2024-12-23 17:43:36The room fell silent as the sharp crack of her slap echoed through the air. Samuel’s head turned slightly from the impact, but he didn’t react otherwise. His jaw tightened, his calm demeanor only fueling her anger.
“Bastard!” she spat, her voice trembling with fury.
As she raised her hand for another slap, Samuel caught her wrist mid-air.
“That’s enough,” he said coldly.
“I let you slap me twice.”
“The first was to repay the debt I owe your grandparents for taking me in.”
“The second was for the years you claim you were ‘trapped’ with me.”
“Now, we’re even. I owe you nothing.”
Madeline froze, her face a mixture of shock and rage.
How dare he defy her?
For years, she had grown used to Samuel’s quiet compliance, his willingness to endure whatever she threw at him.
She didn’t see her own faults, only her mounting anger.
This was all Samuel’s fault, she thought bitterly, especially after hearing about the investors pulling out because of him.
She burned with fury, wishing she could destroy him then and there.
The door behind her flew open, and Arthur’s voice rang out.
“Madeline!”
Arthur and Gideon hurried down the stairs, their faces a mix of confusion and alarm.
Arthur’s eyes locked on Samuel, his expression twisting in disbelief.
“What? Samuel?” he muttered, his voice low and stunned.
“Yes! You all see this asshole showed up!” Madeline’s voice rang out sharply as she pointed an accusing finger at Samuel.
Arthur’s expression darkened.
This woman—she had brought Gideon Hawthorne here, to a place that held such special meaning for the two of them.
“How did you get out of prison, you fugitive?” Arthur snapped, glaring at Samuel before signaling a waiter. “Call security!”
Samuel’s eyes moved between Arthur, Gideon, and Madeline.
He could feel their hostility bearing down on him, but he stood firm.
“I should’ve known—you’ve always been a worthless scumbag!” Madeline shouted, her voice cracking with anger.
Hurried footsteps echoed as the restaurant’s security guards arrived, followed by the manager.
The manager quickly took stock of the situation and gestured discreetly to the guards to hold back.
He wasn’t about to act rashly—especially not against Samuel Hayes, the man who had once saved the entire vineyard.
But Samuel had no intention of escalating the situation.
He gave a faint smile and nodded slightly at Gideon.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hawthorne,” he said calmly, his voice steady.
Arthur’s face turned red with angry.
“Don’t pretend like you know him! You have no right to speak to The Hawthornes’ young master!”
“So, you’re Samuel Hayes?” Gideon sneered, stepping closer.
He looked Samuel up and down, curling his lip in disdain.
“Born a loser, destined to stay one. People like you deserve to be taught a lesson.”
His tone dripped with arrogance, clearly eager to play the hero. His pride, already bruised by the manager’s earlier praise of Samuel, demanded satisfaction.
He cracked his knuckles dramatically, drawing everyone’s attention.
“What are you waiting for? Arrest him already!” Arthur barked at the guards.
“Relax, Mr. Brooks,” Gideon said with a smug grin. “It’s no fun sending him back right away. Let me handle him first.”
He squared his shoulders, settling into a fighting stance.
As the heir of a wealthy family, Gideon had access to every privilege money could buy, including martial arts training.
His trainers were former special forces soldiers, making him confident that no ordinary person could match him in a fight.
Muay Thai was his specialty, and he couldn’t wait to show off.
He could already picture Samuel sprawled on the ground, utterly defeated.
Smirking, Gideon’s grin widened as he looked at Samuel.
“When you beg for mercy, Hayes, make sure it’s loud enough. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Samuel’s face stayed calm.
“You’re not even worth fighting with me,” he replied coldly.
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231
People poured from their shattered homes and fire-scarred towers, drawn by the pulse in the air—a rhythm that wasn't heard but felt. A hum in the bones. A call in the blood.Nara stood at the summit of the Skyspire, the Crown of Flame hovering just above her brow, spinning slowly like a burning halo. She didn’t wear it. She didn’t need to. It obeyed her now.Below her, the city looked like a dream in reconstruction. Ashes swept into rivers, broken statues reborn into new mosaics. The past crumbled and the future crawled from its ruins, wide-eyed and unsure.Samuel watched from the plaza, his armor scuffed, his fingers still tingling with residual power. “She hasn’t come down in hours.”Madeline sat beside him, cradling a steaming mug. “Sh
230
Word had spread like wildfire: the god Veyr had returned, and Nara, once a corrupted vessel, now wielded the power to stand against him.Samuel stood in the shadow of the citadel’s east spire, watching the people gather in the plaza. They stared at the sky—still rippling from the strange event that had unfolded at the Plateau. His heartbeat hadn’t slowed since.Madeline joined him, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. “I can’t explain what happened. Not completely. That wasn’t just Ascension. It was integration.”“She fused with him?” Samuel asked, voice taut.“No. She resisted him. But she took something. Power, yes. But also memory. She knows more than any of us now.”
