For a moment, no one moved.
The shattered lantern hissed softly on the ground, its last bit of flame flickering before dying completely. Darkness swallowed the courtyard again, thicker than before like it wasn't just the absence of light, but something heavier.
Watching.
Liora's fingers tightened around the glass shard. It was burning now, the glow seeping between her fingers in thin, pale lines.
"They're here," she whispered.
"I know," the stranger said under his breath.
A soft crunch echoed from the far side of the courtyard.
Footsteps.
Slow. Deliberate.
Not even trying to hide.
The stranger grabbed Liora's arm again, pulling her back until they were pressed against the crumbling wall. "Don't move," he murmured.
"You keep saying that," she whispered, her voice tight.
"Because you keep doing the opposite."
Another step.
Closer.
Liora strained her eyes, trying to make out shapes in the dark. At first, there was nothing just shifting shadows. Then, slowly, something separated itself from the black.
A figure.
Tall. Still.
And glinting faintly in the darkness.
Silver.
Her breath caught.
Wardens.
The word settled heavily in her mind, even before the stranger confirmed it.
"Don't let them see your face," he whispered.
"That's not comforting."
"It's not supposed to be."
A second figure stepped into view.
Then a third.
They spread out across the courtyard, moving with quiet precision, blocking every exit.
Liora's pulse hammered.
"How do they even know I'm here?" she asked.
The stranger's gaze flicked to her hand to the glowing shard.
"That," he said grimly. "You're basically a beacon."
"Great."
The shard pulsed again.
Not just them, the voice murmured.
Liora swallowed. "What does that mean?"
Something else is watching.
That didn't help.
Not even a little.
One of the Wardens stepped forward.
Up close, the silver armor was more unsettling than impressive. It wasn't polished or decorative~ it was smooth, almost seamless, like it had been poured over the body rather than worn. The helmet covered the face completely, reflecting nothing but darkness.
"Hand it over," the Warden said.
The voice was wrong.
Flat.
Echoing slightly, as if more than one voice was speaking at once.
Liora instinctively stepped back.
"Hand what over?" she shot back, trying to sound braver than she felt.
The Warden tilted its head slightly.
"The fragment."
Liora's grip tightened around the shard.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
A pause.
Then...
"You do."
The other Wardens began to move, closing in slowly.
The stranger cursed under his breath. "Yeah, this is bad."
"You think?" Liora snapped.
"On my signal, run."
"You've had a signal this whole time!"
"Trust me," he said. "You'll know."
That didn't make her feel better.
The lead Warden took another step forward.
"Last chance."
Liora's heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Her mind raced-run, fight, hide..but none of it felt like enough. The courtyard was too small. The exits were blocked. And those things… they moved like they already knew how this would end.
You can't outrun them, the shard whispered.
"Then what do I do?" she breathed.
There was a pause.
Then...
Let me help you.
A sharp, uneasy feeling settled in her chest.
"That doesn't sound good."
It isn't, the voice said simply.
The Warden raised a hand.
The air shifted. Then....
Let me help you.
A sharp, uneasy feeling settled in her chest.
"That doesn't sound good."
It isn't, the voice said simply.
The Warden raised a hand.
The air shifted.
Liora felt it before she saw it~ a pressure, like the moment before a storm breaks. The glass around the courtyard~ broken windows, scattered shards, even dust~ began to tremble.
Her eyes widened.
"They control the glass?" she whispered.
"Yeah," the stranger muttered. "Took you long enough."
"Helpful!"
"Still working on my timing."
The trembling turned into movement.
Shards lifted from the ground, rising slowly into the air, catching what little light remained. Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds.
All pointing toward her.
"Okay," Liora said faintly. "I see the problem."
"On the bright side," the stranger said, "at least you're their favorite."
"That's not a bright side!"
The Warden's hand clenched.
The shards shot forward.
"NOW!" the stranger shouted.
He grabbed Liora and pulled her sideways just as the glass tore through the space where she'd been standing. It slammed into the wall behind them with a sharp, violent crack.
They ran.
This time, Liora didn't hesitate.
They darted toward the narrowest gap between two Wardens, the stranger leading, Liora right behind him. Another wave of glass rose into the air, swirling like a storm.
Too fast.
Too close.
Now, the voice said.
Before Liora could question it, the shard in her hand flared with blinding light.
For a split second, everything froze.
The air.
The glass.
Even the Wardens.
Then...
A shockwave burst outward.
Not strong enough to destroy...but enough to disrupt.
The floating shards dropped, clattering harmlessly to the ground.
The Wardens staggered back, just slightly.
But it was enough.
"Move!" the stranger yelled.
They didn't stop running.
They burst out of the courtyard and into another narrow street, then another, weaving through the maze of Valecor's lower district. Behind them, the Wardens recovered quickly~ the sound of pursuit snapping back into place like it had never been broken.
Liora's lungs burned.
Her legs ached.
But she didn't slow down.
"Tell me you have a plan!" she shouted.
"I have an idea!" the stranger shot back.
"That's not the same thing!"
"Close enough!"
They turned a corner sharply~
~and nearly ran straight into another group of Wardens.
The stranger skidded to a halt. "Okay," he said. "That's new."
Liora stared, panic rising fast. "What now?"
For the first time since she'd met him, he hesitated.
"…Now," he said slowly, "we improvise."
The Wardens began to close in from both sides.
No escape.
No time.
Liora's grip tightened around the shard again.
It pulsed once.
Twice.
Then, softly~
There is another way.
Liora swallowed.
"Yeah?" she whispered. "I'm listening."
The voice didn't answer right away.
And somehow, that made it worse.
END OF CHAPTER 3.
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