Blake's POV
The docks were loud again.
Ships hissed against the mooring lines, engines rumbling like thunder trapped beneath metal. Vale's air carried the smell of salt, Dust, and the faint trace of rain.
One year had become months.
Then weeks.
Now days.
The flyer I'd kept folded in my coat was worn to soft edges, Beacon's emblem faded from the creases. But the words still mattered: "A future worth fighting for."
For the first time, I believed them.
Renard said nothing when I told him I was leaving.
He just poured me tea and set the cup down carefully between us.
"Beacon," he said, not asking.
"Beacon," I confirmed.
"Doesn't sound like a hiding place."
"It's not."
He grunted. "Then maybe you'll finally stop looking over your shoulder."
"I don't think I ever will."
He smiled. "Good. People who stop checking their corners don't last long."
When I left, he pressed a small charm into my hand — a tiny wolf carved from iron scrap.
"Found it in the shop. Figured it looked like you."
I didn't ask what he meant. I just said thank you and slipped it into my pocket.
The transport line to Beacon stretched along the water, each ship lit by soft white lamps. The line of recruits was long — some nervous, some excited, some trying too hard to look either.
I didn't blend in, but I didn't stand out either. Just another traveler with too many memories and too few words.
Atlas security walked the perimeter, scanning passes. When they reached me, the officer frowned at my papers.
"Blake Belladonna?"
"Yes."
"You any relation to—"
"No."
He hesitated, then nodded. "Welcome aboard."
That was it.
No speeches.
No turning back.
As the ship began to lift, I leaned against the railing and watched Vale shrink into fog. The city looked almost peaceful from this distance — quiet lights, silver rooftops, and streets I'd memorized like scars.
Part of me wanted to stay.
The rest of me knew I couldn't.
There were too many ghosts in that city — and one of them had never stopped following me.
Senti - pov
From the rooftops above the port, I watched the ships rise one by one.
The sound of the engines drowned out everything else.
Even the voices in my head went quiet for once.
I'd been tracking the White Fang's movements all week. They were restless again, desperate. Adam's people had gone quiet — too quiet. And every rumor pointed to Beacon's new recruits being a potential target.
Logic whispered: She's on that ship.
Cruelty muttered: Let her fight her own battles.
Charm said, She doesn't know how alone she is.
Joy laughed softly. You still care.
"I always did," I said.
A flicker of movement caught my eye — guards loading the last crate, recruits boarding.
And there she was.
Hood drawn low, hair catching the wind, eyes steady on the horizon.
She didn't look back.
Good. She didn't need to.
I moved before I realized it — slipping down the maintenance stairs to the lower decks, weaving through workers until I reached the edge of the loading ramp.
A guard barked something. I didn't listen.
I just slid a small tracking chip under one of the cargo locks and walked away before anyone noticed.
Not to follow her.
Just to make sure no one else did.
The ship lifted, engines flaring blue. The gust knocked dust into my eyes. When it finally rose out of sight, I stood there long after the sound faded.
The iron charm I'd made months ago — the one that matched the mark I left on her walls — hung from my belt. I touched it once, a quiet reminder.
"Keep moving, Blake."
The city behind me groaned awake as the sun rose. Another shift, another hunt, another mess to clean before nightfall.
The world wasn't any lighter without her, but it was emptier in a way that felt almost peaceful.
Blake - pov
The clouds broke over the cliffs ahead, sunlight spilling across the sea.
Beacon Tower rose through the mist — tall, impossible, gleaming against the horizon.
For the first time since I'd left home, I didn't feel like I was running from something.
I was running toward something.
And somewhere far below, maybe in the streets I'd just left behind, the wind carried a voice I swore I knew.
"Keep moving."
I smiled.
"I am."