Blood still clung to Alex's gloves, frozen and blackened.
He limped through the lower ruins of Greystone Hollow, keeping to the back alleys where no lanterns burned. The snow fell harder now, masking his trail, hiding the blood... but not the pain.
He needed shelter. He needed her.
A knock. Four quick taps — a pause — then two more.
The wooden door creaked open, and a narrow slit revealed the barrel of a flintlock pistol aimed at his chest.
"Password," the woman growled.
"Stars fall when no one watches," Alex muttered through clenched teeth.
The gun lowered. "You're late."
Liora Ravenshade stepped back, letting him inside the stone hideout. Her eyes scanned him — blood, bruises, magic burns along his arm.
"Veil caught up with you?" she asked.
"They didn't leave with answers."
Alex collapsed into a chair as Liora moved to a shelf lined with salves, herbs, and metal vials. She wasn't a healer, but she'd kept enough ghosts alive to know what mattered.
She tossed him a flask. "Drink. Burns like hell, but it'll keep your insides in."
He drank. It did burn.
Liora's gaze turned to the satchel at his hip. "You still have it?"
Alex pulled the ledger free — the pages were stained, but intact.
"I saw names," he said. "Nobles. Priests. Soldiers. All part of the tribunal that ordered the experiments."
She raised an eyebrow. "Any still alive?"
"A dozen."
A pause.
"Good," she whispered.
Alex leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "They're going to come harder next time. More than just assassins. Maybe even... him."
Liora froze.
"You think the Paladin General would move for one fugitive?"
"I'm not just a fugitive anymore," Alex replied. "I'm a threat."
She nodded grimly. "Then you need allies."
"Don't have any."
"You have me."
For a moment, silence.
Then a knock — harsh, panicked.
Liora grabbed her pistol. Alex stood, magic pulsing faintly around his palm.
The door opened to reveal a boy, no older than twelve. Mud-streaked, breathing hard.
"They're coming," he panted. "They're burning the Hollow."
"What?"
The kid pointed to the smoke rising over the rooftops. "They said anyone who helps 'the Shadowed One' dies."
Alex's hands trembled — not from fear, but fury.
"They're not hunting me," he growled. "They're sending a message."
He walked past Liora, past the boy, out into the snow.
Because if they wanted to send messages...
Then he would carve his answer into the stone of their walls.