Back to Kael's and Ezra's....
The elevator doors slid shut with a metallic sigh, leaving Ezra alone in the hallway, his reflection shimmering in the chrome surface. The journey from Kael's building was a blur—only rain, neon lights, and the murmur of Kael's voice lingered in his mind, deep and inscrutable: "You've carved out a place for yourself by my side. Make sure you don't lose it again."
Now, as he stood in his downtown apartment, he couldn't shake the feeling of how confined the space felt. Just one room, one window, and his heart racing far too quickly. Outside, the city buzzed with life, filled with glowing skyscrapers and untold stories. Ezra tossed his jacket onto the couch and raked his fingers through his hair, still damp from the rain.
He should have felt a sense of achievement—he'd accomplished what others couldn't. He'd hacked into Veyra's system, revealed her core defenses, and validated himself to the man who trusted no one. Yet, all he could picture was Kael's expression—a heavy, unreadable glance that felt less like anger, Concern? Or what?
The glow of his computer screen cast light across the floor. Lines of code danced on the display—echoes of his hack pulsing in a steady rhythm, like a heartbeat that wouldn't quiet down.
"Make sure you don't lose it," he whispered, imitating Kael's tone with a soft, broken chuckle. "Yeah, that pretty much sums up my life."
He opened the fridge, disappointed to find just a bottle of water and some leftover takeout. Closing it again, he settled by the window, pulling his legs close and watching the raindrops race down the glass.
He thought of Kael—likely still awake, a drink in hand, staring out at the same skyline. The idea made Ezra's chest constrict. There was something infuriating about Kael—the way he bore his authority like a hidden wound, vulnerable yet unapproachable.
"You think you're the only one hurting," Ezra murmured, partly to himself and partly to the city outside.
The silence enveloped him. His phone buzzed once—a system alert, but no message. Veyra's encrypted servers were shifting. Something new was stirring in her code. Ezra frowned and minimized the window. Not tonight. He didn't want to be defined as just a hacker, a tool, or a pawn. He just wanted the noise in his head to stop.
He turned off the light, but the city's glow persisted.
Meanwhile, miles above, in a penthouse high above the storm, Kael sat at his bar, wrestling with the same sleeplessness and pouring whiskey into the stillness. His hand hovered over the glass; for a fleeting moment, he considered reaching out. He didn't. Instead, he gazed toward the window—the very skyline Ezra was seeing—and whispered,
"Get some sleep, kid."
The storm intensified, carrying their restless thoughts across the city like static. Neither slept, entirely unaware of the invisible thread still binding them—one linked by a hidden network, the other tied by something deeper and harder to sever.
And in the shadows, Veyra's systems flickered to life.
A heartbeat.
A pulse.
Nico's eyes opened—gleaming with a faint metallic sheen, quietly alive.