Jackson found Copper at the far end of the garden courtyard, his back turned, phone pressed to his ear. The older man’s voice was calm but his tone carried weight, as though every word decided the fate of men far away.Jackson waited, pacing slightly. The conversation dragged on for several minutes until finally, Copper ended it with a short, deliberate click.Only then Copper turn. His sharp eyes widened faintly when he saw Jackson standing there. “You move too quietly,” Copper remarked, slipping the phone into his coat pocket. “Nearly startled me, and that doesn’t happen often.”Jackson forced a small smile, though his mind was far from calm. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”Copper studied him for a moment, then nodded. “It’s unlike you to seek me out without a reason. What’s on your mind, Jackson?”Jackson hesitated, the question burning on his tongue ever since he had left Professor Layton’s office. He had expected answers from Layton, but instead he had been left with fragments

Jackson’s instincts spiked immediately. He stepped forward, his friends falling in close behind him. Dylan glanced around at the open courtyard, then shook his head. “Not here.”They followed him into one of the old study halls, abandoned between classes. Dust floated lazily in the beams of sunlight cutting through tall windows. Dylan closed the heavy wooden doors behind them and leaned against the wall, his breaths shallow.Without another word, he tugged back his sleeve.Gasps broke out in the room.Etched into the flesh of his forearm was a mark that pulsed like living fire. Twisting black lines spread outward in jagged patterns, glowing faintly with a crimson hue. The skin around it was raw, seared as though branded by something not of this world.Hailey clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God…”Nancy recoiled, whispering, “What is that?”Jackson stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. His heart knew the answer before his mind caught up. The air around Dylan’s arm seemed to hum with

The drive felt endless. Evans had stopped asking questions two hours ago, his eyes fixed on the black ribbon of road vanishing beneath the headlights. Aziel said nothing, and that silence pressed harder than any threat. The Israeli’s calm demeanor was the kind of stillness Evans had learned to fear in his line of work — the quiet of men who killed without hesitation.At last, the car turned off the main road and onto a winding gravel path that snaked through dense countryside. The headlights caught the outline of a weathered safehouse, hidden behind thick pines and ivy, its roof half-collapsed but reinforced with steel panels and fresh locks. To any passerby, it was nothing but ruin.Aziel killed the engine and stepped out. “We’re here.”Evans followed cautiously, his hand instinctively brushing the edge of his concealed weapon. The air was colder here, the countryside whispering with a silence that felt staged.Inside, the safehouse smelled faintly of damp earth and old wood, but it

The night air over Sky Tower carried the sharp tang of rain, the kind that hinted at an oncoming storm without yet breaking into thunder. Jackson stood at the glass railing, his reflection pale against the window as he stared into the skyline, his thoughts circling without rest.Behind him, the suite was too quiet, the kind of silence that made every second stretch like an eternity. Dylan had finally drifted into sleep, but only after Copper insisted on calling in a trusted doctor. The sedative had dulled Dylan's groans, but the peace according to the doctor was temporary.The mark writhed on Dylan’s arm like a living brand. Jackson had seen bruises, cuts, even burns—but this was different. The veins around the sigil bulged and darkened, as though some unseen hand were dragging fire through Dylan’s blood, pulling and stretching it to the breaking point. Every time the boy had stirred before the injection, the sight of it had made Jackson’s chest tighten.At first, he had feared the wo

Jackson and Celestine arrived in a small town which was far from Sky Tower and the bustling city where Elara's men could easily track them.They needed a place to spend the night, and so, booking a hotel was the only available option. Luckily for them, they found one, and since the town was small, the people had no idea that he was Jackson Hart, heir to the Hart's Empire.The hotel they had found was modest, tucked into a corner of the town where neon lights buzzed outside.When the receptionist asked them who they were, Jackson told them names that could not be linked to him and Celestine in any way.They eventually checked into the small room, where they hoped to get some sleep before thinking of what to do the following day.Celestine trembled even after the shower he coaxed her into taking, after which, she climbed upon the bed hoping that she'd be able to sleep without fear of Elara's men. Jackson helped her settle gently onto the bed, pulling the heavy covers up to her shoulder