The morning after our first victory brought a quiet unease. Victory was intoxicating—but so was obsession. As we returned from the East Gate, the air grew thick with unspoken questions.
Lyssa never left my side. Every footstep she took matched mine perfectly, her gaze sweeping for threats that only she could see. Though her touch was gentle, I saw the way her fingers lingered on the hilt of her dagger—ready, always.
I turned to her. "You didn't sleep last night."
Her lips curled into a soft smile. "My only peace comes from watching over you."
It should have comforted me, yet something about the way she said it—like a prayer and a warning—made my skin crawl. Still, I nodded. She had saved me. Her devotion was unshakable.
Mira joined us as we entered the eastern tower of the ruined palace. She had changed from her mourning dress to a fitted tunic, her hair tied up in a warrior's knot. Yet her expression was no less tender.
"Brother," she said, offering a pouch of dried fruit. "You need strength. You gave too much of yourself to the crystal."
I accepted it with a nod, thankful. But her fingers grazed mine longer than necessary. Her eyes lingered. And I wondered—had death truly changed me, or had it simply made the cracks easier to see?
---
In the Hall of Fragments, I gathered the core members once again. Ronan, Elyra, and Sylvi had taken their oaths seriously. The former knight stood with hands folded behind his back, still as stone. Elyra toyed with her serpentine bracelet, her smile lazy and lethal. Sylvi leaned in the shadows, eyes sharp as her arrows.
"We need scouts," I said, voice commanding. "Selene won't sit idle. She'll test our strength."
Elyra purred. "Let her. I hope she comes. I'd love to see her face again... when she realizes you chose us over her."
Lyssa's expression twitched.
I raised a hand. "No blood yet. We gather information, prepare the city, awaken more crystal veins."
Ronan bowed. "As you command, my prince."
---
Later that night, as the castle slept, I wandered the ruins of the library—once my favorite refuge. Now, its shelves were scorched, the scent of ash lingering in the tomes. I ran my fingers over a surviving volume: Fates and Flame: The History of the Goddess Bonds.
Suddenly, I felt it—a presence behind me.
"You never read this one," Lyssa whispered.
I turned. She stood in the moonlight, her hair falling like silk over one shoulder.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I used to watch you here. Every night. Hoping you'd ask me to read with you."
I swallowed. "Lyssa... why do you follow me so faithfully?"
She stepped closer. "Because you are mine, Kael. You always were. And now, no one will take you from me again. Not Selene. Not Mira. Not even yourself."
In her gaze, I saw a storm wrapped in silk. She pressed a dagger into my hand—the same dagger that once pierced my heart.
"Keep it," she said. "To remember who truly loves you."
As she vanished into the dark, I stood frozen, blade in hand, heart thundering.
The game had begun. Not just of politics and power... but of hearts far more dangerous than any empire.