CHAPTER 57
The shadows moved first.
Sorayael stayed back, trailing them from the opposite side of the street, her steps light, her hood drawn low. She didn't draw attention-just another quiet traveler with a purpose.
The boy ahead, oblivious to his unseen company, took a turn into a side alley nestled between a tea shop and a worn-out apothecary. It led to a narrow storefront whose carved wooden sign was half-faded by time.
A bookstore.
Not a famous one-not even popular. The kind of place no one paid attention to unless they were searching for it. Sorayael's brow creased.
'Why here?'
She glanced to the rooftops-two figures shifted discreetly, one crouching along a rafter. She caught whispers, fragmented and hushed, just before she stepped inside.
Sorayael didn't flinch. She let the door close behind her with a soft chime.
The air inside was warm and lined with the soft scent of parchment and ink. Shelves towered over her, crammed with aging volumes-books on theory, alchemy, poetry, and banned histories.
'It was... beautiful. Wow.'
Her gaze flickered, and she spotted the lilac-haired boy already thumbing through a worn hardcover near the center aisle. His expression was focused, lips pressed together as if weighing something important.
Sorayael wandered calmly through the shelves, feigning interest as she kept the boy in her peripheral vision. Her fingers traced spines absentmindedly, but her mind was sharp. Alert.
When the boy finally picked a book and went to the counter, Sorayael followed at a distance, angling herself between two shelves to listen.
The store manager-a balding man with a crooked monocle-arched a brow. "You've got coin?"
The boy dug into his cloak and pulled out a few silver pieces, then offered the book with hopeful eyes.
The man squinted at him, then sighed, loud and dramatic. "You're lucky I have a soft spot for kids."
The bell above the door jingled again as he stepped outside.
Sorayael's heart stuttered.
'Damn, he's out!'
Without thinking, she grabbed the nearest book off the shelf, then a second, and rushed to the counter.
The manager blinked. "You read?"
He gave a soft laugh, then bagged the books. "You're lucky I have a soft spot for adorable things."
She took the bag, nodded her thanks, and slipped out the door-eyes already searching for the lilac-haired boy.
He was there. Rounding the far corner of the street.
And the shadows were gone from the rooftops.
Her stomach tightened.
'Okay, Sorayael,' she muttered internally. 'You're in this now.'
She adjusted her grip on the bag, quickened her pace, and followed.
The sky had already shifted, amber clouds bleeding into a deepening indigo as Sorayael trailed the lilac-haired boy through winding streets that pulsed with quiet life.
The boy walked with the innocence of someone who didn't yet know how dangerous the world could be-how quickly shadows could close in.
And they were closing in.
She saw the flicker of movement behind a wagon's frame. One figure near the mouth of an alley. Another in a rooftop's shadow. They were coordinated, patient.
Too patient.
Sorayael narrowed her eyes. Her instincts screamed, and her fingers grazed the hidden sigil carved into the inside of her cloak, it's a paper for teleportation when emergency comes. Just in case.
Then, as the boy passed a dim, crooked corner between two old buildings-
The shadows pounced.
A gloved hand reached for him from behind a barrel. Another man stepped forward to block the path ahead. The boy froze, confusion overtaken by panic, book clutched tightly to his chest.
He was trapped.
'Not on my watch.'
A blur of silver and resolve, Sorayael moved. Fast and Silent. A gust of wind kicked dust from the stones as she shot forward.
The man reaching from behind didn't even have time to react before her foot struck his wrist with brutal precision. His grip shattered. He howled, stumbling back.
The other spun toward her, drawing a short dagger.
She ducked under the blade, her hand snapping up to twist his wrist and slam his arm into the wall behind him. The dagger clattered onto the stones.
Before he could finish, she pulled the blade free and knocked the air from his lungs with a swift jab of her elbow. He collapsed in a heap.
Another man came charging at her from the alley mouth-taller, broader, and clearly angrier than the rest.
But Sorayael had already calculated him.
She waited a beat-then sidestepped, caught his momentum, and used his own strength to hurl him into the crates behind her. They shattered on impact. Apples rolled onto the cobblestones like scattered marbles.
The final one hesitated, clearly rethinking his life decisions.
She turned to him, slowly, silver hair catching the glow of the lantern light, the stolen dagger now casually spinning in her hand. Her golden eyes pinned him like a curse.
He ran.
'Coward.'
Breathing steady, she turned back toward the boy, who stood frozen against the wall, wide-eyed, still holding his book like it might save him.
He blinked. "Y-You just-You fought like a-like-Are you a knight?!" he asked with his twinkling eyes.
He stared at her for a long moment. "You saved me. Thank you. Really." A small smile bloomed on his lips, still nervous, but genuine. "My name's Caldrin. Caldrin Veyhart."
Sorayael chuckled under her breath. "It's alright, I-"
She sighed but nodded. "Okay. Lead the way."
'Maybe I can investigate later?'
They passed a series of iron-wrought gates and stepped into a homestead hidden by the rising trees of the west-a gentle estate nestled near the slope of a fog-kissed hill. Lanterns flickered along the path. A dog barked in the distance. It felt like peace.
Caldrin tugged her forward excitedly. "Auntie! I brought someone!"
The door creaked open, and a woman in her elder years with curled silver-gray hair turned with a laugh. "What trouble did you cause this time?"
But before she could finish, another voice joined from inside. A laugh.
Deep and familiar.
Sorayael paused at the threshold.
There he was, sitting casually on the edge of a low bench, a teacup in hand. He had his hair tied back messily, boots muddy, cloak slung over the nearby chair. And he was smiling-laughing with Caldrin's aunt as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Until his eyes landed on her.
He stood slowly, the color draining from his face like someone had just told him the sun had vanished from the sky.
Sorayael, equally frozen, blinked once. "...You're here?"
Reinhold took one shaky step forward, disbelief carved into every line of his face. "What-How..? I thought I would see you again only when summoned."
The tension broke.
Caldrin looked between them. "Wait.. do you two know each other?"
Reinhold glanced down, then dropped to one knee in the middle of the entryway.