Chapter 22: A Thread Back Home

The storm had passed, but the echo of the resonance still lingered.

It was the morning after their fusion training, just one day since Kazi and Dakarai's marks had sparked together and lit up the sky above the highlands. And yet, the world already felt different. The birds were quieter. The wind was slower. Even the shadows beneath the trees seemed deeper than they had the day before.

That morning, they started their training sessions early.

The channel ring Rhazir had drawn the day before still pulsed faintly in the dirt. Kazi and Dakarai stood at opposite ends of the symbol, hands steady, energy focused. Rhazir stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching closely.

"Ten seconds," he said. "No flare. No disruption. Just flow."

Kazi took a deep breath, and her mark responded, amber light curling softly along her fingers. Across from her, Dakarai was exhaling slowly; sparks dancing across his knuckles, calmer than before.

They stepped forward in unison and began to channel their power into the ring.

For a moment, the symbol flickered, as if it was unsure of their intent. Then it stabilized. A perfect glow, like a breath held in balance. Ten seconds passed. No flare. No surge. Only focus.

Rhazir gave a single approving nod.

"Better. You're beginning to listen."

Kazi opened her eyes fully, lowering her hands. "Felt like we were breathing together."

"It's your energy now," Rhazir said. "Not just the Mark's. You're starting to merge."

Dakarai grinned. "So, what now?"

"Now we…"

A sharp whistle cut through the trees.

All three of them turned at once.

The sound was shrill and unnatural, too clean to be animal and too sharp to be wind. It echoed once, then died out.

Rhazir's expression shifted. "Who is that?" He thought to himself.

A moment later, a figure stumbled into view from the ridge above their camp. A young man in a courier's vest, covered in dirt and drenched in sweat, pushed past the brush. His boots were caked with mud, and he clutched his side as he caught his breath.

"Message," he gasped. "From Novara."

Kazi was already moving toward him, heart rising in her throat. "Who sent you?"

He shook his head. "Didn't say. But she was scared. She said you'd understand if I gave you this."

He handed her a small, crumpled piece of paper, edges singed with blackened smudges. Kazi unfolded it with trembling fingers.

"Something's wrong. They took her! Everything's upside down. You need to come home now. They thought she was you."

Kazi's legs nearly gave out.

Dakarai moved beside her. "What is it?"

Kazi stared at the note, then spoke slowly. "They took her… Luma."

Rhazir's face hardened. "They mistook her for you."

"They must have traced the resonance," Kazi said, her voice tightening. "I wasn't there… so they took who was."

The realization hit like a second flare, sharp, blinding, searing through her chest. Her mark pulsed in response, as if reacting to her rage. Not just a light this time. A warning.

"How long ago?" she asked the courier.

"Two days maybe. I ran the whole way."

Kazi turned to Rhazir and Dakarai, her voice steady despite the fury in her bones.

"We go back. Right now."

"There's no guarantee they're still in Novara," Rhazir said, his voice low. "If they realized their mistake…"

Kazi cut him off. "Then we'll track them. Whatever it takes."

Since their time together, Rhazir has never seen such anger within Kazi. "With the power that she wields, and the Line she's from, and this newfound anger, she could easily go down the wrong path." Rhazir thought himself smirking.

They packed in silence. Every sound, the rustling of gear, the tightening of boots, the quiet zip of a satchel, felt louder than the forest itself. The walk ahead would be long, but none of them hesitated.

Kazi had been gone from Novara for just over two weeks.

Now she was returning. And the city would not be the same.