Candles lit up the dark room, making weird shadows on the stone walls. Estra stood completely still, her gold eyes watching what was happening in front of her.
The Shadow Queen was kneeling in front of a little girl about 7 or 8 years old. The kid was crying, with her little hands balled into fists.
Through the window behind them, a village burning in the distance, with black smoke rising into the night sky.
"You destroyed everything!" the little girl cried out angrily. "My home... my family..."
The Shadow Queen didn't seem bothered at all by what the girl said. Her face was calm and cold. "Sometimes things need to burn so other things can grow," she said in a smooth but firm voice. "Your family did what they were supposed to do. Now it's your turn."
"I hate you," the girl whispered through her tears. "I'll never do anything for you."
For just a second, the Shadow Queen almost looked like she cared, but that feeling disappeared quickly. She reached out and put her hand on the girl's head.
"You don't need to love the person guiding you," she said softly as darkness started swirling around the child. "You just need to follow."
The girl's eyes started closing as she passed out, falling forward.
"Sleep now," the Shadow Queen whispered. "Your job is waiting for you."
The vision suddenly broke apart.
Estra gasped and sat straight up in bed, her eyes wide open. For a moment, she lost her usual calm. Then she pulled herself together, putting on her normal cold, emotionless face.
Early morning light came through her window, making her plain room look gray. She rubbed her temples, thinking about the dream.
These weren't her memories. She didn't know the child in the dream—but the feelings had seemed so real and intense.
The weirdest part was feeling like she had been in both places at once: watching and being watched. Like she was both the Shadow Queen and the child.
Estra got out of bed in one smooth movement. Whatever these dreams meant, she wouldn't let them mess up today's work. The Blood Seeker had a job to do.
She got dressed methodically, putting on each layer like armor against the lingering feelings from her dream—the burning village, the shadow magic, and underneath it all, a child's helpless anger.
As she reached for the mission papers on her desk, her fingers touched the map of Calonia. The touch sent a shock through her body—a flash of vision so real it took her breath away.
Blood in water. Red swirls in blue depths. A shadow rising from under the waves, huge and ancient. And strangely, the feeling of falling sideways, like gravity had changed direction.
Estra pulled her hand away quickly, her gold eyes narrowing. These visions were happening more often and getting more disruptive.
More dangerous. She couldn't afford distractions, especially with the Shadow Queen taking a personal interest in this mission.
She gathered the papers with new determination, pushing the troubling images out of her mind. Whatever was waiting in Calonia, she would make sure Raven and Adrian were ready.
Or at least, ready enough to do what they needed to do.
The air in the briefing room felt tense. Three magic lanterns gave off a blue glow over the war table, which was covered with sea charts and intelligence reports. The western coast of Aethon—Calonia—stretched like a jagged cut along the edge of the map, with its ports marked in ink that seemed to shimmer when you looked at it from different angles.
Estra stood completely still, her gold eyes following Raven and Adrian as they came in. The former enemies kept a careful distance between them—not close enough to show trust, but near enough to work together.
"You're late," she said sharply.
Adrian leaned against the far wall with his arms crossed, "You know traffic was terrible and I run into an old woman today I had to help her."
Estra ignored his joke. She just pointed at the map. "Calonia. The empire's sea power. Home to the best navy fleet in Aethon—and the most profitable smuggling operations."
Raven came up to the table, his red eyes quickly scanning the documents. As he looked over the sea charts, something caught his eye. Faint traces, invisible to normal sight, seemed to pulse under the ink—something only his Blood Sense could detect.
"There's something on these maps," he said quietly, leaning closer. "Magic signatures, recently active."
Estra raised an eyebrow slightly. "Interesting. What do you see?"
Raven's eyes glowed brighter as he enhanced his Blood Sense. "Movement patterns.
The Tempest Veil, didn't go in a straight line. It zigzagged... almost like it was following underwater currents that normal ships couldn't detect."
Adrian pushed himself off the wall, suddenly interested. "Calonian water Arts.
Only best captains can sense and control tidal flows. Makes their ships faster and harder to track."
"The target," Estra continued, noting Raven's discovery with approval, "is a ship called the TempestVeil, captained by a man known as Pirate Valor. B-Rank Psychē Arts user, confirmed as Hydor—advanced water manipulation."
"Makes sense for a pirate," Adrian said, joining Raven at the table. "What's he carrying that's so important?"
Instead of answering right away, Estra slid a small leather journal across the table. Its cover had unusual markings—symbols that seemed to shift when you looked directly at them.
"This was found on a dead courier in Nefaria last month," she explained. "It mentions an artifact called 'Whispers of Shadow'—sometimes called 'Hades' Tears.' According to our intel, Valor got it from a sunken temple in the Misted Isles."
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. Something that shouldn't fall into the wrong hands?"
"The artifact boosts shadow magic beyond known limits," Estra replied. "Getting it back is a priority."
"I should mention," she added, hesitating unusually, "that working near Calonia's seas will affect your abilities. Being near that much water tends to... complicate blood magic. The elements don't mix well."
Raven frowned. "Don't mix well how?"
"Less control, more unpredictability. Blood reacts to water—sometimes drawn to it, sometimes pushed away. Unpredictable." Estra's gold eyes fixed on his. "You'll need to adjust accordingly."
Adrian's expression darkened. "If it's that valuable, and Raven's magic will be messed up, why send just the two of us? Valor is a B-Rank. This sounds like a job for The Third Guard Elites."
The room seemed to get colder as Estra's gold eyes turned to him. "Direct confrontation would be suicide. This needs subtlety, not force." She put a sealed folder on the table. "The mission is clear: get in, find it, get out. If you're discovered, your priority is escape, not fighting."
Raven reached for the folder, but didn't open it right away. "There's something you're not telling us."
It wasn't a question.
For a moment, something flickered across Estra's emotionless face—something almost like worry, quickly hidden. "The Shadow Queen has... a personal interest in this mission's success."
The air felt heavy with unspoken meaning. Raven's eyes briefly glowed brighter.
"Whatever let's get on with this," he said flatly.
Adrian's lips curved into a smile without humor. "At least we're doing this together this time." His hand flexed slightly, and for a moment the gravity around him seemed to waver, making the documents on the table shift just a little.
Estra watched their displays of power without comment. "The transport leaves in two hours. Review the folder thoroughly before departure." She turned to leave, then paused at the door. "And remember—recovery is the goal. Not revenge. Not investigation. Recovery."
After she left, Adrian and Raven exchanged a look full of shared understanding. Whatever the official mission, they both knew this was more than it seemed—another move in a game where they were pieces, not players.
"Well," Adrian said finally, breaking the silence, "at least Calonia has nice weather this time of year."