Chapter 19: Unsteady Ground

The night was mercilessly cold.

Faye sat by the fire, her body still stiff from the remnants of pain. Talis rested just beyond the tree line, his massive form curled into the shadows, his glowing blue eyes the only sign of his presence.

Kael sat across from her, silent. His sword rested beside him, but he hadn't reached for it since they stopped to rest. It was strange—seeing him here, after everything.

Faye wasn't sure what unsettled her more: the betrayal itself, or the fact that some part of her still wanted to trust him.

She exhaled, staring into the flames. "You hesitated back there."

Kael didn't react at first. Then, slowly, he looked at her. "I did."

Faye narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Kael's fingers flexed against his knee, but his face remained unreadable. "Because I was supposed to let her break you." His voice was quiet. Too quiet. "And I couldn't."

Something inside her twisted. "You expect me to forgive you because you decided not to watch me die?"

"No." His gaze didn't waver. "I expect nothing."

Faye clenched her jaw. She should hate him. She did hate him. And yet—

She turned her attention back to the fire, unwilling to wade any deeper into that mess of emotions.

A rustling in the underbrush snapped her attention upward.

Her instincts flared—hand already reaching for the dagger at her hip—when a familiar voice cut through the night.

"Well, isn't this a damn surprise."

Faye exhaled sharply as Riven stepped into the firelight.

His dark hair was damp with sweat, his armor coated in dust from travel. His storm-gray eyes flickered over her, scanning for injuries, before snapping toward Kael.

Instantly, his hand was on his sword.

"You have about five seconds to explain," Riven said, his voice cold. "Before I put this blade through your throat."

Kael barely blinked. "Hello to you too."

"Don't." Riven's fingers tightened on the hilt. "Don't act like we're the same men who rode into battle together."

Tension crackled between them like lightning before a storm.

"Riven," Faye said, her voice low.

He didn't look at her. His attention was locked on Kael, muscles coiled, every bit the warrior she had always known him to be. "He was with them," Riven said. "With the Empress."

"I know."

Riven's jaw clenched. "Then why is he still breathing?"

Faye met his eyes. "Because I need him."

A beat of silence.

Then—

"You need him?" Riven echoed, disbelief lacing his words.

Faye held his gaze. "Yes."

Kael shifted beside her, but he didn't speak. He was letting her fight this battle alone.

Riven exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Tell me you aren't serious."

Faye stood, her exhaustion forgotten. "I don't trust him, Riven. But he knows things. He knows how the Empress thinks, where she'll strike next. And right now, we need every advantage we can get."

Riven let out a short, humorless laugh. "You're telling me that after everything she did to you—after everything he let her do—you still think he's worth the risk?"

No.

But she didn't say that.

Instead, she met Riven's gaze, steady and unwavering. "I'm saying I'll decide when he's no longer useful."

Kael's expression didn't shift, but something unreadable passed through his eyes.

Riven exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn it, Faye."

She waited.

Finally, he dragged a hand over his face and dropped into a crouch beside the fire. He didn't look at Kael. "Lyra's close," he muttered. "I sent her ahead to check for movement near the ruins."

Relief loosened the knot in Faye's chest. Lyra was safe.

For now.

But Riven's anger had not faded.

He looked at Kael again, storm-gray eyes hard as steel. "You pull anything, and I will end you. I don't care what Faye says."

Kael nodded once. "Understood."

The fire crackled between them.

Faye wasn

The ruins loomed ahead, jagged remnants of stone swallowed by creeping frost. The cold air was thick with tension as Faye, Riven, and Kael approached the shattered archway.

Talis kept to the shadows behind them, his massive form silent but ever watchful.

Lyra was already there, pacing beside a broken pillar.

The moment she saw them, she froze.

Her sharp, amber eyes locked onto Kael first—narrowing with immediate suspicion. Then they flicked to Faye, scanning her from head to toe, taking in the way she moved, the tension in her posture.

And then—

Lyra's breath hitched.

Faye didn't have to guess why.

The frost still lingered on her skin, her veins humming with a power that was not Shadowflame.

Lyra took a slow step forward, then another. "What happened to you?"

Faye exhaled. "It's a long story."

Lyra didn't blink. "Make it short."

Faye hesitated. How could she even begin to explain? That her magic had been stripped from her? That something ancient had woken in its place? That for the first time in her life, she wasn't sure what she had become?

She glanced at Riven, but his expression was unreadable. Kael, as always, remained silent.

She turned back to Lyra. "The Empress took my power."

Lyra stiffened.

"But she didn't break me," Faye continued, her voice steady. "She only uncovered something worse."

Lyra's gaze flickered to the frost creeping along Faye's fingers, the icy air that lingered around her like a second skin. Her expression tightened.

"Frostborn," she murmured. Not a question. A realization.

Faye swallowed. "I don't know what I am now."

Lyra's stare burned into her for a long moment. Then, suddenly, she grabbed Faye's hands.

The frost seared between them, but Lyra didn't flinch.

"You're still you," Lyra said firmly.

The words struck something deep.

Faye let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

But the moment was shattered when Lyra's gaze snapped to Kael.

"And what the hell is he doing here?"

Kael, to his credit, did not react to the venom in her tone.

Riven leaned against the ruins, arms crossed, watching the exchange with thinly veiled amusement. "I asked the same thing."

Faye sighed. "I'm keeping him alive because we need him."

Lyra blinked. Then she threw up her hands. "I leave for one day and suddenly we're adopting traitors?"

Kael tilted his head slightly. "Adopting? That's generous."

Lyra ignored him, turning fully to Faye. "Tell me you at least punched him first."

Faye's lips twitched. "I did."

Lyra huffed. "Good." She crossed her arms. "Still not enough."

Faye exhaled. "I know."

Riven cleared his throat. "We don't have time for this."

Lyra scowled but nodded. "Fine. But if he so much as breathes wrong, I'm putting a blade in him."

Kael met her gaze, unfazed. "You'd have to catch me first."

Lyra bared her teeth in a grin. "Try me."

Faye pinched the bridge of her nose. "Enough. We need a plan."

Riven pushed off the ruins. "Lyra scouted ahead. There's movement near the valley. The Empress's forces are still looking for you."

Faye tensed. "How many?"

"Too many," Lyra muttered. "They don't know where you are yet, but they will."

Riven nodded. "We need to move. Now."

Faye clenched her jaw. The Empress would not stop hunting her. And now, she was more dangerous than ever.

She turned to Talis, who watched from the shadows. His deep blue eyes met hers, full of quiet understanding.

He rumbled in her mind. We fight.

Faye exhaled.

Yes.

They would fight.

And this time, the Empress would fear her.

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