Chapter 26 –
The gunshot still echoed in my skull.
Jace's grip was iron around my hand as we tore through the trees, lungs screaming, branches clawing at our faces. The figure was fast — too fast — their shadow slipping between the trunks like smoke.
"Keep running!" Jace shouted, though his voice was rough with exhaustion.
But then — the chase stopped.
One moment, the forest was all crashing leaves and pounding footsteps. The next, silence.
We both froze, breathing hard. My pulse was so loud I barely heard it — the voice.
"Enough."
The figure stepped out from the dark, hands raised. No weapon. No sneer. Just… a man.
His hood fell back, revealing sharp, tired eyes and streaks of silver in dark hair. He wasn't much older than Jace — late twenties maybe — but something in his face looked centuries worn.
"You're wasting time running from me," he said, voice low, steady. "If I wanted you dead, Valerie… you'd be dead."
Jace moved in front of me instantly, shielding me with his body. "Then say what you came to say. Or I swear—"
"I'm here because your family doesn't have much time."
My stomach dropped. "My… family?"
The man's gaze cut to me, pinning me in place. "Your mother and father are alive. Hurt, but alive. So are Ethan and Lena. They're being held in an old relay station two miles from here."
The relief was so sudden it nearly knocked me to my knees — but then suspicion flooded in. "How do I know you're not lying?"
"You don't," he admitted. "But every second you waste doubting me is another second they bleed."
Jace's jaw was tight, his body a wall in front of mine. "Why? Why take them?"
The man's expression darkened. "Because your father stole something he shouldn't have. And the people who want it back… will tear the world apart to get it."
I stared at him, heart twisting. "What did he steal?"
"Not what," he said. "Who."
The air between us went razor-sharp.
Jace turned, his eyes locking with mine — and in them, I saw the same fear that was curling cold in my gut.
The man took a step closer. "Valerie… you were never supposed to be here. But now that you are, you're part of this whether you want it or not."
Something in his tone made my skin prickle. He wasn't threatening me — he was warning me.
"What's your name?" Jace demanded.
The man hesitated, then said, "Call me Kael."
And just like that, the forest didn't feel empty anymore. It felt like it was holding its breath, waiting for the next move.
Kael's eyes darted to the distance, sharp and urgent. "If you trust me, I'll take you to them. But if you don't—" His gaze hardened. "—you'll never find them in time."
Jace's hand slid down my arm until his fingers laced with mine, his touch grounding me. "Your call, Val."
The choice burned in my chest.
Because whatever Kael was about to lead us into — I knew it would change everything.