Danaya Valcrest watched the final blue line disappear from her grandmother’s core monitor.The machine released one low note. A healer reached across the crystal panel and silenced it, but everyone in the emergency chamber had already heard the sound.Lady Seraphine’s energy core had stopped and so as her heartbeat.Thirty empty Energy Vials stood inside the brass rack beside her bed. Each one had been drained to maintain the preservation field surrounding her body. The Valcrest Family had spent more energy in the past hour than most low-level workers earned in several years.But still, it had not been enough. Life is really precious, no one can buy it.Danaya stood at the foot of the bed with her hands clenched behind her back. Her Level Ten core pressure filled the chamber, causing the flames inside the energy lamps to burn low.No one dared approach her.The chief healer removed his crystal lenses and lowered his head."Lady Danaya," he said as his hand trembles, he knows what woul

"No."His answer came quickly.He reached for the fifth needle.The moment it entered Seraphine’s chest, the preservation machine released a warning tone.The chief healer checked the panel."Her remaining energy is falling."Several relatives began speaking at once.Mirella pointed at Akeel."Stop him!"Garrick stepped forward.Danaya raised one hand.Nobody moved."He continues," she said.Akeel glanced at her.Danaya did not trust him, but she had chosen to protect his attempt.He returned his attention to Seraphine.The sixth needle reopened the channel near her lungs. The seventh guided healing energy toward her heart.His fingers began to shake.He tightened his grip until they became steady again.Danaya watched every movement.She had seen master healers perform difficult procedures. They worked with trained assistants, expensive machines, and prepared healing arrays.Akeel worked alone.The eighth needle entered.Seraphine’s fingers twitched.A woman near the wall gasped.The

The hover car descended nearly an hour later.Akeel heard iron gates open. A powerful barrier vibrated around the vehicle as it entered the estate.The guards carried him inside and placed him on a couch. Once the door closed behind them, the room fell silent.Akeel opened his eyes.He sat up and studied his surroundings. Energy-powered lamps floated beneath the ceiling. Silver lines ran through the walls, carrying power to the estate’s protection spell.House Valcrest had spent a fortune on the place. Even the cooling runes drew power from pure Energy Vials instead of common crystals.Akeel examined the metal cuffs around his wrists.The guards had used an expensive restraint designed to suppress an energy core. It had detected the weak Level One energy he allowed the public to see.It would never have held his real power.The lock had already been released, so Akeel removed the cuffs and placed them on the table.His black coat rested over a nearby chair. The guards had taken it wit

Back in the present.The two guards still stood between Akeel and the door.Behind him, Chief Healer Odran checked the crystal monitor beside Seraphine’s bed. Her heartbeat remained steady. The energy coming from her core was weak, but it had not fallen again.“She is stable,” Chief Odran announced. “The danger has passed for now.”Relief spread through the room.Danaya kept her attention on Akeel.She still had no answer to the question she had asked him.Who was he?Akeel looked at the guards. “Tell them to move.”“Not yet,” Danaya replied. “My assistant is checking your identity. You will remain inside the estate until I receive his report.”Chief Odran approached before Akeel could answer.“Lady Danaya, I need to ask him about the treatment,” the healer said. “If Lady Seraphine suffers another collapse, we must know what he did.”Danaya motioned for him to continue.Chief Odran faced Akeel.“Who taught you to use Core Needles?” he asked. “That method has not been taught in the hea

The storm arrived without warning.Dark clouds rolled over the Valcrest estate, swallowing the last light of evening. Within minutes, rain struck the tall windows hard enough to make the glass tremble.Lightning flashed across the sky.The estate's protective barrier answered.A pale blue wall of energy rose around the outer grounds. It absorbed the lightning before it could strike the buildings, then released the remaining force into the ground beneath the estate.Another flash followed.Thunder shook the halls.Danaya sat in the eastern reception room with Rowan and the two captains of her guard standing nearby.She had barely spoken since Rowan gave her the final report.Akeel Veer Corvain was not her missing fiancé.The records proved it.He had lived in Havenrock. He owned the Second Spark Workshop. He had worked in several towns during the same periods when her missing fiancé had been living under House Valcrest's protection.Two men.Two lives.One face.One name.Danaya had sp