came low, controlled, but it landed like a hammer. Vera blinked. Once. Twice. Her mind scrambled, trying to catch up to what her body already knew.

“No…” she shook her head slowly. “No, that doesn’t make sense.”

He didn’t argue. He didn’t need to. He just watched her, patient, steady, like he’d been waiting for her to reach the truth herself. She stepped back. Another. Her voice caught in her throat. “I don’t understand. You’re saying… you were there too? In that place?”

Still calm. Still steady.

“Yes.”

The room seemed smaller suddenly. Heavier. Aaron shifted in his seat, eyes moving between them before he finally spoke.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Vera turned sharply toward him. “What?”

Aaron leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, his tone precise. “The people who took you… the ones you escaped from—they’re not just some random group.”

Vera frowned. “I never said they were.”

“They’re not,” Aaron said. “They’re the same people.”

Her brows knitted. “Same as what?”

Aaron glanced at Kael, then back to her. “The same people who took him.”

Silence settled again, thicker this time, heavier. Vera’s gaze snapped back to Kael, seeking confirmation in his calm expression. “You’re serious?”

No one laughed. No one corrected it. Lucian leaned back slightly, eyes sharp, unreadable as ever, watching everything unfold.

Aaron continued. “The symbol,” he said. “The one I showed you earlier. The three slashes.”

Vera’s hand moved instinctively toward her side. Not touching, just hovering. Aaron noticed.

“That mark isn’t random,” he said. “It’s not just a scar.”

Her throat went dry. “What is it then?”

Kael stepped closer, voice low. “It’s a mark. They gave us.”

Her heart skipped. “Us?”

“The ones who survived,” he said, holding her gaze. Those words landed heavier than anything before. Vera’s fingers pressed lightly against her ribs, tracing a line she had known for years without understanding its meaning.

“That doesn’t…” she whispered. “No. I’ve had this for years. I thought it was just—”

“It’s not just anything,” Aaron cut in. “It’s a system. They mark the ones who last. The ones who don’t break immediately.”

Her breathing slowed. Memories and fragments rattled through her mind. Things she had blocked, things she hadn’t noticed.

Kael didn’t move at first. For a heartbeat, it seemed he might walk away from the moment entirely. But he didn’t. Slowly, deliberately, his hand lifted. His shirt shifted. Vera’s eyes followed without thought, drawn forward by something she couldn’t name. And then she saw it.

The mark. Three slashes. Not identical in placement, but identical in meaning. Her breath caught. Her eyes widened.

“No…” It came out soft, tentative. She stepped closer without realizing it, gaze bouncing between his chest and her own. The lines, the history, the memory—it was the same.

“You have it too.”

Kael said nothing. He didn’t need to. The evidence was enough. Her fingers pressed against her own side, tracing the scar again, finally understanding.

“How…” Her voice dropped. No one answered immediately. There was no simple way to explain it.

Aaron leaned back. “When your father went after them,” he said, addressing Kael, “he didn’t get everyone.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“We thought he did,” Aaron continued. “We all did.”

Lucian’s voice, quieter than usual, punctuated the room. “But he didn’t.”

Aaron nodded. “Some escaped. And if they escaped…” His gaze shifted to Vera. “They didn’t stop.”

Vera’s stomach twisted. “They kept going.” The weight of those words settled deep in the room. “They kept going,” she repeated, voice quieter now, almost to herself. “I remember…”

Her brows knitted. “There was a room.”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of room?”

Vera swallowed. “Red.” Silence followed. Lucian shifted. Aaron leaned forward.

“Red room?”

She nodded slowly. “They put me there once.”

Kael didn’t move, but his attention sharpened. “That’s not just any room,” Aaron muttered.

Vera’s voice dropped. “It was punishment.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “For what?”

Aaron asked gently. Vera hesitated. “We weren’t allowed to help each other. If someone fell… you kept moving. If you didn’t…” Her eyes dropped. Silence said enough.

“They made an example out of you,” Kael said. Her eyes snapped up. “How do you know that?”

Her chest tightened. “There was a line. We had to reach it.”

“Someone fell,” Kael said. Fingers twitched. “He couldn’t stand. They told us to leave him.”

Vera’s throat constricted. “I…”

“You didn’t,” Kael finished. Words landed like blows. She shook her head weakly. “I just—”

“You went back,” he said. Silence. “You ran to him.”

Her voice dropped. “He couldn’t move…”

Kael didn’t blink. “You covered him. You pulled him up. You crossed the line with him.”

The memory snapped into place. Vera inhaled sharply. “Yes…”

Kael closed the distance. “Turn.”

Her brows pulled together. “What?”

“Turn.” The tone brooked no argument. She hesitated, then slowly obeyed, back to him. He stepped closer, hand firm, controlled, pressing her lightly until her back met the wall. Vera’s breath hitched.

“Kael—”

“Stay still.” His fingers caught the edge of her shirt, lifting it just enough. His eyes locked on the scar immediately.

“This,” he said quietly, “is what they did to you. For saving me.”

Silence pressed in. Vera’s eyes widened. “Saving… you?”

He didn’t move. Her mind raced. “Wait… you’re saying—”

He stepped back slightly. “You were the one,” realization dawning fully now. “You were the boy.”

Kael held her gaze. “Yes.”

The room shrank around them. “You’re the one I—”

“Saved,” he finished. Her chest tightened. “And this,” he nodded toward her back, “was what they gave you for it.”

Vera swallowed, fingers pressing against the mark. “They dragged you… in front of everyone?”

Kael’s eyes never wavered. “So no one else would try.”

“Then they took you away,” he added. “Down. Below the others.”

“Yes…” she whispered. “They locked me there… deeper.”

Aaron watched closely. Lucian remained silent.

Silence returned. Then Vera spoke, hesitant. “I heard noise… upstairs. Shouting. Fighting.”

“That was us,” Kael said. “My father came.”

Her breathing picked up. “I didn’t see you.”

“I looked for you,” he added. The weight of those words landed heavier than any memory.

Vera whispered.. “They came back. Fast. Angry. They moved us… me and some others.”

“To where?” Lucian asked.

Vera paused. “A tunnel. Everything was rushed.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“They were escaping,” Aaron said quietly.

“Yes,” Vera’s voice steadied. “They didn’t lose everything. They took what they could.”

“And you were part of that,” Lucian added.

Kael stepped closer. “You were taken a second time because u saved me

“i...i...guess” she whispered.

“You saved me,” he said, voice low.

And you saved me too, Vera replied