The infirmary was dim and still.
Ajax stirred, breath rattling against the stiffness in his chest. His ribs burned with each inhale, and his arms felt like they'd been dragging boulders through broken glass. Light crept in from a small, rune-traced window, illuminating the soft golden glow of incense swirling above his bed.
He blinked into focus.
Smooth stone walls. Silence. The clean scent of pure mana drifting in the breeze.
Across the room, Reva sat in a chair, one arm wrapped in clean bandages, her shoulder angled awkwardly in a sling. A half-empty bowl of broth sat cooling at her feet. When she noticed him, she sat up straighter.
"You're awake," she murmured.
"You're alive," Ajax rasped back.
A small grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You were out cold for days. You snore."
"I don't snore," he muttered.
"You do when you've taken a force spell to the lungs."
He pushed himself up slightly with a wince. "How long was I out?"
"Three days. After the attack, guards from the fortress escorted us the rest of the way back. You've been under ever since."
"And the others?"
"Safe. The prisoners were debriefed. Housed. No one died."
A pause.
"And the girl?"
Reva looked away. "She's gone. She left with him."
Ajax's jaw tightened.
He sat in silence for a moment, flexing his fingers. "Before he showed up… she touched me."
"I saw," Reva said quietly.
"I think that was the point of all this. The rescue, the delay, everything. She needed to see something. And to do that, she had to touch me."
Reva tilted her head. "Did it work?"
Ajax's eyes unfocused. "She saw something I didn't understand. A glimpse of what's coming. For me."
Reva gave a thoughtful nod but didn't speak.
He glanced at her. "You surprised me in that fight, you know."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah." He grinned faintly. "You lit your blade with mana like it was nothing."
Reva smirked. "What—this?"
She raised her good hand, palm up. A flicker of orange light blossomed in her palm—pale and fluid, curling into an elegant ribbon of fire. Spiral magic. Not borrowed, not erratic—hers. She twirled her fingers, guiding the energy through the air in slow arcs before snuffing it out with a soft breath.
Ajax blinked, then gave a small nod. "You've grown, Eva."
"Did I give you permission to call me that? I don't think I did," she said with a smirk—but something behind her eyes was tight, distant.
Ajax leaned back against the pillows. "You're avoiding something. Aren't you?"
She looked away.
"I've seen you dodge arrows, Reva, but you're terrible at dodging questions."
That made her laugh, briefly—but it didn't last.
Then she drew in a long breath through her nose. "I remember her now."
Ajax's expression stilled.
"Kaeli," Reva said. "She's not just some girl I saved. She's my sister."
Ajax didn't respond right away. The air between them hung heavy.
"We were together when it happened," Reva continued. "When our home was attacked. She pulled me under the floorboards, covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream. I remember her eyes—how calm they looked even when everything was burning."
She sat forward, elbows on her knees. Her voice dropped lower. "She told me things. Not in stories. Just… soft things. Warnings. Places that didn't exist yet. People we hadn't met. She said one day I'd forget her, and I laughed at her for it."
Her fingers trembled, just slightly.
"She was right, Ajax. I forgot about my own sister." Her voice cracked. "And now she's gone again."
Ajax leaned back, the clean magic humming around him in slow pulses. He didn't interrupt.
Reva continued, quieter now. "Karian found us. Or maybe he was tracking the people who destroyed the village—I don't know. He pulled me out. She stayed. And then everything… faded."
"He erased her."
She nodded. "He must have. At the time, I didn't even feel the loss. That's what scares me the most."
Ajax was silent. Then he asked, "Do you think she blames you?"
Reva didn't answer.
"Her power… it's not a gift," she said at last. "It's a curse. She knew we would meet again, she'd always known, and yet, when we did—she left. On her own free will."
_____
The upper floor of the Valern Tribunal was deathly quiet.
Seven seats stood atop the stone dais, each filled by a member of the Tribunal—magistrates of war, magic, and memory. No banners. No flourishes. Just cold judgment and colder stone.
Ajax and Reva stood side by side on the polished floor, armor clean but eyes still shadowed.
Delastra, the High Elder, leaned forward. "You may begin."
Reva stepped forward first, recounting everything—Kaeli's behavior, the girl's cryptic words, the moment she touched Ajax, and the Veil operative's sudden arrival. Ajax followed, describing the battle in clean, focused detail: the man's speed, his conjuration of red lightning, his fighting style.
And then Ajax said it plainly.
"Before he left, he mentioned a name. Cassian. Cassian Myrelis. My father."
That silenced the room.
"I knew my father taught me magic," Ajax said. "He raised me, taught me how to cast, how to see mana. He trained me in the sword and forms no one else seems to know. I always thought… maybe he was just a hermit. A hidden master."
"But the Veil knows him," Delastra said.
Ajax nodded. "Raycrozma didn't ask who he was. He knew."
Delastra turned toward the side of the chamber where Karian stood silently, arms folded within his robe.
"Karian," she said, voice clipped. "You were the one who brought both of these operatives to us. Is there anything you'd like to add?"
Karian remained still for a long moment.
"No," he said at last.
"You knew the girl," Delastra said.
Karian's voice was quiet. "I knew who she was. And I knew what Reva would suffer if she remembered."
"You erased her," Reva said, voice cold. "Without asking. You stole my memories of my family from me."
Karian met her eyes for the first time in days. His voice didn't rise, but something in it faltered. "I saved your life."
"You left Kaeli to die," Reva snapped, stepping forward. "You left her."
Karian's jaw clenched. But he said nothing.
Delastra raised a hand. "Enough. The Tribunal will deliberate further. Until then, both of you are dismissed."
Ajax gave a short nod. Reva didn't bow. She turned and walked away without a word.
Karian did not watch her go.
The night sky above the capital was clear, its moon hanging low and pale like a memory. From the balcony of the scout tower, Ajax stood alone, cloak drawn tight across his shoulders. The wind felt sharper here—cleaner, colder. His hands rested on the carved railing, fingers flexing occasionally as if testing for magic still lingering in his bloodstream.
Footsteps behind him.
He didn't turn, but he knew it was Reva.
She stood beside him silently for a moment before speaking.
"I went to the Archives."
Ajax glanced over. "And?"
"No record of Cassian Myrelis. No exile. No Tribunal censure. No promotion. Nothing."
Ajax frowned. "Then where did he come from?"
Reva shrugged. "The only thing I know is… Raycrozma respected the name."
They stood in silence. The wind curled between the towers, lifting strands of Reva's hair.
"What do we do now?" she asked.
Ajax's voice came quiet but steady. "Train. Train like we always have."
He looked out at the horizon, jaw set.
"Next time they come for us we'll be strong enough to get answers."