The chill of the night still clung to my skin, but it was nothing compared to the cold dread that settled in my heart, quickly replaced by a furious surge of hope. I found Cael exactly where I expected him, on the West Tower spire, bathed in the pale light of the pre-dawn sky. I didn't need to speak. I simply held out my hand, and in my palm lay the small, hand-carved wooden bird.
Cael's impassive facade flickered, a rare expression of something akin to grave recognition crossing his face. He took the bird, his thumb gently tracing its familiar contours. "Leon's," he murmured, his voice low. "From the hidden compartment in your apartment. His last possession." He looked at me, his eyes piercing through the exhaustion in mine. "He was there, wasn't he?"
"Yes," I confirmed, my voice hoarse. "In a holding cell. Empty now, but it was his. They called them 'recruits.' And they know about me. The 'Sterling incident.' They called me an 'anomaly.'" My words tumbled out, raw with the terrifying revelations of the night.
Cael's grip tightened almost imperceptibly on the bird. "Then the trap is sprung. Their interest in you is now confirmed. He is alive, Kira. But if he is indeed a 'recruit,' he's likely being 're-educated' or trained for their purposes. Time is not on our side."
A cold certainty settled over me. "I need to go after him. Now. That warehouse must be connected to wherever they're holding him."
Cael shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the sleeping city. "That warehouse is merely a transit hub, a funnel. Leon would have been moved to a more secure location, a deeper stronghold. Infiltrating such a place will require more than stealth and elemental control. It will require information, resources, and perhaps... allies."
My jaw tightened. "Allies? Who could possibly help us? The academy is too dangerous to involve, and no one else knows what's happening."
"Indeed. This path exists entirely outside the academy's purview," Cael agreed. "But there are those in Phantasia who operate in the grey, who have their own reasons to oppose the Veridian Hand, or at least to profit from their disruption. Old contacts. Individuals who navigate the shadows, just as you are learning to do."
He looked at me, a calculated assessment in his eyes. "You've shown immense growth, Kira. You possess power and a nascent understanding of this city's true currents. But rushing into a Veridian Hand stronghold alone would be suicide. We need more intelligence on their inner workings, their defenses, their high-security facilities. And for that, we need someone with eyes and ears in places we cannot easily reach."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "There is an information broker, a relic of the old regime, who operates deep within the city's underbelly. He deals in secrets and has a network far wider than any Ministry official dares to admit. He is dangerous, unpredictable, and entirely motivated by self-interest. But he knows things. He might know where they take their 'recruits'."
My gaze fell to the small wooden bird still clutched in Cael's hand. Leon. He was alive. The thought was a searing ember in my chest, burning away fear, doubt, and hesitation. An information broker, dangerous allies, a plunge into Phantasia's criminal underbelly – it all sounded terrifying. But it was the path to my brother.
"Then we find him," I declared, my voice firm, unwavering. "This broker. Whatever it takes."