224: Ashes of Truth

Location: Damien's Private Jet — En Route to Central Tavara

The low hum of the jet's engines was the only sound in the cabin. Damien sat across from Nora, the crimson shard Victor had given him pulsing faintly between them on a black velvet cloth atop the table. Its glow cast eerie shadows across their faces—two heirs of power, entwined by fate and danger.

Cyrus stood behind Damien, arms crossed, watching Nora carefully. The recent revelations had raised more questions than answers.

"You're sure he's not lying?" Cyrus asked.

Damien's eyes didn't leave Nora. "Victor may be a manipulator… but he's never reckless. He wanted us to have that shard. The question is: why now?"

Nora leaned back slowly, her voice quiet but unwavering. "Because Seraphina's preparing to unleash something the world isn't ready for. She's already set pieces in motion."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a thin, sealed envelope. "I was waiting for the right time. This came from one of my mother's old contacts. He risked everything getting it to me."

Damien opened the envelope and scanned the contents. It was a coded ledger—hidden contracts, secret transfers, confidential meetings between Seraphina and a shadow syndicate called The Silent Axis.

"She's buying loyalty," Damien muttered. "Not just political, but global. Intelligence heads. Corporate tycoons. Even mercenaries."

"She doesn't just want the Vault," Nora said. "She wants the world after it opens."

Aria entered the cabin with a tablet in hand. "We've decrypted satellite images. There's movement near the Highland Monastery ruins. Unregistered aircraft. Our analysts believe the second shard might be there."

Damien took the tablet. "That site's been dormant for over a decade."

"Not anymore," Aria replied. "Seraphina's people have deployed drones around it. They're guarding something."

Nora stood. "Then we move at dawn. We take it before she does."

Cyrus raised a brow. "What if it's a trap?"

Damien gave a thin, humorless smile. "Then we make it our trap."

Silence settled over them until Nora asked the question that had been weighing on her.

"What if I can't control what's inside the Vault?"

Damien walked over, placing a steady hand on her shoulder. "Then we'll face it together. Whatever power lies beneath that ground, we don't face it as enemies. We face it as partners."

She met his gaze, and for a brief moment, the war outside faded into something quiet. Something personal.

"You believe in me that much?" she asked.

He nodded. "I always have."

Outside the windows, dark clouds loomed—thunder rolling quietly in the distance. A storm was coming. But so were they.

And this time, they wouldn't run.