The moon watched like a silent witness as Sylis limped through the alleyways of Arvain's lower ring, her wrist bruised, pride shattered.
She hadn't failed a mission in five years.
Kael Veyne had just broken that streak.
"You hesitated," she whispered to herself, her voice bitter with disbelief.
"You let a man stop your blade... with words."
Not just any man.
He had seen her. Read her. Countered her perfectly.
And smiled while doing it.
---
Back in his dim apartment above an abandoned bookstore, Kael watched the night from behind cracked glass.
His fingers traced the blade's hilt on the table — still faintly warm from the clash.
"Who sends a high-tier assassin after an exile like me?" he muttered. "What do they think I know?"
The truth itched beneath his skin like an old wound:
Kael was never just an exile.
Not really.
---
Elsewhere in Arvain, in the shadow-soaked halls of the Black Raven Guild, Sylis knelt before a masked figure.
"Why is he still alive?" the voice asked coldly.
She looked up. "He's... not what your intel claimed. He anticipated my strike."
The silence was colder than steel.
"He recognized me," she added. "By name."
That made the room shift.
Even the other assassins in the dark corners turned.
"You were named to him?"
"Yes." She swallowed. "And he called me the prettiest."
The masked figure stood. "So he flirted before dodging death?"
Then, quieter: "That sounds like a Veyne."
Sylis blinked. "He's more than just an exile, isn't he?"
"Far more. And now you're tangled in it."
---
Meanwhile, Kael opened a sealed drawer.
Inside lay a parchment marked with a royal crest, and a black ring that pulsed faintly with runes.
He stared at it. The past clawed at him like a beast behind a door.
If she comes again, he won't spare her.
If they send more like her…
He'll stop hiding.
---
Far above the city, on a cathedral rooftop, Sylis watched his apartment.
She wasn't here for revenge. Not yet.
She was here because something about him didn't add up.
Assassins don't investigate.
But tonight, she wasn't just an assassin.
She was curious.
And in her line of work, curiosity kills more than the blade ever could.
---
To be continued...
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Enjoying the mystery? Follow for Episode 3: Echoes of a Bloodline