Kaia screamed as the rake struck her, but she reacted fast too. With a sharp flick of her wrist, the gravel at her feet surged upward. She flung her hand forward, and a column of earth slammed into the shed, knocking someone back with a muffled yell.
She collapsed right after, gasping, one hand clutching her temple.
Aela rushed to her. "Kaia, are you alright?"
Kaia groaned, squinting through the pain. "I'm fine… I think. My head might be twice its size tomorrow, but I'm okay."
Devvyn knelt beside her and helped her to her feet, glancing between her and the shed. "You sure?"
She gave him a weak thumbs up, still wincing.
The three of them moved toward the shed cautiously. Inside, a boy lay pinned beneath the raised earth, his legs half-buried, arms flailing as he tried to break free. His resemblance to Leonara Wynstros was unmistakable.
Devvyn blinked. "Soren Wynstros?"
The boy didn't answer. He just kept struggling, breathing hard, eyes darting from Kaia to Devvyn and Aela.
A sharp cry rang out. Leonara came running from the house, panic etched across her face. "I told you to leave! You're trespassing! I'll report you to the guards, I swear it!"
Kaia lifted her head slightly, her voice cold but clipped with pain. "Leonara Wynstros, your son just assaulted Kaia Velthorn, daughter of Eryas Velthorn. I suggest you start talking before I decide to bring my father's men here."
Leonara faltered mid-step, her mouth opening and closing. She turned away from Kaia and ran to Soren, dropping to her knees beside him.
"Please," she said, voice shaking. "Release him."
Kaia's hand hovered in the air, but she didn't budge. "Start talking, and I will."
Leonara hesitated, then looked at Kaia. She winced at the forming bruise across the girl's forehead. She bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry," she said, voice softer now. "Let me get you something for the pain. Please… release my son, and we can all go inside and talk."
Kaia glanced at Devvyn and Aela. Devvyn gave a small nod. She rubbed the aching side of her head. "Fine," she muttered. She flicked her wrist in a small arc. With a sigh, she lowered her hand, and the mound of earth holding Soren collapsed instantly, releasing his legs. He scrambled up and immediately bolted for the edge of the shed.
"Soren, no!" Leonara shouted. "Son, don't!"
Kaia's hand was already raised again, fingers twitching. Soren skidded to a stop, eyes darting back to her. For a moment, he looked like he was about to keep running.
"Try it, and I will pin you to the ground."
Soren clenched his jaw, breathing hard, then turned and walked slowly back toward them.
Kaia nodded. "Glad we're getting somewhere."
Leonara and Soren started walking back to the house. Devvyn walked behind them.
Aela went to Kaia and put the girl's right hand around her neck to support her. She dwarfed Kaia's height but she was strong enough to bear her weight.
"You know," Aela said, "you're pretty cool for an academy kid."
Kaia laughed. Then winced in pain. "My father is a minor Lord and not exactly liked amongst the elite. I've had to fight for my spot in the highborn world. Be ruthless and smart, and cold so no one messes with me. I know how it feels to be treated like you're less than. Not that it's the same as what you and your friend experience…but—"
"Yeah. I get it." Aela said.
They made their way back into the house. The air was thick with tension, but no one said anything until they were all seated again. Devvyn and Aela on the couch, Kaia in a high-backed chair beside the couch, a cold compress now pressed to her head. Leonara sat on the armrest, glancing between them and her son. Soren stood near the doorway, arms crossed, gaze wary.
No one moved. No one spoke.
Finally, Kaia broke the silence. "Alright. Let's start again. Tell us what's going on."
Leonara wiped her face with trembling hands. "Five weeks ago," she began, voice cracking, "Eamon sent a message. Said he wanted to meet Soren. After all this time…"
She broke down again, burying her face in her hands.
Soren moved to her side and wrapped his arms around her protectively. His eyes, when he looked up, were sharp with anger. He stared straight at Devvyn, Aela, and Kaia.
"I'll talk," he said tightly. "Just… leave her alone."
He sat down, still keeping one arm around his mother. "Five weeks ago, I got a message from my father asking me to meet him in an alleyway in Eternis. We hadn't talked in years. Not since I ran away from home. But he said he wanted to fix things. That he missed me." His voice faltered for a moment. "So I went."
Soren rubbed his palms together as if trying to shake off the memory. "The alley was empty. He wasn't there. I waited. Thought maybe he was just running late. But my father? He was never late. Ever. Not once in his life."
