Third Person's POV:Roman sat at his desk at midnight and looked at numbers that no longer added up.They had not added up for a while. He had been making them look like they did through a combination of timing and confidence and the particular skill he had developed over years of making people see what he needed them to see.That skill had a shelf life.He was past it.He opened the creditor message again even though he had already read it four times.Twelve hours. Full remainder. Or the agreement is void and the penalties apply.He closed it."Twelve hours," he said to the empty room. "Right."~.~He had found out about Vivienne's lawyer through a contact inside her firm. Someone low enough to be overlooked and careful enough to be useful.The call had come at ten."She is moving faster than expected," the contact had said. "The documentation is almost complete. She called today asking to accelerate the filing.""How long," Roman had said."A week. Maybe less."He had thanked the co

Nathan's POV:The Hollow Court funding Roman's legal defense. That was the last thing on my mind when I fell asleep.It was still on my mind when I woke up at five, two hours before Daniel usually knocked.I did not wait for the knock. I went down myself.~.~Two weeks now. Every morning the same room, the same mats, Daniel calling out drills like he was reading them off a list only he could see."Again," he said. "Same line. Faster."I crossed the room.I do not know how else to say it. One second I was at the wall. The next second I was at the other wall. My body did not feel like it had moved through the space between. It just arrived.I stood there and looked at my hands.Daniel had stopped moving completely. He was not calling the next drill. He was just standing with his arms loose at his sides, staring at me like I had done something he needed a second to believe."Say something," I said."That took you," he said slowly, "under half a second.""Is that fast.""Nathan." He rubbe

Third Person's POV:Roman had not slept.He had put the phone down at midnight and picked it up twice more before morning, and each time he had stopped himself before the call connected.He was still staring at it when Leo walked into the kitchen at seven, already dressed, backpack over one shoulder like it was any other school day."You look terrible," Leo said.Roman almost laughed. "Thank you.""I am not trying to be mean. You just do."Roman set the phone face down on the table. He looked at his son properly, the way he had not looked at him in a while, and something about the boy's face this morning was too calm. Too finished. Like he had already worked through whatever was coming before it arrived."Leo," Roman said. "How do you know about the phone call last night."Leo pulled out the chair across from him and sat down without being asked."Which one," he said.Roman's stomach dropped slightly. "The Hollow Court one.""That one," Leo said, nodding, like he was confirming an app

Nathan's POV:I found Daniel in the map room, standing over the table with his arms crossed, looking at the same street markings he always looked at like they might rearrange themselves if he stared long enough."Claire told me what she found," I said.He did not turn around right away. "I thought she might.""You have been sending information to her father," I said. "Before it even reaches me properly." I kept my voice even. I was not accusing him yet. I wanted to hear it first. "Tell me what actually happened."~.~He turned around then and looked at me directly."I did not send anything to her father," he said. "I told Marcus. My uncle. He is the one who shared it with the Shen family, because of the engagement arrangement between the families.""That is still the same thing, Daniel.""It is not," he said. "I was reporting up a structure that already existed before any of this started. I was not leaking anything. I was protecting it, keeping it inside a chain that was supposed to b

Nathan's POV:Adrian called us both into the map room before I had even finished my coffee."They will move within seventy two hours," he said. No warming up to it. Just the fact, laid flat on the table like the stones."How do you know that," I said."I have a source inside their organization," he said. "I will not name them yet. Not until I know it is safe to."Daniel had gone still beside me, the way he did when something confirmed a fear he had already been carrying quietly."Move means what, exactly," I said. "Plainly, Adrian. I am done with careful language this week."He looked at me steadily."They will attempt to take you," he said. "Before the awakening reaches the point of no return. Once it completes fully, once all six stones respond together, it becomes irreversible. There is no stopping it after that. They want to stop it before that door closes."I sat with that for a second."And if they cannot get to me directly," I said. "What then."~.~"Then they isolate first," A