The orphanage slept in uneasy silence. Children huddled together in their beds, clutching thin blankets as if they could shield themselves from the chill in the air. But it wasn’t the cold that disturbed their sleep. It was something heavier, something unseen. The atmosphere had shifted. Whispers passed from bunk to bunk, though none dared speak too loudly.
They had all felt it. The night Brann disappeared. The strange way Lira walked now, no longer with her head bowed but with her chin raised and her eyes glowing faintly in the dark. The way Kael moved through the halls, his presence heavier than any adult’s.
Fear had taken root in the orphanage. Fear—and curiosity.
Kael sat on the edge of his bed, the Devil’s Dagger resting across his knees. The blade pulsed softly, feeding on his amb
