*****HARPER
The courtyard was eerily quiet after the chaos. My breaths came in ragged pulls, the metallic tang of blood still heavy in my mouth. My blade, slick and warm in my hand, trembled—not from weakness, but from the frustration boiling in my chest.
The masked lady's absence was like a hole torn in the scene, one moment she was here, my blade at her throat, the next… gone. Swept away by that writhing black mist. I hadn't understood at first, not until I saw it—those tendrils of shadow curling unnaturally, the way the air had dropped in temperature, the low hum that seemed to vibrate in my bones. Vaelthor.
The realization had hit me like a cold wave long after the dark energy had vanished with her. And with it came rage. I'd been seconds—seconds—away from ending her. From making sure she could never threaten Elora again. And instead, I was standing here, useless, staring at an empty patch of ground where my victory had been stolen.
I slid my blade back into its sheath with more force than necessary, my jaw tight. The funeral was still going on in the distance, muffled voices and ceremonial music reaching me through the heavy air. None of them had seen what just happened. No one knew that another fight had been fought in the shadows while they mourned their beloved mayor.
A voice broke through my thoughts.
"You look like you've lost something important."
I stiffened immediately. That voice was too familiar, too calm. I turned slowly, every muscle tensing, and there he was—Kael. Or rather… the Gamekeeper. The man who had been both my enemy and my manipulator, hiding in plain sight. I'd known the truth for a while now, but seeing him here, in the flesh, was different.
He wasn't dressed in the sharp suit I'd seen him in at CODE's headquarters. Instead, he wore a dark coat that blended with the shade of the building, his eyes fixed on me with a faint, unreadable smile.
"You picked an interesting place to linger," he said, glancing toward the corner where Vaelthor had taken her. "Something… happen?"
I narrowed my eyes. "You know exactly what happened."
His smirk deepened, but he said nothing. That was Kael's way—always leaving just enough unsaid to make you question how much he really knew.
"What do you want?" I demanded. My hands curled into fists at my sides.
He took a step closer, his boots crunching on the gravel. "Just checking in. You've been… busy. More than I expected. But still—" his gaze flickered, sharp and assessing— "you hesitate at the wrong moments."
My chest tightened. "I didn't hesitate."
"No?" He tilted his head, like he was watching a particularly interesting scene in one of his simulations. "Then why is she still alive?"
The words stung because they were true. I clenched my teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
He stepped closer again, until there was barely a meter between us. "You're getting stronger, Harper. But strength without precision? That's just wasted potential."
I glared at him, my voice low. "Is that what you're here for? To criticize me while Vaelthor runs off with her?"
Kael's expression didn't change. "Vaelthor moves for his own reasons. You won't stop him unless you learn to read the game the way I do."
The way he said it—like the whole world was a board he could move pieces on—made my skin crawl.
"I'm not one of your pieces," I shot back.
His lips curved into something that might have been a smile, but it wasn't warm. "No, Harper. You're the piece that thinks it's the player and it looks like you'll need to join me now if we want to defeat them both ".
"I'll think about it ". I said.
And with that, he brushed past me, the faintest trace of cologne lingering in the air. By the time I turned to speak again, he was already walking toward the funeral crowd, disappearing into them like he'd never been here at all.
I stood there for a long moment, my pulse hammering in my ears. The fight was over, but the war… the war was only just getting started.
********
The air still felt heavy after Kael left, his words replaying over and over in my head. Vaelthor… helping the masked lady. The thought wouldn't leave me alone. I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, trying to piece it together.
Why would Vaelthor even want to help her? The masked lady was cruel, calculating, unpredictable—but she was also… small compared to him. If Vaelthor was half as dangerous as Kael made him out to be, then this alliance made no sense. Unless she had something he wanted. Or… unless he wanted me through her.
Kael's last sentence rang in my ears.
"It looks like you'll need to join me now if we're going to defeat them both."
Join him. Work directly under the Gamekeeper. I'd sworn to keep my distance, to do things my way, but this wasn't my world anymore—it was turning into theirs. And they were moving faster than I could.
I didn't answer him right away. Just gave the safest response I could manage: "I'll think about it."
Which was a lie. I wasn't just going to think about it. I was going to agonize over it.