They were marched through dimly lit corridors, stone walls swallowing the echoes of their footsteps. Elira's mind churned, trying to guess what they had done to warrant this, but the knot in her stomach only tightened.
At the far end of the hall, a heavy door swung open. Inside stood Vaelis Crowndane, commander of the Third Battle Unit.
At first, his presence was composed—black coat trimmed with silver, eyes like polished obsidian.
"Release them," he said softly. The soldiers obeyed and stepped back.
"Do you know why you're here?" His tone was measured, almost cordial.
"We were just—" Mira began, but Vaelis raised a hand, silencing her.
"You," he said, fixing his gaze on Elira, "are far more interesting than you realize. The Forest of Dawn. The Library of the Dead. The old valley with black wells. The border village with the silent square." His mouth twitched. "You think I do not keep count?"
Kael frowned. "We didn't say—"
"—anything about wells, or the shrine," Mira finished, eyes narrowing.
Vaelis did not break rhythm. "Your locator holds a single code, fixed for two days. You chose not to call it in. You burned a note that read black wells with a cooking wick so small it barely scarred the dirt."
Kael's jaw set. "You've been following us."
"I always do," Vaelis said, as if explaining creek-water to a child. "I am responsible for what doesn't happen to you."
Elira's heart skipped. "What do you mean?"
Vaelis paced, each step deliberate. "Your father—the Hero—was easy to guide. Not with papers. With pressure." He tapped his temple. "An array. A tone. A net over his mind. I made duty louder than love. Loud enough to turn him against the demon queen… your mother."
Elira's breath caught; her fists trembled. "You're lying."
"Lying?" Vaelis chuckled, low at first, then louder. "No. I watched it. I directed it. I made him believe it was the only way. I made him watch her fall. I made him call it justice." His voice roughened, each word heavier than the last. "Do you know what despair does to a man? It eats him. Hollows him out. Until he—" He jabbed a finger toward his temple. "—ends it himself."
The room seemed to close in.
Mira's rings hummed, a thin bright sound. "Why are you telling us this?"
"Because sometimes truth kills those who don't have enough courage," Vaelis said, almost fond. "And because you three walk on old lines and pretend you drew them yourselves."
His eyes slid to Mira. "Your bloodline tried to braid elements that hate to share. Fire, water, ice. Fusion, you called it. I called it sedition. I wrote the charge. I lit the archive. Your parents died as 'warnings,' not as martyrs. That, too, was by design."
Mira didn't blink. The tendons stood sharp in her wrists.
Vaelis turned to Kael. "Your father wore a second skin the earth obeyed. A living armor. He would not bow to my order, so I gave him a stain he could not wash. Treason to the line. His name went into training books as a caution. The armor was swallowed by 'legend,' so a son would have to bleed to find it." He tilted his head. "You did bleed."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I stood."
"For now," Vaelis murmured.
He looked back to Elira. "Forest trails, sealed halls, dead dungeons that breathe again—you are not the first to try to stitch these paths together. But you are the first to carry both light and its answer." His gaze held on her a beat too long, as if he could see what she hid. "And that makes you useful."
Elira forced her voice to stay level. "Useful for what?"
"For order," he said simply. "In my reports. In the valleys. In the story that lets the rest of them sleep."
"You broke him," Elira said, the words dull and steady, as if iron could speak.
"I shaped the result," Vaelis answered. Calm returned to him like a mask. "And now I shape the next."
The door slammed open—more soldiers. "Commander, it's time."
Vaelis slipped the pendant back under the coat and straightened. "We will speak again," he said, eyes on Elira. "Little hero."
The soldiers closed in. Shackles touched wrists. Chains whispered. As they turned her toward the corridor, the last thing Elira saw was Vaelis's dark and unnerving grin.