Kane
The scent of blood still clung to my armor as I stalked through the dimly lit corridor of our temporary shelter. The abandoned outpost we had taken refuge in was crumbling, its stone walls cracked with time and decay, but it served its purpose. We needed a place to regroup, to patch up our wounds, and more importantlyâto make sense of what we had just uncovered.
We were getting close. Too close.
The ambush had been planned. The enemy knew we were coming, which meant someone had been feeding them information. And as much as I wanted to believe that our ranks were still intact, untainted by betrayal, I knew better. I had seen the way our attackers moved, how they targeted specific members of our unit, how they almost succeeded in cutting us off from one another. This wasn't a mere skirmishâit was a message.
And it was meant for me.
I exhaled sharply, pushing through the throbbing pain in my side where a blade had nearly found its mark. Fallon had done a decent job of stitching it up, her hands steady despite the tension between us. She had hovered, uncharacteristically silent as she worked, her usual fire tempered by something I couldn't quite name. The ghost of her touch still lingered on my skin, and I hated the way it unsettled me.
I couldn't afford distractionsânot now.
I found Fallon at the far end of the outpost, standing by the remnants of what had once been a war table. A map was spread before her, weighted down by a pair of daggers. Her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders in waves that caught the dim torchlight, but her expression was sharp, focused. She looked up the moment she sensed my presence, her blue eyes meeting mine with that same defiance that had both infuriated and intrigued me from the moment I met her.
"We need to talk," I said, keeping my voice measured.
She crossed her arms, unimpressed. "We do."
I stepped closer, ignoring the way my body still ached from the fight. "The attack wasn't random. We were led into that trap."
Her jaw tightened. "I know." She gestured to the map. "I've been going over our movements, trying to figure out where the leak is. Whoever set us up knew our route, knew when we'd be most vulnerable. Someone within our ranks is feeding them information."
I nodded, already having come to the same conclusion. "That means we can't trust anyone outside this room."
Her expression hardened. "Do you think it's one of our own?"
I hesitated. It was a possibility I didn't want to consider, but I couldn't ignore it. "I don't know yet. But someone with access to our mission details is working against us."
She exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "Then we have to figure out who before it's too late."
I watched her for a moment, taking in the tension in her shoulders, the way she carried the weight of this mission just as heavily as I did. Fallon was reckless, infuriatingly stubborn, and far too impulsive for her own good. But she was also relentless. And in moments like this, when the fire in her eyes burned with determination, I knew I could trust her to see this through.
"We start with those who knew our route," I said, stepping closer. "There aren't many. Lord Aldric, a handful of senior Valdyrs, and the ones in our unit."
Fallon nodded, but her gaze flickered with something else. "What if it's someone we never suspected?"
I held her stare, the air between us charged. "Then we do what needs to be done."
She swallowed, but didn't back down. "Even if it means turning on our own?"
I didn't answer right away. Instead, I reached down, tracing the edge of the map with my fingers. "This mission isn't about loyalty. It's about preventing a war."
She searched my face, something unreadable in her expression. Then, to my surprise, she stepped closer, closing the space between us until I could feel the warmth of her body despite the cold seeping through the outpost walls. I tensed but didn't move away. She was testing meâshe always did.
"You always talk like it's just strategy," she murmured. "Like none of this gets to you."
I clenched my jaw. "It doesn't matter what gets to me."
She tilted her head slightly, studying me like she was searching for a crack in my armor. "Liar."
I exhaled slowly, willing myself to step back, to put the distance between us that should have never closed in the first place. But I didn't. I couldn't. Because despite everythingâdespite her recklessness, despite the way she challenged me at every turnâthere was a part of me that didn't want to let go of this moment.
And that was dangerous.
Before I could find the words to cut through the tension, a voice echoed through the outpost.
"Kane! Fallon!"
Aela's footsteps pounded against the stone floor as she appeared in the doorway, breathless. Her expression was tight with urgency.
"We found something," she said. "You both need to see this."
I cast one last glance at Fallon, then forced myself to step away. The moment was gone, swallowed by the weight of reality.
"Let's go," I said, my voice returning to the sharp command it had always been.
Fallon hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding. And as we followed Aela into the darkness, I knew one thing for certain:
Whoever was behind this assassination attemptâwe were closing in on them.
And they had no idea what was coming.