Night came too soon. The castle lanterns burned brighter than usual, stretching long shadows across the stone walls as if something was hiding inside them. Servants moved quietly, soldiers worked with more tension in their shoulders, and even the air felt heavier.
Kael felt all of it.
He stood on the balcony outside his assigned room, staring at the moonlit courtyard. His thoughts weren't calm or steady. They were sharp, restless, refusing to settle.
The symbol they found earlier…
It wasn't just a message.
It was a reminder.
Someone from his past — someone dangerous — was close.
Kael's fingers tapped the stone rail lightly. He wasn't worried for himself. He was worried for what this meant for the mission, for the kingdom.
His thoughts stopped the moment he sensed someone behind him.
"You're avoiding everyone," Seraphine said quietly.
Kael didn't turn around. "I'm thinking."
"That usually means something is bothering you."
He didn't answer.
Seraphine walked onto the balcony, stopping beside him. Not touching him. Not crowding him. Just close enough to make the silence between them feel full.
"You recognized the call symbol," she said. "More than you're admitting."
Kael looked at her, his expression unreadable. "I told you the truth."
"You told me the half of it."
He didn't deny that.
And Seraphine noticed.
She leaned her elbows on the railing, staring into the same darkness he was watching.
"When you go quiet like this," she said softly, "it means something is coming."
Kael finally turned toward her. "And when you hover like this, it means you're waiting for me to fall apart."
She scoffed. "If you were going to fall apart, you would've done it years ago."
The corner of Kael's mouth twitched. Not a smile — more like the idea of one.
Seraphine glanced at him. "You're not alone in this, you know."
Kael didn't look away. "I'm used to being alone."
Seraphine's eyes softened for a moment. Just a moment.
Then she straightened. "Well, get unused to it."
She turned to leave, but Kael spoke before she fully stepped away.
"Seraphine."
She stopped.
Kael hesitated. Just once. Then he said it:
"Thank you."
She didn't turn around, but he saw her shoulders shift slightly, like she was trying not to react.
"You can thank me later," she said. "Preferably after you stop acting like a wall."
Then she walked away, leaving him with the strange feeling that something had shifted between them. Not loudly. Not dramatically. But definitely.
The Hero's Thoughts
The Hero wasn't sleeping either.
He walked down the hallway with a slow, steady pace, rehearing every moment from the ruins in his head. The masked figure. The symbol. Kael's reaction. Seraphine's expression when Kael refused to explain.
Something wasn't right.
He eventually stopped in front of a window that overlooked the west courtyard. Light from the moon cut across his armor, making him look tense and sharp.
He muttered under his breath, "They're hiding something…"
It wasn't jealousy. It wasn't anger.
It was fear.
Fear that he was falling behind.
Fear that the world was shifting in ways he didn't understand.
Fear that Kael — the person he should trust — wasn't on his side.
And fear that Seraphine trusted Kael more than she trusted him.
He clenched his fists, trying to breathe the thoughts away. But they stayed.
"When the time comes," he whispered to himself, "I'll be ready. Whether they tell me the truth or not."
Morning Brings Another Problem
The next morning, the three of them met in the lower strategy hall. The table was filled with maps, scrolls, reports from scouts. Everything pointed to one thing:
More sightings.
More symbols.
More movements from the forbidden clans.
The Hero arrived first, pacing the room.
Seraphine entered next, calm but focused.
Kael arrived last, as usual, but something about him was different — he looked more guarded.
The Hero didn't wait.
"We need to talk about yesterday," he said.
Seraphine glanced at him carefully. "What about it?"
The Hero turned toward Kael. "You knew more than you said. Both of you did."
Kael's expression didn't change. "I said everything important."
"That's not enough," the Hero snapped. "We're supposed to trust each other."
Kael folded his arms. "Trust doesn't mean sharing every piece of history."
"It does," the Hero shot back, "when it puts the kingdom in danger."
Seraphine stepped between them. "Stop. Both of you."
