The city stretched beneath the plane like a living map, lights flickering in the dusk. Shyla pressed her forehead against the window, breathing in New York's alien energy. It was too loud, too bright, and too alive. Nothing here felt like home.
Her suitcase rattled as the plane slowed. Fingers curled around the locket, feeling a heartbeat out of sync with her own.
"Shy! Come on!" Nora tugged at her sleeve. "I can't wait to see our apartment!"
Shyla forced a smile, nodded, and followed. Every step down the jetway felt like crossing into another world. Ordinary life had ended somewhere over the clouds.
The airport swarmed with people, voices bouncing off metal and glass. Every glance felt loaded, every shadow suspicious. She tried to calm herself, ignoring the nagging sense that someone, somewhere, was watching. She wasn't entirely wrong.
Far away, in a darkened room she would never see, Ash's eyes burned with awareness.
"Shyla Park," he hissed, voice low, venomous. "You've crossed into my sight. Soon… you'll have nowhere to hide."
Ash leaned back, fingers brushing the chalice. Plans had changed and shadows had moved to work. Somewhere, in the midst of ordinary lives, Shyla's fate had begun to unravel.
Meanwhile, another presence brushed against her consciousness… soft, familiar, and unspoken. A thread in the dark that only she could sense. It made her skip a beat, warning and comforting at once. Leo would never feel it. "Wait for me… please." She brushed the thought aside.
The cab weaved through crowded streets, horns honking, neon lights flashing past. Shyla kept her hands folded on her lap, staring at the cityscape. Every towering building seemed like a wall, every crowd a river she couldn't touch.
Nora bounced beside her. "I want to explore tonight! Times Square! The Statue of Liberty! Can we?"
Shyla tried to smile. "Yeah… sure." Her words felt hollow. Her mind wasn't on sightseeing.
At the apartment, the two girls unpacked quickly. Shyla's room was small but enough. It has a bed, a desk, and a window overlooking the street below. She placed the locket on her nightstand, watching it glows faintly, almost impatiently.
Leo hovered near the doorway, invisible to anyone but her. "Master, you're not thinking clearly. New city invites new dangers, and someone from Bluemines could be anywhere. So, stay alert."
Shyla rubbed her temples. "Leo, I can't live like this. I can't hide forever. I… I need to understand."
"Understand what?" he hissed. "You don't even know half of it. Just survive for now. That's all what matters, right now."
Far above the city, Ash's agents slipped through shadowed alleys and along rooftop edges. Each had instructions: watch terminals, trace movements, map the girl's habits, report every whisper.
Ash remained in his darkened room, eyes glowing faintly in candlelight. The city stretched beneath him, alive, oblivious. Yet he could feel her heartbeat across the miles. It's small, fast, and defiant.
"She's here," he whispered, fingers tapping the chalice. "And soon… the hunt begins."
Back in the apartment, Shyla sat by the window, the bustling streets reflecting in her eyes. Every face passing below made her pulse quicken. The locket pulsed as well, almost a warning.
Leo's voice, calm but firm, threaded through her thoughts. "Master… I will protect you. But you must follow me. Trust me, just this once."
Shyla nodded, swallowing the fear clawing at her throat. "I trust you… Leo."
Somewhere beyond the glass, a shadow shifted, silent and patient. Not Ash, but something else. A presence she could feel, faint but undeniable, threading through her mind like a whisper: "Wait for me… please."
The locket flared softly, warm against her palm, responding to the unseen connection. Leo would never sense this. Only she could feel it, only she could hear it.
The city roared below, oblivious to the currents of power and danger weaving through its streets. Somewhere, in the hidden corners of the night, her fate had begun to entwine with another.
The hunt had begun—but she was no ordinary prey.