The interruption wasn’t just a summons. It felt like the world itself broke in—ripping through the quiet, stopping everything that had been building between Nyra and Kael in the hidden room. Nyra hadn’t even caught her breath after Kael’s last words when footsteps above started, picking up speed and multiplying. They marched down the steps—slow, certain, like nobody would dare tell them to wait outside.
Kael turned cold in a second. Whatever curtain of tension had hovered between them a moment ago snapped tight, folding into something formal and chilling. Anything honest or unfinished was stuffed away, masked with command. Nyra backed up without thinking—an instinct, not fear. Something fundamental had shifted.
A pale glow spilled down the stone stairs, slicing through shadows. And there