The Hero's jaw tightened. "Seraphine… you're defending him too easily."
"I'm not defending him," she said. "I'm stopping this room from exploding."
Kael looked away, but the tension stayed hot, thick, heavy enough to fill the room.
The Hero grabbed the nearest report and slapped it onto the table.
"These scouts weren't random. They were tracking something. Or someone."
Kael didn't react.
But Seraphine noticed.
The Hero continued, his tone sharpening, "And they left that symbol for a reason. A warning. A message. And the only one here who instantly understood it was you."
Kael finally lifted his head.
"What exactly are you accusing me of?"
The room froze.
The Hero hesitated — not because he feared Kael, but because he feared saying the wrong thing.
"I'm saying," he said quietly, "that if you're connected to these clans… we deserve to know."
The silence that followed felt like a blade pressed against the air.
Kael stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowing.
"I am not your enemy."
"Then prove it," the Hero answered.
Kael's jaw tightened. "I don't owe you proof."
Seraphine stepped in again, louder this time: "Enough."
Her voice cut through their tension like a knife. Both men stopped.
She looked between them, eyes firm. "We have an enemy out there. Not here. Focus."
The Hero breathed out slowly and stepped back. Kael did the same, though not as willingly.
Seraphine picked up the papers again. "We're moving north today. There were sightings near the river cliffs. If we're lucky, we might catch whoever's sending these signals."
Kael nodded.
The Hero nodded.
None of them looked at each other.
The Road North
The trip north felt different. Heavier. None of them spoke for the first hour. Birds flew overhead. The river whispered beside them. But no one reacted.
Seraphine was the first to break the silence.
"We can't work like this," she said suddenly.
Kael didn't look at her. "You want honesty? Fine. I know the symbol because I've seen it before. Years ago."
The Hero glanced over sharply. "From your past?"
Kael nodded once. "Yes."
"And you didn't think that mattered?" the Hero asked, frustration leaking through his words.
"It mattered," Kael said quietly. "But not enough to drag into the open when we didn't have the full picture."
Seraphine looked at him. "Kael… what were you before you came here?"
He didn't answer immediately.
The Hero waited, tense.
Seraphine watched him carefully.
Finally Kael said, "Someone I'm not anymore."
Seraphine exhaled through her nose. "That's not an answer."
"I know."
"Are you going to give a real one?" she challenged.
Kael stopped walking.
The Hero stopped too.
Kael met her eyes. "Not today."
Seraphine stepped closer, frustration and something else mixing in her expression. "Kael, I'm trying to be on your side—"
"I didn't ask you to be," he said.
That hit harder than he expected.
Seraphine's eyes flickered with something sharp — hurt, anger, or both.
The Hero watched them carefully, unsure whether to step in or back away.
Seraphine spoke again, voice lower, controlled. "You don't have to ask. I chose it."
Kael didn't respond.
The road suddenly felt too quiet. Too tight.
Something in the Trees
Before any of them could speak again, Kael lifted a hand sharply.
"Stop."
They froze.
The forest around them seemed normal — birds chirping, leaves swaying — but Kael's eyes narrowed as he scanned the shadows.
"Someone's here," he whispered.
The Hero raised his sword slightly. Seraphine moved closer to Kael without thinking.
A soft crack sounded from somewhere ahead.
Not a twig.
Not an animal.
A footstep.
Kael stepped forward. "Show yourself."
The forest didn't respond.
But something moved deeper in the trees — fast, controlled, watching them.
Seraphine whispered, "It's the same person from yesterday."
Kael nodded. "He's tracking us again."
The Hero tightened his grip. "Then let's chase him."
Kael didn't move.
"We don't chase him," he said. "He wants that."
Seraphine frowned. "Then what do we do?"
Kael's voice dropped. "We make him come to us."
The Hero opened his mouth to argue, but Kael cut him off.
"This time," he said firmly, "we're not playing his game."
End of Chapter 17 🛡️