Nova walked with calm purpose, his senses stretched thin across the path Rin had described.
The outer ring of the imperial palace was quiet—too quiet for a city known to house nearly ten thousand attendants and enforcers.
But he didn't let the unease slow him down. He walked like someone who belonged.
Still, despite everything, something tugged at his attention. A rhythm in the air. A presence.
She was following him.
He slowed slightly, letting his footsteps fall softer against the stone path.
The ornate walls of the palace blurred at the edges of his vision as his focus shifted behind him. No sound. No movement. And yet…
He could feel her.
Rin.
Nova pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and continued onward, weaving through a cluster of trimmed hedges and ducking through a decorative gate.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he let his aether wash behind him like a net—and there she was.
