For a moment, time didn't move.
Kael stared at Ryn as if trying to erase and redraw him into someone else—someone who hadn't just stepped into the furnace with an Enforcer drone trailing behind like a loyal dog.
"Ryn," Kael whispered, voice raw. "You told me to trust you."
"I did," Ryn said, calm, almost apologetic. "And I meant it. I didn't want it to be this way."
Mira didn't lower her blade. The drone buzzed closer, scanning, its lens glowing like a predator's eye. Heat bled from the pipes, the air thick with betrayal.
"How long?" Mira spat.
Ryn looked at her with something like regret. "Long enough. Since before Kael found the library."
Kael's stomach turned. "You were watching me?"
"Protecting you," Ryn said quickly. "At first. They wanted to know who was sniffing around the old ruins. I didn't know what you'd find. But once I saw the library…"
"You saw power," Mira snapped.
"I saw possibility," Ryn shot back. "Ashenfall's broken. You both know it. And you want to burn yourselves out protecting a pile of dusty books? I'm offering a deal. One that might actually save us."
"You're working with Varn," Kael said, voice trembling.
Ryn's gaze hardened. "I'm working for myself."
He stepped forward. The drone hovered at his side, silent, waiting. A bead of sweat slid down Kael's temple, sizzling on the floor.
"Varn doesn't want to destroy the library. He wants to control it. And if we hand it to him, we get access. Safety. Freedom. No more scavenging. No more hiding."
Mira laughed—a dry, bitter sound. "Freedom under a tyrant's leash is just another cage."
Kael's fists clenched. "You think he'll let you keep it? The moment he has the knowledge, he'll erase us. You included."
Ryn's face flickered—doubt, quickly buried.
"Come with me," he said, softer now. "I can protect you. Kael, we could live in the Spire. Together. Not like this."
Kael took a step back.
"I thought you were my friend."
"I am," Ryn insisted. "That's why I'm giving you a choice. You hand over the data crystal… or I take it."
The drone whirred louder.
Kael looked at Mira. She didn't move—but her fingers twitched against the hilt of her blade. Waiting.
"Then take it," Kael said, voice cold.
He reached beneath his shirt—and hurled a smoke capsule to the floor.
The chamber exploded in a cloud of thick grey vapor. Mira moved first—blade flashing, slicing through the drone's optical wire. Sparks burst in a fountain of blue.
"RUN!" she shouted.
Kael dashed into the side corridor as Ryn cursed behind him. Another stun shot lit the mist. Mira caught up, grabbing Kael's arm, dragging him down a maintenance chute just as metal pinged around them.
They tumbled into darkness. Pipes. Screaming air. Heat. And then—
Silence.
They crouched in a sub-tunnel, gasping. The smoke hadn't followed. The drone was dead. Ryn hadn't chased.
Kael felt the data crystal, still hot against his chest.
"You okay?" Mira asked.
Kael nodded numbly. "He was my only friend."
"He still might be," Mira said. "But right now, he's also a threat."
Kael looked down at his hands—scorched, trembling.
"I don't think I can do this."
"You can," she said, more gently now. "You have to. The Overseers have eyes everywhere. The library's alive. Varn wants to twist it. And now Ryn…"
She didn't finish.
Kael breathed deep. Let the ache settle in his bones.
Then he stood.
"We go back to the library. We find what's next. No more running."
Mira gave a small nod.
Above them, the city burned. But in the tunnels below, something colder—something sharper—was beginning to awaken in Kael.