More trouble?

When we returned to the Anvil's Rest, the air felt different. Not just because of the bruises or the cracked stone in the alley it was heavier, charged, like thunder waiting to speak again.

I lay on my bed, ribs aching, staring at the cracked ceiling. Helios stood by the window, arms crossed, watching the city like it might attack again. Aelira paced, her blades still at her hip.

A knock came at the door.

We all turned.

Aelira opened it cautiously. The innkeeper stood there, wringing a rag in his hands.

"Someone downstairs wants a word with you,"s he said. "Two someones, actually."

Helios's voice was sharp. "Tell them we're not interested."

The innkeeper blinked. "They said it was important."

Helios stared him down. "I don't care."

Aelira raised an eyebrow. "Helios?"

But Helios was already turning away. "I'm done with this city."

We went downstairs anyway.

The common room had emptied out. Two men remained at the hearth one tall, tattooed around the eyes, the other cloaked in black, wearing a pendant shaped like a broken sun.

"You made quite a stir with Kwame," the tattooed one said.

Helios didn't sit. "Yeah? Then maybe this city should learn not to lay hands on my brother."

"And now the city's watching," the hooded man added. "You've caught the attention of the Forge Court."

He slid a parchment across the table. A symbol burned into it, a jagged triangle surrounded by flame.

"I've seen that mark," Helios muttered.

"Then you know this isn't just about a fight in an alley," the man said. "This city is ruled from the shadows. And you've drawn blood in plain sight."

Aelira looked at the parchment, then at us. "They're warning us."

"Offering you a place," said the tattooed one. "Or a grave, if you stay on the wrong side of it."

Helios let out a slow breath. "We're not staying."

The man's eyebrows rose. "Leaving so soon?"

"I don't care what you're building here. I didn't come for city politics or shadow games. I came to keep someone safe." He nodded toward me. "And now that someone's been bled on your streets."

"Helios..." Aelira began.

"No," he said, firmly. "You saw what happened. If we stay, they'll keep coming. And next time, Aaron might not walk away."

The men exchanged glances.

"We'll be gone by morning," Helios said. "So whatever threat you were sent to deliver, you can keep it."

And with that, he turned and walked away.

Back in our room, silence hung like smoke.

Aelira sat on the edge of the bed, her jaw tight. "You sure about this?"

Helios didn't look at her. "I've never been more sure."

I leaned against the wall, watching the parchment burn slowly in the fireplace.

"I don't care who controls Firewatch," Helios said. "They're not worth you."

Aelira exhaled, then gave a small, tired smile. "Guess we'll go somewhere else."

Helios nodded. "Someplace quieter. Without lightning fists and secret courts."

I stepped forward, quiet but steady. "I get it. But don't forget why we came here in the first place."

He looked at me.

"I still need to see a blacksmith."

Outside, the city sparked and groaned.

But we'd already turned away.

Tomorrow, we'd go home.