They didn't stop until the city swallowed them again.
By the time they reached Aiden's car, Liora's lungs burned and her legs trembled so badly she nearly collapsed against the door. The street looked ordinary too ordinary. People passed by laughing, checking their phones, unaware that something monstrous had just slipped back into the cracks of their city.
Aiden locked the doors the moment they were inside.
For a few seconds, none of them spoke.
The silence felt heavier than the chase.
Liora stared at her hands. They were shaking. She pressed them together, trying to ground herself, but the images still lingered faces unraveling, memories dissolving, the way the enforcer had looked at her like she was already half-gone.
"It tried to erase me," she said again, quieter this time.
Aiden turned the engine off instead of answering. He looked at her then not like an investigator, not like a protector but like someone weighing the cost of a truth he hadn't wanted to say out loud.
"Yes," he said. "Because you crossed the line."
"What line?" Her voice cracked despite her effort to stay calm. "I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to see her."
"I know," he said gently. "But the moment you touched that echo, you stopped being passive. The Circle tolerates witnesses. It eliminates variables."
Seren leaned back in the seat, arms folded, eyes on the rain-streaked windshield. "You're officially a variable now."
Liora laughed once, breathless and bitter. "That's comforting."
Aiden glanced at Seren. "You knew this could happen."
Seren's jaw tightened. "I knew it was a risk. Not that they'd send an enforcer this fast."
"That means something else is in play," Aiden said. "Something bigger than a random echo."
Liora swallowed. "My sister."
Neither of them denied it.
The realization settled into her bones, cold and unavoidable. Whatever had happened to her sister wasn't just a mistake or collateral damage. It had mattered. Enough to trigger defenses years later. Enough to make the city react.
Aiden reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a small device, placing it in Liora's palm. It was smooth, no larger than a coin.
"What is it?" she asked.
"A stabilizer," he said. "It won't stop your ability, but it'll keep the echoes from overwhelming you. And it'll mask you slightly."
"Slightly?" Seren echoed. "That's reassuring."
Aiden ignored her. "From now on, you don't go anywhere alone. Not campus. Not home. Not even across the street."
Liora looked up at him. "You're staying."
It wasn't a question.
He met her gaze, something unspoken passing between them. "Yes."
The word settled something inside her didn't erase the fear, but made it bearable.
Outside, the rain continued to fall, washing the city clean without changing a thing.
And somewhere beneath the streets, the Veiled Circle adjusted its calculations because one erased girl had left behind a sister who refused to forget.