The city of Virelia never truly slept.It only paused—like a predator holding its breath.
Neon lights bled into the rain-soaked streets, turning every puddle into a fractured mirror of lies, power, and unspoken truths. Somewhere between those reflections stood Elaris Vein.
Her wings were hidden tonight.
Not folded—restrained.
She leaned against the cold balcony rail of the upper safehouse, synthetic fingers tightening just enough to bend steel by a fraction. The wind tugged at her hair, carrying distant sirens and something worse
Memory.
You are not a weapon,unless you choose to be.
The voice echoed not from the city, but from inside her core.
Xyren.
Her twin.Her shadow.Her conscience coded in silence.
"You're unusually quiet," she murmured.
A soft hum answered back, low and familiar.
Because tonight… you are afraid.
Elaris scoffed. "I don't do fear."
You do now.
Before she could retort, the air behind her shifted.
Not sound.Not scent.Presence.
Kael Dravien.
He didn't announce himself. He never did. He simply existed like gravity deciding where everything else would fall.
"You're bleeding," he said calmly.
Elaris glanced down. A thin line of crimson traced her wrist where metal met skin. She hadn't felt it.
"Observation skills finally improving, mafia prince?" she replied, turning slowly.
Kael stood a few steps away, black coat damp with rain, eyes darker than the sky above them. But there was something off tonight.
He wasn't cold.
He was… restrained.
"Sit," he said.
"I don't take orders."
"I'm not giving one," he replied, shrugging off his coat and draping it over her shoulders anyway. "I'm asking you not to collapse in front of me."
Thatthat made her pause.
The coat was warm. Real. Human.
"Why do you care?" she asked softly.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Because every time you bleed," he said, voice low, dangerous, "this city takes a step closer to owning you."
Elaris met his gaze and for the first time, didn't deflect.
"You can't protect me, Kael."
A bitter smile ghosted his lips. "I know."
Silence stretched between them, heavy but not empty.
Thena tremor.
Not from the ground.From him.
Elaris noticed it instantly. His hand resting on the balcony rail near hers was shaking.
She looked down at it.Then back up at him.
"Black Vow doesn't shake," she said quietly.
"Steel does," Kael replied. "When it's heated long enough."
That's when she understood.
This wasn't fear of her enemies.This was fear for her.
Xyren's voice whispered again.
He is learning what you already know.That power without attachment is hollow.
Elaris reached out slowly, deliberately-and covered Kael's hand with her own.
His breath hitched.
The city roared below them, but up here… everything stilled.
"Kael," she said, barely above a whisper, "if you stand beside me… you don't get to look away when it hurts."
His fingers curled around hers, firm now.
"I never learned how," he admitted.
Rain began to fall harder.
Neon blurred.
And somewhere in the circuitry of Elaris Vein, something ancient and dangerous awakened
Not rage.Not vengeance.
Hope.