The fortress trembled beneath their feet.
Cracks split the crystalline floor as the storm above unraveled. Wind currents collapsed in on themselves, and the once-floating towers began to drift listlessly. Sophia stood in the broken chamber, Kaen unconscious behind her, Noah silent at her side.
Rael and the others arrived moments later, eyes wide.
"You stopped him," Rael whispered, glancing between the still-burning scorch marks and the unconscious traitor. "I didn't think... I thought you'd both be dead."
Sophia turned toward the open sky. "He wasn't the only one being used."
The wind was too quiet.
Like it was listening.
⸻
They took Kaen into custody, binding him in chains of wind-forged iron. The Sky Faction elders—what few remained—gathered in the Hall of Echoes, their faces dra