229
Though the city no longer burned, the ashes hadn't settled. After the confrontation at Hollow Ridge, hope fluttered through the survivors, but Samuel felt only dread. Something in Arthur's parting message—"You can cut the leash, but not the beast"—stuck in his ribs like a blade.The war room was darker than usual. Half its lanterns had been destroyed during the siege, and no one had bothered to replace them. The shadows made the maps look like ghosts.Sarah stood by the window, arms crossed. "The leyline is volatile. We've picked up spikes near the old Lunar Catacombs. You think Arthur's regrouped there?""Maybe," Samuel said, tracing the location on the map. "But he wouldn't go somewhere predictable. Not now."Madeline paced behind him. "What about Nara? She's stable, but the corruption lingers. She barely remembers her time under Veyr. And there's something else."Samuel looked up. "What?"Madeline hesitated. "When I scanned her with crystal runes, I saw... another aura. Familiar. I
228
The dawn after destruction was never silent.Smoke curled from the ruins of Aretra’s eastern quarter. Crystal fragments still floated in the air, whispering in fractured echoes—residual leyline voices now cut off mid-scream. The walls were cracked. The banners torn. Half the command tower was gone, buried beneath the twisted wreckage.Samuel stood amid it all, his sword sheathed, his thoughts louder than the wind. Nara had vanished. After the surge—the explosion of leyline energy—she had simply disappeared into the mist like a phantom.But the message was clear: Veyr was no longer just whispering. He was clawing his way back to the surface.Madeline walked slowly toward Samuel, bandaged and pale. “We found nothing,” she said quietly. “No blood. No body. Just scorched stone.”“She’s not dead,” Samuel said.“How do you know?”“Because I can still feel her.”Madeline didn’t ask what he meant. She only nodded. They had grown past explanations. The leyline connected them all now, in echoes
227
Maps of the city lay scattered across the table, red-marked zones indicating breached barriers and leyline flare-ups. The magical pulses had destabilized the eastern walls. Meanwhile, patrols reported sightings of hooded figures cloaked in Void mist—Arthur’s elite agents. The war was no longer knocking; it had walked straight in and taken a seat.Samuel stood at the table with the Falcon, Madeline, Damian, and Sarah. Nara rested in a warded tent nearby, recovering—but their time was razor-thin.“She’s stabilized?” Samuel asked.Madeline nodded. “Barely. The transfer worked… but she’s still bound to the leyline. If Veyr calls again, she’ll hear it.”Damian exhaled. “Great. So our walking leyline key might get hijacked by a god.”“Former god,” the Falcon corrected, tracing a finger across the map. “If Veyr was sealed once, he can be sealed again.”“But that took a whole civilization,” Sarah cut in. “We’ve got half a city, twenty battle mages, and a baker’s dozen of suicidal maniacs.”Sa
226
The crystalline roots that had sprouted when she touched the artifact spread out like veins, threading across broken stone and into the city’s foundations. The leyline had not only bloomed—it had reshaped the battlefield.Sarah knelt beside Samuel. “She’s alive?”“For now,” he said quietly.The Falcon crouched at the crater’s edge, inspecting the glowing roots. “This isn’t natural. This is controlled growth—like a mind guiding the leyline’s expansion.”Samuel looked down at Nara. “She became that mind. But I don’t think it’s over.”“Of course it’s not,” a familiar voice said behind them.They turned sharply.It was Damian, dusty and bruised, a streak of blood trailing down his temple. “The tunnels go deeper than we thought. We reached the original vault—the real one.”Samuel stood. “You found the Source?”Damian nodded grimly. “And something else. The Source… isn’t a thing. It’s a prison.”That landed like a blade.The Falcon tensed. “A prison for what?”Damian didn’t answer immediate
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