"...All right now... As for you," Elara said as she turned to Gabrielle once again, her condescending tone returning as she sized up her target, "You're still coming with us.”

  Gabrielle met Elara's stare with steely determination, her muscles twitching with hidden tension. "I'm not going willingly," she retorted, lifting her chin. "And don't think for a moment that you've won just because you scared them off. The Cabal isn't just them, you know.”

  A flicker of irritation crossed Elara's face. "Oh, we're well aware," she replied, her voice cool and measured. "But that wasn't just about scaring Cassie off. That was about sending a message: that we won't tolerate the Cabal's schemes any longer."

  Jax shot a quick glance at Elara, sensing the tension in her voice. He decided to cut in. "Speaking of which, why exactly are you after Gabrielle specifically?”

  Elara's gaze shifted to Jax, her eyes narrowing slightly. "That's classified," she replied evenly, her tone implying there was more she wasn't willing to disclose.

  Jax crossed his arms, not about to let it slide. "I'm not buying it, Elara. We've been through a lot together, and I think we deserve a little honesty."

  Elara held his gaze for a silent moment—then let out a sigh, her shoulders dropping slightly. "Fine. You want the truth?”

  The atmosphere on the sky-cart grew heavy, everyone's focus shifting entirely to Elara. Ciel even turned from her monitoring position—the barrier forgotten—as curiosity and apprehension mingled in the air.

  Jax kept his arms crossed, his expression unyielding. "Damn right we want the truth. Spill it."

  Elara began coldly, "She's done something to my kin that I want to get to the bottom of.”

  Zofie's ears perked upright, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Your kin, huh?" she echoed, her voice laced with skepticism. "Elaborate. What has she done?"

  Elara's jaw clenched, her stare hardening. "That's not for you to worry about," she replied tersely, her tone leaving no room for debate.

  Jax, however, wasn't backing down. "Elara, come on," he pressed, his voice laced with frustration. "You can't expect us to just accept that as an answer.”

  Elara's composure was fraying around the edges, her cold exterior starting to crack under the pressure of her emotions. "Just—for once—trust me," she gritted out, her voice tight. "This is personal. And I have good reason to take her in."

  Ciel, who had been quiet up until now, suddenly spoke up. "Elara," she said quietly, her voice carrying a note of warning. "You can't keep shutting us out like this. We're a team…”

  Elara's gaze darted to Ciel, her frustration mounting. "I know that," she snapped, trying to keep her voice steady. "But this isn't about trust. It's about—"

  Jax interrupted, his voice growing louder. "Bullshit, mate. You keep acting like you're the only one who gets to make decisions here. Newsflash, Elara: we're all part of this mission too, whether you like it or not. You owe us an explanation, and 'trust me' isn't going to cut it this time.”

  Elara visibly bristled at Jax's words, her jaw tightening. "This isn't the same situation," she snapped, her veneer of control slipping. "And I don't need a lecture on my track record."

  Antiquus, perched on the sky-cart's rail, piped up suddenly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, I think you just did."

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  Elara shot him a scathing glare. "Shut it. This doesn't involve you. Let's just get her to a room and lock her down so that I can interrogate her. You'll hear all about it then."

  Zofie bared her fangs in a sly grin. "Ooh, interrogate? Sounds fun," she purred, twirling a strand of icy hair around. "Need me to help loosen her tongue? I've got ways..." She cracked an ice-coated knuckle with a dark chuckle.

  Gabrielle’s eyes burned intensely, her gaze infernal. “You’re not laying another hand on me.”

  Ciel stepped between them, hands raised slightly—not with power this time, but peace. “Whoa—hold up! We’re supposed to be better than this.”

  Elara narrowed her eyes at Ciel. "We don't have time for your moral crusade."

  "Then make time," Ciel shot back fiercely. "Because if we start torturing people without answers—if we become exactly what we're fighting against—what's the point?"

  Elara stared at Ciel, her expression unreadable. "You make it sound so simple," she remarked coolly, her voice tinged with frustration. "But reality isn't always that clean-cut. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to achieve your goals."

  Ciel's expression remained firm. "And sometimes getting your hands dirty means losing who you are," she countered softly.

  Jax frowned, glancing between the two. "Ciel has a point, Elara. You can't just act like the rules don't apply to you.”

  Elara shot Jax a sharp look. "And you think I don't know that?" she retorted, her voice strained. "I'm not an idiot, Jax. I know the risks, trust me. But some things matter more—"

  She halted suddenly, cutting herself off mid-sentence, her eyes widening marginally. She seemed to realize she was on the verge of revealing more than she wanted to.

  Ciel noticed the momentary slip-up, her gaze sharpening. "Some things matter more…?" she pressed quietly.

  The wind howled between them, heavy with unspoken tension.

  Elara turned away—her back to the group—as if staring into the storm-churned horizon could hide what she couldn’t say.

  "...More than justice," she whispered, so low it almost got lost in the wind. Then louder, sharper: "More than this pathetic idea of balance everyone clings to."

  She whirled around, eyes blazing with raw intensity. "My sister is gone. Vanished. Erased from every memory but mine—like she never existed! And Gabrielle?" She pointed a trembling finger at her bound target. "She was there when it happened. She knows."

  Silence fell like stone.

  Jax’s anger melted into stunned disbelief. "...You’re chasing answers about your sister?"

  “Not chasing,” Elara hissed. “Taking.”

  Elara caught herself, quickly masking her expression with a cool veneer of indifference. "It's nothing," she said curtly, avoiding Ciel's gaze. "Just forget about it."

  Jax and Ciel shared a quick, incredulous look. It was obvious that Elara was hiding something—something big. Jax took a calculated step towards her, his voice low.

  "Elara," he began, his tone leaving no room for avoidance. "You can't keep skirting around the truth. We deserve answers. You owe us that much.”

  For a moment, Elara seemed cornered, caught between her need for secrecy and the mounting pressure of her friends' expectations. Her jaw tightened as she met Jax's gaze—a mixture of emotions warring on her face.

  Ciel took a step closer as well, her expression filled with earnest conviction. "Elara," she pleaded softly, "we're not asking you to bare your soul. Just…give us something. Just enough so that we can understand why this is so important to you. You can trust us, you know that.”

  Elara stared at Ciel, her cold composure cracking under the weight of their combined gazes. Her shoulders slumped slightly, as if some invisible burden had finally become too heavy to carry alone.

  "...Fine," she whispered after a long pause, her voice barely audible over the wind. "You want to know why Gabrielle has to come with us? It's because..." She hesitated, swallowing hard.

  "She knows what happened to my sister.”

  Ciel's and Jax's eyes widened simultaneously at this unexpected revelation. Even Zofie and Antiquus looked taken aback, their previous banter and taunting forgotten. Only Gabrielle's expression remained stoic, silently watching the scene unfold.

  Jax was the first to speak up, his voice quiet. "Your sister?" he repeated, as if to make sure he'd heard correctly.

  Elara didn't look at them. She stared straight ahead, fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white.

  "...Her name was Mireya," she said, voice low but trembling. "She vanished without a trace five years ago—no bodies, no messages, nothing. Just...gone."

  She finally turned her head slightly toward Gabrielle. "And I’ve spent every damn day since chasing shadows through the Void itself just to find one lead…one whisper…that might tell me what happened." Her breath hitched.

  "And then I found…you," she spat. "With your Darkness and that knowing smirk—as if you were waiting for someone like me to come knocking."

  Gabrielle flinched—not from fear, but something quieter: recognition.

  "I didn’t take her from you," Gabrielle said softly, almost gently. "But... I know who did.”