Seth’s POVThe entire mine reeked of blood and burnt ozone. I could smell it even before I stepped inside, the kind of thick, metallic scent that burned the back of your throat and made your instincts scream.Rose was ahead of me, a faint silhouette bathed in blue light. The glow from her veins flickered like lightning trapped under glass. Every step she took echoed through the tunnels, uneven, aimless. She wasn’t walking like herself anymore.I wanted to call out to her. Hell, I almost did.But what if she didn’t recognize me? What if she turned and tore me apart like she did those operatives outside?So I stayed quiet. Careful. Watching from the shadows.The deeper we went, the louder the hum grew. It wasn’t just the Astrasite anymore, it was her. The frequency she emitted matched the mineral’s resonance perfectly. Like they were syncing. Like the damn thing was alive and had finally found its host.The walls began to glow faintly as we descended. Crystals bloomed from the rock like

Seth’s POVThe first thing I noticed was the ceiling, it was plain white, humming faintly like it was alive. The second thing was pain. A slow, grinding throb behind my eyes, like someone had driven nails through my skull and decided to twist them for fun.When I tried to move, something tugged at my arm. IV lines. A monitor beeped beside me, steady but annoying. The air smelled of antiseptic and metal.I blinked hard, forcing the blur out of my eyes. My vision cleared enough to make out the shape sitting by the bedside was Lucas.He looked like hell. His eyes were sunken, beard stubble rough, uniform torn near the collar. When he saw me move, he nearly dropped the tablet in his hands.“Jesus, Seth,” he breathed, leaning forward. “You’re awake already?”I swallowed, throat raw. “Where the hell...?”“Calm down,” Lucas said quickly, putting a hand on my shoulder before I could sit up. “You took a serious hit back there. You were unconscious for almost fourteen hours. Concussion, rupture

Seth’s POVI thought I’d feel better by now. But I didn’t.Every inch of my body burned like someone had replaced my blood with acid and then politely asked me to get some rest. My veins pulsed with this dull, poisonous heat that never fully went away, no matter how much water I drank or how long I stared at the ceiling pretending I wasn’t falling apart.They said I was going through detox.Apparently whatever crap got into my system back in the mine was more than just sound shock and trauma, it was chemical. Some slow working toxin laced into the air or maybe injected during the chaos. I didn’t know. All I knew was that my body was trying to get rid of it, and it hurt like hell.Lucas had left a tray of pills and nutrient fluid by the bed. The pills looked like little rocks of misery, and the drink tasted like burnt metal, but it kept me alive, so I couldn’t complain. Not too much, at least.Days had started blending into each other. I couldn’t tell if it was morning or night anymore

Alex's POVThe border of Veloria stretched out before me like a faded scar, familiar, but no longer comforting. The moment I crossed through the checkpoint, that stale scent of iron and rain hit me, the same smell that always lingered in the air here. Veloria had this way of looking perfect from afar... polished highways, uniformed officers, well trimmed hedges but the closer you got, the more cracks you saw. The same could be said for my family.I leaned my head back against the seat of the train and exhaled. Veloria, home or at least, what people insisted on calling home.It had been years since I left this place. Years since I told my grandfather that I’d rather sell coconuts by the sea than inherit his empire of secrets. Solara had been warm, loud, and free. There was something honest about it, the way people smiled with their whole faces, the way sunlight didn’t feel like a privilege. Veloria, on the other hand, always felt like a museum... beautiful, but you were never allowed t

Alex’s POVGrandfather’s words hung in the air like smoke... heavy, impossible to breathe through.He had just said, “There’s more,” and that alone froze me. More? After everything? After the part where my sister was kidnapped, after the part where Rennard, that fucking damn snake married into the family, after the part where the Tyrel name was dragged through the mud?I stared at him, trying to read his face. His eyes didn’t flinch, though. He meant it. There was more.“More?” I finally said, my voice sharper than I intended. “I thought that was all of it.”Mr. Mason sighed, rubbing his temple with a trembling hand. His ring, the family crest one clinked softly against his cane. He looked like a man too tired to keep his secrets, but too proud to let them go easily.“Sit, Alex,” he said quietly. “This part... you’ll need to hear it all before you speak.”Something in his tone stopped me from interrupting. I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms, trying to hold back the irritat