By dawn, Emberreach was behind them.
Kael followed Thalia through low hills veiled in mist, his legs aching and mind racing. The relic she'd given him pulsed faintly beneath his tunic — like a second heartbeat. Or a warning.
"Where are we headed?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"North, to the ruins of Delvarn. There's someone we need to meet," Thalia said without slowing.
"Who?"
She only replied, "Someone who doesn't work for the crown — but isn't exactly fond of shadow blood either."
---
They arrived at midday. Delvarn was a forgotten village swallowed by ivy and time — half-buried in the roots of old trees. Moss covered collapsed roofs. A cracked fountain gurgled faintly in the square.
"Wait here," Thalia said. "He doesn't like strangers."
But Kael didn't get the chance.
A whistle sliced the air. His pendant yanked forward like pulled by invisible string — and in a blink, it was gone.
Kael turned. A figure in a patchwork cloak dashed across the square, vaulting over stone and shrub with feline ease.
"Hey!" Kael shouted, sprinting after them.
Thalia looked up just in time to see Kael vanish into the ruins.
---
The thief moved like shadow — nimble, fearless. She wore a fox mask, hair tied in cords, and carried no blade. But her steps were practiced. She knew the ruins.
Kael chased her across fallen beams, slipping twice, heart hammering. The pendant — the only thing tying him to his past — was in her hand.
He dove at her near a crumbled staircase — missed.
She stopped suddenly, perched on the edge of a collapsed second floor, balancing like a bird.
"You're not bad, for a forge brat," she said behind the mask. "But relics like this? They don't belong to people like you."
"It was given to me!" Kael snapped.
"Exactly," she replied. "You didn't earn it."
She flicked the pendant upward — and it spun toward Kael. Reflexively, he caught it.
Then she leapt.
Kael's pulse surged — and before he could think, the shadows around his feet coiled, snapping upward like tendrils and catching her mid-air.
She dangled, shocked.
He stared at his hands. "I didn't… mean to…"
"Shadow born," she whispered. "So it's true."
Thalia arrived, panting. "I told you not to run ahead."
Kael released the shadows, and the girl dropped, landing lightly. She pulled off her mask. She couldn't have been more than sixteen — eyes sharp, smile crooked.
"Name's Lyss," she said. "And if you're who I think you are… I really should have stolen more than your pendant."
Thalia crossed her arms. "She's a thief. But a useful one. She knows things we don't."
"And I want in," Lyss added, grinning at Kael. "Whatever storm's coming? I'd rather be behind it than under it."
---