CHAPTER 14: THE NIGHT BEFORE
Day 53 – Thornwall, Miranda's Apartment
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The apartment was quiet.
Not the peaceful quiet of rest—the tense quiet of people pretending to sleep while their minds raced. I stood on the balcony, watching Thornwall's lights flicker in the darkness below, and felt the weight of tomorrow pressing down on me.
Tomorrow, we infiltrated the palace.
Tomorrow, we faced the Arcanum.
Tomorrow, I might die.
No. I corrected myself. Tomorrow, the others might die. I'm still immortal.
Was I? The ritual had damaged the seals. The bond felt different—weaker, stranger. I didn't know what I was anymore.
"Can't sleep?"
Raine's voice. Soft. She'd appeared in the balcony doorway, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"I don't sleep."
"You used to say that. But I've seen you sleep now. Twice." She moved beside me, leaning against the railing. "You were talking in your sleep the second time."
"What did I say?"
"Nothing clear. Just..." She hesitated. "You said a name. 'Admon.' Does that mean something?"
The name meant nothing to me. But through the bond, I felt something stir. A flicker of... something. Grief? Loss?
"I don't know," I said honestly. "It's just a dream."
"You've been having a lot of dreams lately."
"I'm mortal now. Mortals dream."
She was quiet for a moment. Then: "You're different since the catacombs. Quieter. More..."
"Human?"
"Scared."
I looked at her. In the moonlight, her freckles stood out like tiny stars.
"I am scared," I admitted. "For the first time in a thousand years, I'm scared."
"Good."
"Good?"
"Means you have something to lose." She leaned her head against my shoulder. "Means you're alive."
We stood like that for a long time, watching the city breathe.
---
Day 54 – Morning
Dawn came slowly.
Elara found us on the balcony—Raine asleep against my shoulder, me staring at nothing. She didn't comment. Just handed me a cup of tea and stood beside me.
"Darian confirmed the route," she said quietly. "The well entrance will be unguarded during the shift change. We have fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes to get in, stop whatever's happening, and get out."
"Yes."
"Those are terrible odds."
"They're the only odds we have."
I sipped the tea. Burnt. Raine had made it before falling asleep.
"Elara."
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For trusting me. For following me. For..." I gestured vaguely at everything.
She smiled—that warm, steady smile. "You gave us a reason to trust again. That's not nothing."
---
Liana emerged an hour later, looking like she hadn't slept at all. She probably hadn't.
"I found something." She spread documents across the table. "An old text. Pre-Cataclysm. It mentions something strange."
"What kind of strange?" Kaia asked.
"It talks about seven figures. 'They were seven who fled.' But the current pantheon has six gods. Always has." She tapped the page. "Probably just a myth. Early cultures had all sorts of creation stories before the gods established their power."
"Then why are you showing us?" Elara asked.
"Because it's old. Really old. Older than anything I've seen before." She shrugged. "Probably doesn't mean anything. But I thought it was interesting."
Through the bond, I felt it. That flicker again. Stronger this time.
Seven.
The word echoed in my mind. Not mine—its.
"Kairos?" Raine's voice. "You're doing that thing."
"Sorry." I shook my head. "Just tired."
---
The day passed in preparation.
Kaia sharpened her blades. Elara reviewed the route with Darian one last time. Liana organized her documents, packing the most important ones for the journey. Raine... Raine stayed close to me.
"You're worried about tomorrow," she said.
"Aren't you?"
"Terrified." She smiled. "But I'm more terrified of not going. Of hiding while the Arcanum does whatever they're planning."
"You've grown."
"I had good teachers."
I almost smiled.
---
That night, I dreamed.
Seven figures standing together. Laughing. Studying. Family.
Then fire. Screaming. A sky tearing open.
One of them turned to the others. His face was calm. Peaceful.
"Run."
The others fled. He stayed.
The sky reached down.
I woke gasping.
---
Raine was there. Of course she was.
"Another dream?"
"Another dream."
"Want to talk about it?"
"No."
She didn't push. Just sat beside me, her hand in mine, and waited for dawn.
Through the bond, I felt the entity watching. Silent. Patient.
What are you? I thought toward it.
No answer.
Just that presence. Ancient. Waiting.
---
Morning. Day 55.
We gathered our supplies. Checked our weapons. Said our goodbyes to Miranda, who hugged Liana longer than necessary.
"Come back," she whispered. "All of you."
"We will."
The streets of Thornwall were quiet at dawn. We moved through them like shadows—Kaia leading, Elara at the rear, Liana and Raine in the middle with me.
The palace loomed ahead.
"Ready?" Elara asked.
"No," I said. "But let's go anyway."
Raine squeezed my hand. "Together."
"Together."
We moved.
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END OF CHAPTER 14