Akeel said nothing, keeping his hands resting flat on the polished table. Danaya reached toward the contract, her dark eyes fixed on the ink. "Give it to me," she said. He passed the parchment across the wood. She pulled it closer and read through every line without speaking. At the bottom of the page rested a circular private settlement seal, a magical matrix pressed into the paper. Once both of them poured their personal energy signatures into it, the agreement would become legally and magically binding under city law. Danaya pressed her thumb against the left half of the circle. A thin thread of pale silver energy seeped from her skin into the fibers. The parchment accepted her mark, the lines of the matrix lighting up in a soft glow. She pushed the sheet back across the table toward Akeel. Akeel placed his thumb against the right side. He released just enough raw energy to satisfy the seal, keeping every copied affinity buried deep within his core. The circle flared with a mut

Akeel studied Danaya across the heavy table, his gaze steady despite the fatigue still lingering in his shoulders. "What proposal?" he asked.Danaya rested her folded hands on the dark wood, choosing her words with the care of someone laying out a contract rather than a plea. "You want the marriage dissolved. I want it to continue.""For how long?" Akeel asked. "Until my grandmother's condition becomes stable," Danaya replied. She glanced toward the closed doors of the inner chamber, and for a moment the composure slipped from her face. Seraphine's core had stabilized only minutes ago, but the woman's channels remained brittle, fragile as old glass. Even with the relic needles withdrawn, another collapse lingered behind every breath, and Danaya seemed to feel the weight of that uncertainty pressing on her chest."She believes you are my husband," Danaya said."I am not the man she thinks I am," Akeel replied."I know," Danaya said, her voice quieter now. "Rowan confirmed you are not my

The matter was not finished.Danaya glanced toward the staircase.“There is one problem.”Akeel followed her gaze.“My grandmother.”His expression hardened.Seraphine Valcrest had survived the energy collapse only hours earlier. Her energy core had been badly weakened. A normal person's core could recover after a severe loss of energy, but Seraphine was already old. Another major emotional shock could force her core into another dangerous fluctuation.“She believes you are still her grandson-in-law,” Danaya said. “If you leave tonight, she may wake up and discover that you are gone.”Akeel said nothing.“She could become distressed,” Danaya continued. “If her core becomes unstable again, I don't know if she will survive another collapse.”Akeel's eyes narrowed.He hated the situation.He hated the marriage.He hated being dragged into the Valcrest family's problems.But he had also been the one who stabilized Seraphine's damaged core.He knew exactly how fragile she was.Akeel finall

The Court was already busy when Akeel and Danaya arrived.People filled the main hall. Some waited to register marriages. Others stood before the dissolution counters with documents in hand. Energy-powered screens displayed court schedules above the long registration desks.Akeel barely noticed any of it.He only wanted this finished.He and Danaya approached the registration desk and submitted their marriage record. The clerk entered their information into the court's central system.A moment later, their marriage appeared on the screen.The clerk looked at the record, then at them."You were married yesterday?""Yes," Danaya replied."And you're filing for dissolution today?""Yes," Akeel said.The clerk stared at them for a few seconds before sighing."Young people move quickly."Akeel ignored the comment."Can you process it?"The clerk shook her head."Not today."Akeel's expression hardened."Why?"She turned the registry screen toward them."Every newly registered marriage has

The train arrived in Havenrock in the evening.Akeel walked beside Lyra as they left the station. He cannot use his teleportation copied ability right now. He is with Lyra and she does not know he can teleport and copy super abilities from others.Lyra's family home stood near the entrance of the village.Akeel expected the streets to be quiet.Instead, the road ahead was crowded.Luxury vehicles lined both sides of the street.Villagers stood outside the gates of Lyra's home.Some held phones above their heads.Others were recording with small video devices.Several people were speaking into crystal-link communicators, sending live images to relatives and friends who could not be there.Lyra stopped walking.Her face became pale."What is happening?" she whispered.Akeel looked toward the house."I don't know." He said.Lyra suddenly pushed through the crowd."Excuse me. Can I get through?" She asked the crowd.People moved aside just enough for her to pass.Akeel followed behind her.