Chapter 81 – Shadows Among Blood
The journey back to the Citadel was quiet.
Whitney trotted beside Jean, head low, hackles raised. Neither spoke. The words Verin had left behind churned in Jean's mind like a storm: "The Guild is just a shadow of what's coming."
She didn't know what haunted her more—the cryptic warning… or the fact that Verin had let her live.
---
Back in the Luther Citadel, the War Hall buzzed with tension. Envoy Knights stood in wait, but Jean bypassed them all, marching straight toward Charles Luther's chamber.
The doors opened without her knocking.
Charles looked up from a series of sealed scrolls, his aged gaze piercing.
"You look like you fought ghosts."
Jean tossed a black shard onto the table—one of the Crimson Shadow sigils carved from obsidian.
"They've moved beyond simple mercenary raids. They're coordinated. Clean. Fast. And their leader—"
She hesitated.
Charles raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"…Verin Kord."
The room went still.
Even Charles's expression tightened. "He's dead. Burned at Taras Vale."
"He's not," Jean said coldly. "He's working for something beyond the Shadow Guild. He mentioned a power coming—something worse. And he knew things about our sword forms that only someone inside could have taught him."
She let the weight of her implication hang.
Charles didn't respond at first. Then, he opened a drawer and tossed her a sealed file.
A red wax insignia marked it: For Patriarchal Eyes Only.
Jean cracked it open.
What she read chilled her to the core.
Confidential Report – Subject: Rourke Luther
Her older brother. Presumed missing five years ago after a failed diplomatic mission to the Magistery.
Presumed.
Until now.
Charles spoke gravely. "Rourke disappeared on the same night Verin was declared dead. Two of our best swordsmen vanished—only one body was recovered. Verin's was never confirmed."
Jean looked up, face pale. "You think Rourke is alive."
"I think," Charles said, voice like ice, "he may have helped create the Crimson Shadows."
---
Jean stepped into the courtyard an hour later, heart pounding.
Whitney looked at her. "You suspect more."
Jean nodded. "I need to find Rourke."
"But not to kill him."
"…No. Not yet."
The wind howled, carrying with it the scent of blood and steel.
Somewhere beyond the walls, her brother was alive.
And if the Shadow Guild had him…
Jean would bring him back.
Or bury him herself.
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