CHAPTER 15: The Knife in the Smoke
Duskwatch Fortress – Beneath the Old Armory
It was supposed to be a dead tunnel—one of many, buried beneath Duskwatch's bones.
But Nalen found footprints.
Recent.
Boots that didn't match rebel standard issue. Too soft. Too light.
Infiltrator, he thought.
Another Crow-Talon? Or worse—an Offbook?
He moved like a shadow, slipping between broken stone and collapsed timber, until he saw it:
A man in dark grey, crouched by the cistern grate. Working fast. Greasy tools. A familiar glint on his bracer: a crow with seven talons.
Talon-Prime. Execution tier.
This was no observer.
This one was here to kill.
Elsewhere – Kael Unaware
Kael sparred in the courtyard with Dren. Myrren watched from the wall. Seyda offered no prayers that day—only silence.
The soldiers laughed.
But Nalen was already moving through the shadows, breath sharp in the cold air, limbs taut as a drawn bowstring.
The Confrontation – Below the Fortress
"You're off-track," Nalen said flatly.
The assassin didn't flinch. Didn't look up.
"Crow-Talon 37," he muttered. "You were supposed to mark the cracks. Not patch them."
"I wasn't told a kill order had been issued."
"It wasn't. This one's quiet. Direct from the Chancellor of Doctrine."
He straightened, pale eyes like wet bone. "You hesitated, didn't you? You believed the stories."
Nalen's hand hovered near the hilt beneath his cloak.
"I believed in threat assessment. And he's more useful alive."
"Useful to whom?" the assassin asked. "The Empire's dying. And he's the pyre."
Then he struck.
The Fight in the Dark
No honor. No hesitation. Only blades flashing in tight, silent strikes.
The Talon-Prime was better—faster, cleaner—but Nalen was angry.
He fought not like a spy, but like a man tired of other men pulling leashes.
Steel scraped stone. Blood hit the dirt. And in the end—
Nalen's blade drove home.
Right beneath the assassin's ribs.
As the body slumped, he whispered:
"You were right. I did believe the stories."
Dawn – Nalen's Confession
Kael read the report in silence. No alarm. No raised voice.
"You were sent to watch me," he said.
Nalen nodded.
"And now you kill your own."
"I didn't kill him for you," Nalen said. "I killed him because your death would've handed the Empire exactly what it wants—chaos. Fear. Fire it can control."
Kael stepped closer.
"And what do you want?"
Nalen looked up, exhausted, worn thin.
"To see who wins. You… or the world that made you necessary."
Final Scene – Shadows in the Court
Far to the south, in a vaulted chamber of the Doctrine Tower, the Chancellor of Doctrine received a raven.
No reply was written.
But in the ledger beside him, he crossed out one name.
And circled another.