Morning came reluctantly.Mist clung to the river like a second skin, pale and cold, blurring the line between water and land. The village stirred in fragments rather than waves. Doors creaked open, fires were coaxed back to life, and wary eyes followed Ryan wherever he moved. He felt them even when he did not look, the storm brushing against their fear and curiosity alike.It unsettled him how easily he could feel it now.Not just danger. Not just intent. Emotion.He sat on a smooth stone near the riverbank, elbows resting on his knees, watching the current slide past. Beneath his skin, the storm was quiet but not asleep. It pressed gently against his awareness, as if reminding him that it was still there, still vast, still capable of ending everything around him if he loosened his grip.Olivia joined him without a word, settling close enough that their shoulders touched. Her spark flowed softly through the bond, not dampening

The woman did not wait for Ryan’s answer before turning away.She moved with the confidence of someone who assumed she would be followed, her boots clicking softly against the stone as she crossed the square. The mercenaries groaned behind them, slowly realizing they were alive and very much defeated. A few tried to sit up and thought better of it when Kael’s gaze flicked their way.Maya nudged one with her foot. “Stay down. You’ll live longer.”Ryan hesitated only a heartbeat before following the woman. Olivia stayed close at his side, her spark brushing against his storm in a steadying rhythm. Kael brought up the rear, spear resting across his shoulders, eyes scanning rooftops and alleys with practiced suspicion.They passed through a narrow archway and into a quieter district where the noise of the market dulled into murmurs. Lanterns hung low here, casting amber light across plastered walls marked with old sigils and newer graffiti. The air smelled of incense, ink, and something b

The streets of Vareth had a pulse. Not the steady beat of life, but a subtle vibration, a rhythm made of intent, fear, and opportunity. Ryan could feel it beneath his feet, through the soles of his boots, through the storm coiled in his veins. It whispered to him, teasing, taunting, always observing. Each step he took sent ripples through it, and the storm reacted, curious, coiled, eager—but restrained.Olivia stayed close, a calm anchor. Her spark blended with the storm, steadying it, offering him a tether to sanity in a city that wanted to devour both mind and body. She leaned slightly into him, whispering through the bond, Keep your senses wide. They are everywhere.Kael and Maya flanked him, their movements sharp and deliberate, silent guardians in the chaos of the city. Kael’s eyes darted to rooftops, windows, and alleyways, noting patterns, anticipating attacks before they materialized. Maya’s fingers brushed the edges of her knives, already calculating angles, escape routes, an

The river divided Vareth the way a scar divides skin—uneven, stubborn, impossible to ignore. By late afternoon its surface burned with copper light, reflecting the forges along the western bank and the leaning houses stacked like crooked teeth on the east. Barges drifted lazily between the bridges, their sails patched, their crews watchful.Ryan stood on the balcony of the Red Eel tavern and pretended to admire the view.Below him the common room roared with life. Dockhands shouted over tankards, dice rattled across stained tables, and a fiddler played a tune too fast for anyone sober to follow. The smell of fried eel clung to everything, thick as smoke. It was the kind of place where secrets changed owners as easily as coins.Maya leaned against the railing beside him, chewing on a strip of dried fruit she had stolen from somewhere. “I like this city,” she said. “It lies to your face without shame.”Kael sat with his back to the wall near the balcony door, spear wrapped in sailcloth

The streets above had changed their voice.Where an hour ago there had been music and drunk laughter, now there was the anxious clatter of shutters and the quick, nervous barking of dogs. People moved with the purposeful haste of those who did not want to understand what they were hearing. The river wind carried a new smell—wet iron and something sour, like weeds rotting in a jar.Ryan stepped out of the courtyard first. The key in his pocket felt warmer than it should, as if it had learned the shape of his pulse. Olivia emerged beside him, drawing her cloak tighter around her shoulders. Kael followed, unwrapping his spear without bothering to hide it anymore. Maya vaulted the low wall instead of using the gate, landing lightly in the alley with a grin that looked slightly forced.Maris closed the hidden door and pressed the stones until the seam vanished again. “If that thing destroys my city,” she said, “I’m charging you double.”“Fair