Lyra's "old friend" turned out to be a grizzled ex-soldier named Garrett, who ran a blacksmith shop in the craftsmen's quarter. The shop looked ordinary enough from the outside, but the basement was something else entirely—a fortified room with weapons lining the walls, maps spread across a large table, and locks on the doors that could withstand a battering ram.
"Safe house for the resistance," Garrett explained, pouring them ale. "Back when the old king was purging his enemies. Hasn't been used in years, but the locks still work."
"Resistance?" Kael asked.
Garrett shrugged. "Ancient history now. Different war, different enemies. But Lyra helped me out of a tight spot once, so I owe her." He looked at Kael with sharp eyes. "You're the one causing all the trouble in the underworld. Kael Voss, back from the dead."
"News travels fast," Kael said.
"It does when you leave a trail of bodies," Garrett replied, but there was no judgment in his tone. "Julian Voss isn't popular, even among those who work for him. Lot of people would be happy to see him taken down a peg or three."
"Then maybe they should help," Kael said.
"Maybe they will. Once they see you're serious and not just a dead man walking who'll get himself killed again." Garrett drained his ale. "I'll leave you to your work. Don't burn my shop down."
After he left, Kael spread the documents from the leather case across the table. Lyra helped sort them, organizing by date and type of transaction.
"This is extensive," Lyra said after an hour of reading. "Julian's network reaches into the Senate, the city guard, even the Merchants' Guild Council itself. He's been building this for years."
"Which means taking him down won't be simple," Kael said, studying a particularly damning letter from Senator Harrow. "He has protection at every level."
"We could leak these documents," Lyra suggested. "Let the authorities handle it."
"The authorities are corrupt," Kael countered. "Half these names work for the city guard. We'd be handing the evidence right back to Julian."
"So what's your plan?"
Kael was quiet, thinking. Soulrender hummed at his side, offering its own dark suggestions, but he pushed them away. This needed to be smart, not just brutal.
"We use the evidence to turn his allies against him," Kael said finally. "Show them that Julian is a liability, that association with him will destroy them. Then, when he's isolated, we strike."
"Divide and conquer," Lyra said, nodding slowly. "It could work. But it'll take time, and Julian's not going to sit idle while we dismantle his network."
"No," Kael agreed. "He'll come for us. Which is why we need to be ready."
They worked through the night, mapping out Julian's connections, identifying weak points and pressure points. Some of his allies were true believers, loyal unto death. But others were opportunists, men and women who'd allied with Julian because he was powerful and profitable, not out of any real loyalty.
Those were the ones they could turn.
"Here," Lyra said, pointing to a name. "Thomas Reeve. He's a merchant who's been selling smuggled goods through Julian's network. But according to these records, Julian's been skimming off the top. Reeve doesn't know it yet."
"Show him the evidence, turn him against Julian," Kael said. "I like it. Who else?"
They identified five more potential turncoats, people who had reason to doubt or resent Julian once they knew the truth. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Dawn was breaking when they finally stopped, exhausted but satisfied. Lyra stretched, her back popping, and yawned.
"I need sleep," she said. "Real sleep, in a real bed."
"There's a cot in the corner," Kael said, pointing.
Lyra looked at the narrow cot, then at Kael, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Big enough for one. Unless we get creative."
The memory of last night rushed back—the kiss, the heat between them, the moment before it was interrupted. Kael felt his pulse quicken.
"Lyra," he said warningly.
"Relax," she said with a laugh. "I'm too tired to seduce you properly anyway. I'm just teasing." She paused. "Mostly."
She collapsed onto the cot, not bothering to remove her boots, and was asleep within minutes. Kael watched her for a moment, marveling at how easily she could switch between deadly assassin and... this. Vulnerable. Human.
He returned to the table, intending to review the documents once more, but his eyes kept drifting to where Lyra slept, her face peaceful in the dim lamplight.
"You care for her," Soulrender observed. "The bond grows stronger."
"Is that a problem?" Kael asked silently.
"Perhaps not. Strong emotions can fuel great power. Love, hate—they're two sides of the same coin, both burning bright." The sword paused. "But attachment creates vulnerability. Enemies will use her against you."
"Let them try," Kael replied, but he knew the sword was right.
Julian would notice Lyra eventually, if he hadn't already. Would target her to get to Kael.
Which meant he needed to end this soon, before the people he cared about became collateral damage in his war.
He worked for another hour, then finally allowed himself to rest, sitting in a chair with Soulrender across his lap. Sleep came fitfully, filled with dreams of blood and vengeance and Lyra's voice calling to him from darkness he couldn't reach.
He woke to find her standing over him, her hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.
"Kael. Wake up. We have a problem."
He was alert instantly, hand on Soulrender. "What?"
"Garrett just got word from his contacts. Julian knows about the documents. He's sending people to find them, and to find us. We have maybe an hour before they start searching this district."
Kael cursed. "Marcus must have told him. How many?"
"A lot. Julian's mobilizing his entire network. This isn't just a few thugs—he's sending his best people."
Kael looked at the documents spread across the table, hours of work that had given them the roadmap to destroying Julian's empire. They couldn't lose them now.
"We need to move," he said, gathering the papers quickly. "Pack everything. We're leaving."
"Where?"
"Somewhere Julian won't think to look." An idea was forming, risky but potentially brilliant. "The last place he'd expect us to go."
"Which is?"
Kael smiled grimly. "His own territory. The Silver District. Hide in plain sight."
Lyra stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "That's insane."
"Exactly. Which is why it'll work." He finished packing the documents into the case. "Julian will search the Black Market, the slums, all the places criminals hide. He won't expect us to walk right into his stronghold."
"Because it's suicide," Lyra pointed out.
"Or brilliant."
"There's a fine line between brilliant and suicidal, and you keep dancing on it," Lyra said, but she was already gathering her weapons. "Fine. But when we die horribly, I'm going to haunt you."
"Get in line," Kael replied.
They left the safe house minutes later, slipping out through a back tunnel that Garrett showed them. The old soldier clasped Kael's hand at the exit.
"Good luck, boy. You're going to need it."
"Thank you for the help," Kael said.
"Don't thank me yet. Stay alive long enough to actually take Julian down, then you can thank me." Garrett looked at Lyra. "Keep him from doing anything too stupid."
"That's a full-time job," Lyra said, but she smiled.
They emerged in an alley three streets away, the morning sun bright and harsh after the dimness of the tunnel. The city was waking up, merchants opening shops, workers heading to their jobs, completely unaware of the shadow war being waged in their midst.
"The Silver District," Lyra said as they walked. "You really think we can hide there?"
"For a little while," Kael replied. "Long enough to make our next move."
"And what is our next move?"
Kael thought of the names on the documents, the web of corruption and greed that Julian had woven. Thought of how satisfying it would be to tear it all down, to watch his cousin's empire burn.
"We start turning his allies," Kael said. "One by one, we show them the truth. And when Julian is alone, isolated, with no one left to protect him—"
"We kill him," Lyra finished.
"We kill him," Kael agreed.
The path ahead was dangerous, likely to get them killed a dozen times over. But Kael had already died once. What was one more risk?
They headed toward the Silver District, toward the heart of Julian's power, carrying secrets that could topple an empire.
Sometimes, the best move was the one your enemy never saw coming.
And Julian, for all his cunning, had never expected Kael to come back from the dead.
That mistake was going to cost him everything.
* * *
END OF CHAPTER 22