Chapter 18 – The Woman Who Knew Too Much

Cain studied the woman across the table, every instinct in his body telling him to be on guard. Her smirk was calm, controlled—too at ease for someone who had just casually admitted to knowing about the Titans. That wasn't something people whispered about. That was knowledge that could get someone erased.

His fingers twitched beneath the table, prepared to move if this turned into something else. "You're going to have to be more specific," he said, voice low.

The woman leaned back, tapping a gloved finger against the side of her glass. "Oh, come on," she said, as if amused. "You crawl out of the Abyss, leave a trail of broken Enforcers behind you, and you think no one's paying attention?"

Cain's heart pounded once, heavy. She knew about the fight.

He kept his expression still. "Word travels fast."

She shrugged. "For most people? No. But when something impossible happens—like, say, a condemned nobody surviving the Forsaken Trials and walking free? Well… let's just say I have an eye for interesting things."

Cain exhaled slowly, controlling his breathing. This wasn't just some black-market smuggler looking for a payday. She knew too much. The question was, how?

"I don't even know your name," he said.

She lifted a brow. "Names are expensive."

Cain slid the Elysium-minted coin across the table. She didn't touch it.

"Cute," she said. "But I deal in a different currency."

He let the silence stretch between them. She didn't seem in a hurry to fill it. The way she watched him—it wasn't with fear or even caution. It was like she was waiting.

He flexed his fingers, feeling the Titan Core hum inside him, a faint heat beneath his ribs. "What do you want?"

Her lips curled into something sharper than a smirk. "To make a deal."

Cain leaned forward slightly. "You don't even know what I want."

"Oh, but I do." Her fingers traced a slow pattern in the condensation on her glass. "You want to get into Elysium. You want to know why they threw you into the Abyss. And, most of all, you want to know what you are."

Cain's breath slowed. The weight of her words settled over him like a shadow.

She was right.

The memories burned inside him—the visions from the Titan Core, the buried past that was clawing its way back to the surface. The Sentinel's voice still echoed in his mind: The truth was buried.

And now, this woman—a complete unknown—was dangling those answers in front of him.

His jaw clenched. "What's your price?"

She lifted her drink and took a slow sip before answering. "Simple. You help me get something out of Elysium."

Cain narrowed his eyes. "Something?"

She set the glass down, tilting her head. "Someone."

The air between them shifted.

Cain wasn't expecting that.

"I don't do rescues," he said flatly.

Her smirk returned. "You do now."

He exhaled through his nose, leaning back in his chair, weighing the situation. He had been planning to get into Elysium anyway, but this changed things. If someone needed breaking out, that meant they were important.

Maybe dangerous.

Maybe someone like him.

"You're awfully confident I'll agree," Cain said.

The woman chuckled. "Of course. Because you're not an idiot. You know I have something you need, and you're smart enough to realize this deal benefits both of us."

Cain hated that she was right.

But that didn't mean he trusted her.

Still, he wasn't in a position to be picky. He needed a way into Elysium, and if this woman could provide that… he would play the game. For now.

He drummed his fingers against the table. "Tell me who we're breaking out."

Her amusement dimmed slightly. Just a flicker—but Cain caught it.

"An old friend," she said, voice quieter now. "Someone the High Council doesn't want getting out."

Cain didn't move, but his mind was already spinning. That narrowed things down. There weren't many people the High Council kept locked away.

And none of them were normal.

The woman pushed back her chair, standing fluidly. "I assume that means you're in?"

Cain stood as well, pulling his hood up. "I'm in," he said. "For now."

She chuckled. "That's the spirit."

They left the tavern, stepping into the cool night air. The streets had thinned, only a few late-night travelers moving through the dimly lit alleys. The hum of distant airships echoed from the docking platforms, the glow of Elysium's floating towers gleaming high above.

Cain followed her through the winding streets, keeping his senses sharp. She led him to a side entrance near the city's outer walls, where an old service lift stood rusting beneath the shadows of an abandoned watchtower.

She tapped a few buttons on the control panel, and the lift whined to life.

"This'll take us to the mid-level docks," she said. "From there, we hitch a ride on a supply freighter going up."

Cain folded his arms. "Just like that?"

She shot him a grin. "What, you thought we'd be storming the gates?"

Cain didn't answer. He didn't like how easy this was.

The lift doors creaked open.

Cain stepped inside, his gut tightening. Something felt wrong.

The woman stepped in beside him, and the doors slid shut.

For a moment, silence.

Then—

A sharp beeping sound.

Cain's body moved instantly.

The Titan Core flared to life as he grabbed the woman's arm and shoved them both to the side just as the lift exploded.

The walls of the cabin tore apart, fire and shrapnel ripping through the air as the entire mechanism detonated from within. The blast hurled them backward, sending them both crashing through the ruined gates and out into the open.

Cain hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb the impact, heat searing against his back. His ears rang violently, his vision flickering as he forced himself upright.

He turned sharply—searching for the woman.

She was alive, coughing as she pushed herself up, her cloak singed at the edges.

Cain barely had time to register that before the second explosion hit.

A flash of white-hot energy seared through the air, striking the ground just feet away. Not another bomb.

A weapon.

Cain's instincts screamed at him. He turned—

Figures emerged from the smoke, their white Enforcer armor gleaming beneath the moonlight.

No hesitation. No warnings.

They fired again.

Cain barely dodged in time, rolling behind a stack of crates as energy bolts tore through the stone.

The woman cursed beside him. "That's what I get for working with a wanted man."

Cain's fingers twitched, golden light already curling around his fists.

"No," he said, eyes narrowing. "This isn't because of me."

The Enforcers didn't send death squads over one stray survivor.

They were here for her.

Cain turned to her, voice low and sharp.

"Who the hell are you really?"

She met his gaze, her glowing blue eyes flickering in the dark.

And then she said something that made Cain's blood run cold.

"I was one of them."

The Enforcers advanced.

Cain's world shifted.

And then—chaos.