Kalen sat in the shadow of the tower, wrapped in the pelt of an ice beast. Around him was the nighttime city of Voldkrans: the lights of alchemy, the smell of sulfur, and the cold wind blowing off the cliffs. Inside, there were silent spiders and watching eyes that were not there. Vard stood nearby, as always, in the shadows. Kalen simply sat there. He did not eat. He did not drink. He did not speak. He had not slept for almost a day. When there was a knock on the door, he did not even turn around.
"Lionheart," the voice was dry. Not a teacher. Not a fellow student. An envoy.
"You should know. It's about the family."
He opened the door. The messenger entered. He was dressed in gray, wearing a long coat. He smelled of dust and travel. He held a sealed scroll in his hand. The seal was the Lionheart family crest.
"Tell me."
"The bodies were found this morning.
— Laer Lionheart and Veren Lionheart.
— They died. One was beheaded. The other was poisoned.
Kalen watched the lantern light move on the wall.
The spiders in the shadows froze.
Reina... somewhere in another room. She didn't know anything.
While.
"How?" he finally asked.
— We can't disclose the details. Officially, it's an internal disagreement.
"One of them burned down with the house. The other... was found in a well."
"Does my father know?"
"He sent me.
A long pause. Then Kalen said:
— I'm going home.
"One.
The messenger nodded.
— This is expected.
He left. The door closed. The shadow fell again.
***
Later that night, he was sitting on the roof of a tower. The wind was tearing at his hair. Nothing was flowing from his eyes.
It's just dry inside.
"Those were my brothers," he told Vard.
"It was your blood," he replied. "But not your dreams."
"I hardly knew them. They were always around, but not with me."
"And now nowhere.
"You don't have to feel sorrow if your heart is silent."
"But you must understand that this will affect you.
Kallen clenched his fists. The veins in his arms darkened.
"They died for a reason.
— Someone... someone was taken away.
— It's not an accident.
The spiders in the shadows stirred. Thirk crept closer, huge and black as death.
"We'll go with you," he thundered. "The house is a spider's web. And you're the spider that's returned."
Kalen stood up.
"I'm going to the family home in the morning."
"Let the father know. Let everyone know."
"That I'm not coming back as a son."
— Like someone who survives.
And the night closed over him again, like a lid.
***
It was a gray morning.
Around the airship, which stood on the edge of the Voldkrans, mechanics and alchemists were scurrying about—steel claws, smoke, steam, liquefied aether. Kallen stood alone, without the Academy's uniform, wearing a black jacket and a monster's hide, with long gloves that concealed his tattoo.
Reina looked at him from afar. Her lips were pressed together. Her eyes were tense.
— Can you tell me where?" — What is it? " she asked softly.
"Home."
— Are you... okay?"
"I always have been." He turned and added, "You're just following me, aren't you?"
She froze. But she didn't say anything. He didn't even wait. He just stepped onto the ramp.
The journey lasted four hours. Kalen was silent. Ward was silent. The spiders trembled in the shadows beneath the ship's floor. It was only when the ashen plains appeared below that he stepped onto the deck.
In the distance, the Lionheart Castle stood tall. The towers were dead. There was no smoke. The gates were half-closed. Black flags fluttered in the wind, a sign of mourning.
"We're home," he whispered. "I hate that word."
Three men met him at the gate.
The first was the clan manager, an old man with a shaved head and snake-like eyes. He didn't smile.
The second is a soldier in black armor, a family guard.
Celia met him.
"You're back," she said simply.
"Didn't you want me not to come back?"
— I don't care anymore.
He walked past. The inside smelled of ash. The courtyard was empty. The servants looked at him from under their brows. Someone whispered his name. Someone spat on the ground.
"Where are the bodies?"
"Already buried," the steward replied. "My father said not to wait."
- of course.
Kallen walked deeper into the castle. Every step echoed in his chest, as dull as a hammer striking his skull.
"What happened here?" he asked Ward in his mind.
"A conspiracy.
- Rot within the genus.
"One of the brothers was killed by his own guards. The other was poisoned. It wasn't an accident."
"I'll find the person who did this."
"You will. But what will you do when you find out that the order came from within.
Late at night, in the family library, Kalen stood in front of a portrait of his mother. A woman with cold eyes, her hand on Laer's shoulder. Veren stood off to the side, almost unsmiling. He was not in the portrait. Nor was Reyna.
"It was rotten from the start, wasn't it?"
He exhaled and sat down on the old sofa. Tirk came out of the shadows and lay down next to him, like a dog whose mouth burned its enemies.
"It's just you, me, Ward, and the void," Kalen said. "But I won't break. As long as I can take at least one step, I'm in the game."
"And you have an army," Ward whispered softly. "And now you have a purpose."
In the morning he was ready to go.
He didn't stay in the house.
He didn't come to see his father.
He didn't say goodbye to his sister.
He just walked out of the gate.
And only a whisper behind me:
"Lionheart's back. But it's not Lionheart anymore."