********HARPER
The flashing red-and-blue lights from the ambulance painted streaks across the darkened clearing, casting long shadows of the trees like looming specters. I just sat there, knees drawn up to my chest, my blade resting limply on the grass beside me. My fingers trembled—not from fear, but from a confusion so deep it hollowed me out.
The mayor—my real father—was being wheeled away on a stretcher, a white sheet pulled halfway up his body. I hadn't moved when they lifted him. I hadn't spoken when the paramedics asked if I knew him. I just sat there, my thoughts spiraling, my chest so tight I could hardly breathe.
I didn't even get to ask who killed you.
A warm hand touched my shoulder. Luna. Her voice was soft, the kind of tone you'd use on someone who'd just woken from a nightmare.
"Harper… you need to breathe."
I turned my head to look at her. Her pale face was calm, but her eyes—those unflinching, steady eyes—were filled with a quiet sorrow.
"If I don't find the real killer," I said finally, my voice hoarse from holding back too many words, "then I'll never be able to leave this realm."
Luna exhaled, her breath misting in the cool night air. "We can't give up."
"You don't understand." My voice cracked. "Everything is over. My only lead is gone. Where am I supposed to start from now?"
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Then Chris's familiar, smooth voice echoed from somewhere nearby—disembodied, because like Hay, he was a system and not physically present.
"I'm here for you, Harper. I can help you. You just have to let me."
His tone was reassuring, but right now it felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff in a fog so thick I couldn't see my own hands.
Luna glanced at me, then at the place where Chris's voice had come from. "You know," she said carefully, "you could have been a bit more patient before killing the mayor."
I snapped my gaze to her. "I didn't kill him."
Her brows lifted slightly. "Then… could it have been the system? Playing pranks on us?"
That suggestion made my stomach twist, but something about it didn't sit right. My mind replayed the moment—the shock on the mayor's face, the way he clutched his stomach.
Then it hit me.
"No," I breathed. "We were both holding blades, but it wasn't a blade wound."
Luna's eyes narrowed in understanding. "It was a bullet."
"Which means…" I started.
"…someone else killed the mayor from nearby," she finished for me.
Our eyes darted at the same time toward the tree line. The forest loomed like a dark wall, every branch and leaf whispering secrets we couldn't hear. I pushed myself up, gripping my blade, ready to follow the path into the woods—
But a sudden beam of light cut through the shadows.
"Harper!"
I froze. Police officers stepped into the clearing, their flashlights sweeping across the grass. Their eyes found me instantly.
"Ma'am, we need you to come with us for questioning."
Luna moved so fast I almost didn't see it—slipping into the darkness, blending with the shadows until she was gone. I caught her eye just before she disappeared and gave her the smallest nod. Chris and Hay were already invisible, their presence a faint hum at the back of my mind.
I was alone.
The officers didn't give me a chance to explain before they escorted me toward their car. Inside the station, the air was thick with the smell of stale coffee and damp paper. They led me to a small, windowless room with a single table, two chairs, and a recording device blinking red.
An older officer leaned across the table. "Tell us exactly what happened tonight."
I kept my voice level, even though my insides were churning. "I was talking to the mayor. An arrow—no, a bullet—came from the forest. It wasn't me. I didn't kill him."
The younger officer across from him raised an eyebrow. "Funny. Witnesses saw you with a blade to his chest."
*Witnesses? nobody was in the forest with us except whoever killed the mayor*
"I said I didn't kill him." I clenched my fists under the table. "If I wanted him dead, I wouldn't have hesitated. But I didn't. Someone else did it."
The older officer sighed, then glanced at his partner. "We're going to have to hold you for further investigation."
And that was that.
*********
Hours later, the jail cell felt like it was pressing in on me from all sides. The metal bars were cold under my fingertips, the air stale and heavy. The concrete bench beneath me was as hard as my thoughts.
That's when I felt it.
A ripple in the air. A faint shimmer, like heat waves rising from asphalt, forming right in the middle of my cell.
Then he was there.
The GAMEKEEPER-LORD KAEL
But this time… no mask. His sharp, angular features were laid bare, his eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
"You," I hissed, getting to my feet. "Are you behind this? You're in control of the system. Was it you?"
His lips twitched—not quite a smile, but close. "No. The system has a mind of its own now. Not even Vaelthor or I can control it anymore."
The words made my skin prickle. If neither of them could control it, then… who could?
I stayed silent, my gaze locked on his.
He looked me up and down, then tilted his head. "So much for doing it yourself."
I bristled. "I said I'd handle my own problems."
"Do you want my help now?" His tone was almost teasing.
"No." The word came out flat, absolute.
He studied me for a moment longer, then gave a small, infuriating smile. "Very well. I'll come back again."
And just like that, he was gone—vanishing into thin air, leaving the faint scent of smoke behind.
I sank back down onto the bench, letting out a long, tired sigh. My mind kept circling the same thought: If the GAMEKEEPER isn't controlling the system, then who is?
The night passed in restless fits, my dreams tangled with flashes of the mayor's face, the moment the bullet hit, and the sound of the forest whispering.
By morning, I'd almost convinced myself the previous night had been a dream.
That's when a guard came to the bars. "You're being bailed out."
My brows knit. "By who?"
The guard shrugged. "Anonymous."
They led me out into the main hall of the station, where the morning light spilled in through the glass doors. I scanned the room, my pulse quickening.
Then the person turned toward me.
And my breath caught in my throat.