He looked up. "An hour passed. That place wasn't safe, so I decided to leave. But just as I was about to go… I saw it. A knife. Just lying there on the ground." His voice dropped. "I'd recognise that knife anywhere. It was his. My father's. And it was covered in blood."
"I panicked. Ran all the way back here." He shook his head. "Told my mother everything."
Leonara took over again. "We were scared. We didn't know who else might've seen him. Or if the people who hurt Eamon were coming for Soren next. We were going to leave the city. Eamon had stashed away some precious stones here for emergencies, but…" She gave a bitter laugh. "They were fake. All of them. So we couldn't go anywhere. We've just been hiding."
Kaia, who'd been quiet till now, shifted in her seat. "If they were after him, they would've come by now. I don't think they know he saw anything."
Devvyn nudged her sharply with his elbow. "Not helping."
Kaia blinked, then winced, pressing the cold compress back to her head. "Right. Sorry."
Devvyn looked between them, then asked gently, "Did you… tell any of this to the city officers? About the message, the alley, the knife?"
Leonara shook her head. "No. I didn't know who to trust. And if I told them the real story, they might've taken Soren away, as a witness. I couldn't bear to lose him again."
"And we wouldn't be talking if your friend here wasn't threatening us with her status." Soren pointed angrily at Kaia.
"You hit me in the face with a rake! You're lucky these two convinced me to stop. I would have left you that way in the shed."
"Ok. Ok. Ok. Everyone calm down." Aela clasped her hands together.
Devvyn nodded slowly, understanding. "We won't tell anyone. I promise." His eyes drifted to the table in front of them. There was a notebook and pen sitting there. He got up, walked over, and scribbled something down. Then he tore the page and handed it to Leonara.
"That's my address. If you ever need help, come find us. We'll do anything we can do to help. There's lots of places to hide in the Lower City." Devvyn saw Soren stiffen at the mention of the Lower City.
Leonara took the paper with both hands, eyes wide with surprise.
Soren crossed his arms. "We don't need your patronage."
Leonara shot him a sharp look. "Soren."
He clenched his jaw but said nothing more.
She turned back to Devvyn, her voice softer. "Thank you. Really."
Kaia stood up, brushing her hands down her jacket. "Well, I think we're done here. Thank you for being open with us, Mrs. Wynstros. We've got what we need, so we'll be heading out now. Goodbye."
Aela gave Leonara a polite nod. "Take care."
Devvyn offered a quiet, "Stay safe," and waved as they stepped out.
Once they were outside, Kaia turned to them and said, "I can drop you both at the train station if you want."
"Yeah, thanks," Devvyn said, and Aela nodded.
The ride back was quiet. Kaia stared out the window, eyes half-lidded, while Aela leaned back, arms crossed, seemingly deep in thought. Devvyn watched the streets blur by, but his mind was elsewhere.
When they got to the station, they climbed out, and the carriage pulled away.
Devvyn waited for a beat, then said, "They lied."
Aela turned to him. "What?"
"Leonara and Soren," he said. "They lied. Soren said he found a bloody knife. But I found Eamon with the knife in his chest."
Aela frowned. "Why…"
"Also, when I mentioned the Lower City, I saw Soren react. There's more to the story," Devvyn said. "Way more."
"Maybe," Aela said slowly. "But… they really did look scared. They're in danger, Dev. Maybe it's not our place to drag them into more of it."
Devvyn didn't answer at first. He stared at the ground, brows furrowed.
Then suddenly he looked up. "Prisma."
Aela blinked. "What?"
"That name Leonara mentioned. Prisma. Eamon said I should tell Calder Pyrethorn something about… Prisma. But he didn't finish. I thought it was a place. Or some kind of code. But it's a person."
Aela threw her hands up. "Wait, wait, wait—this is doing my head in. I can't believe they lied to our faces. Straight-up lied. They definitely know more than they're letting on."
Devvyn sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I know."
She looked at him sideways. "So why'd you give them your home address, then?"
Devvyn shrugged, then said, "Bait. They're desperate. And scared. If they really are in danger, they might reach out. And if they do, I want them to come to us."
"But for now," Devvyn added, "I'm going to wait. Maelis and I are close to finishing the machine. Once that's done… we hand the book to Lord Pyrethorn when he comes to inspect it."
