The city hummed with life above, but beneath it, where the air was thick with damp and the echoes of forgotten footsteps, Kael and Sai moved quietly. The map Sai's grandfather left had led them to an old maintenance tunnel beneath Westbridge—a narrow crawlspace just behind the train station where shadows fell like curtains.
Kael held the small torch, its beam bouncing off the curved stone walls. Sai walked closely behind him, her fingers lightly brushing the pendant now looped around his neck. The silence between them wasn't awkward—it was full of things left unsaid.
"So," she said softly, "this is our first underground date?"
Kael let out a small chuckle. "I don't usually bring girls to the sewers. But you're special."
She nudged his arm. "Special enough to risk rats, mildew, and near-death threats? You sure know how to charm a girl."
His smile faded slowly. "Sai…" he paused, lowering the torch a little so their eyes met. "You could've stayed. With your family. With safety."
Her voice was steady, but her gaze trembled. "I stayed too long before. I watched too long. If you're facing this… I want to face it with you and if i am to make these choices again i will make them for you and with you Kael, ."
Kael looked at her, really looked. Her hair was tied back, face faintly smudged with dust, but her eyes held something more powerful than beauty, loyalty, He reached up and tucked a loose strand behind her ear.
"Thank you," he whispered.
She smiled faintly. "Don't thank me yet. We haven't found what we're looking for."
He leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers. "No. But I've already found what I didn't know I was missing."
Their lips met, not rushed, not dramatic, but slow and certain. It wasn't just about the tension or the fear. It was about the closeness., the chemistry between them, the safety, the promise.
And it lingered, even as the torch flickered.
---
The tunnel opened into an old chamber beneath the heart of the city. A circular room, long forgotten, with water running in thin lines through its cracked stone floor. Symbols lined the walls worn but faintly visible under the right light.
In the center, a stone pedestal. And on it—a thick, bound volume.
The Keeper's Ledger... Kael approached slowly, as if the book might vanish if he moved too fast. He glanced at Sai, then reached for the cover. It opened with a whisper.
Names. Lineages. Secrets.
One entry stopped him:
Eron, Eldric. Bloodline of the Crowned Flame. Successor unconfirmed. Vault Seal compromised. Observation assigned: Elsie M.
Kael's heart sanked.
Sai leaned over his shoulder. "It's a registry. Of everyone tied to this secret inheritance. Your father… he was marked."
"And me," Kael whispered. "They never knew if I'd awaken."
He turned the page, and another line caught his eye:
Asoluka, Rina. Assigned Custodian. Watcher of the Heir. Daughter of the Garden Flame.
Sai blinked. "My mother?"
Kael looked at her. "She was assigned to you. To watch. Maybe even protect. Or stop me."
Before they could process more, the sound of something shifting made them both tense. A metal grate slid open at the far end of the chamber.
A man stepped out. Tall. Familiar.
"Kael?"
Kael turned slowly. "Malik?"
It had been years. Malik had once been his closest friend at St. Avalon's. Confidant. Brother. Until Kael vanished.
Malik walked forward, eyes scanning Kael's worn hoodie and muddy shoes. "Didn't think I'd see you down here. Thought you died, or disappeared like a coward."
Kael stiffened. "I didn't run. I was forced to disappear."
"Yeah?" Malik crossed his arms. "We all went down when your father's empire fell. People lost homes. Jobs. My sister's school? Gone. My dad's contract? Canceled. You left us all to clean the mess."
Kael flinched. Sai stepped beside him. "That wasn't his fault," she said sharply. Malik ignored her. "Now you're crawling out of the dirt, what—for redemption? There's no throne to reclaim, Kael. Just ashes." Kael met his eyes, the old fire returning. "Then I'll rise from them." Malik laughed bitterly. "You're still that entitled brat beneath the humility. You want power, Kael? Better earn it this time." He walked away, footsteps echoing.
Kael stood in silence. Sai reached for his hand. "He doesn't know you." "No," Kael said quietly, jaw tight. "But he reminded me why I can't stop. I've lost everything. But I'll rebuild it all. Not to prove them wrong… but to prove to myself I was never what they made me."
Sai squeezed his hand. "And I'll be right beside you."
Together, they turned back to the Ledger. One more page. One more secret, the chapter wasn't closed.
It was just beginning,