*Kael’s POV**
The heavy gates of the Black Spire closed behind me with a deep metallic thud, like the building was sealing me out for good.
The guards’ eyes trailed me as I walked down the stone path, their stares heavy, suspicious.
I should have felt relief. I didn’t.
Mark’s face came to mind.
Mark—my brother-in-arms, my loyal friend.
The man who’d once carried me out of gunfire without a second thought… reduced now to a wheelchair.
The day I was arrested, his car “accidentally” collided with a truck on the highway.
Two crushed legs. Gone in a heartbeat.
No accident. I could smell Milton’s hand in it. A message. A warning.
I thought of visiting him, just to say *hello*, to let him know I hadn’t forgotten. But walking in empty-handed felt wrong. I needed to show up with something
