Kael didn’t reply, instead looking forward and giving her time to speak if she wanted to.

  They stayed silent.

  She was still holding the photo, her eyes fixed on it. He looked up at the broken chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

  After a while, Astra turned to him, her eyes heavy with melancholy.

  "I often think back to the labyrinth," she whispered. "The kiss."

  Kael flinched, the memory instantly resurfacing.

  "I'm sorry," he began. "It must have been uncomfortable for you."

  She looked straight into his eyes, her gaze sharp and searching. Then she let out a quiet chuckle.

  "That's not what I meant," she said softly. "And you don't have to apologize every time I talk about it."

  She put the picture away, drew her knees close, and rested her head against them. Her voice grew distant.

  "Ever since that day, I just function. When I fight, when I eat, when I’m in danger—everything feels hollow. I don’t feel fear. Or relief. Or warmth.”

  Her fingers clenched slightly in the fabric of her clothes. "It's like living without a reason to live."

  "It feels like existing without meaning," Kael replied quietly. "Like breathing because your body remembers how, not because you want to."

  She turned her head toward him, her cheek resting on her knees, her eyes now exposed.

  “I buried it,” she admitted. "Feeling again would mean facing everything I locked away. And I can’t afford that.”

  For a moment, her lips curved into the faintest smile.

  "But that kiss...it felt real."

  Her voice trembled just barely.

  "It was the first time in years that I had felt human again. I was surprised. Confused. Afraid." She met his gaze. "But I was also...happy."

  She slowly leaned closer until her breath brushed his skin, dissolving the space between them.

  "So tell me," she whispered, her eyes flickering between his as she searched for an answer.

  "Can I feel that again?"

  Her hand found his cheek, warm and hesitant.

  When her lips touched his, Kael felt it instantly.

  It wasn’t desire. It wasn’t love.

  It was recognition.

  Two fractured souls meeting in the quiet space between pain and hope.

  A fragile bridge built not on longing, but on understanding.

  For a moment, Kael wondered if this warmth was healing him or erasing something he would desperately need one day.

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  Still, he didn’t pull away.

  After a few heartbeats, Astra withdrew. Her expression was calmer and steadier now, as if she had regained control over something dangerous.

  "Thank you," she said softly.

  Kael placed a hand over his chest.

  "My heart feels warmer than before."

  He stood and offered her his hand.

  "You're allowed to feel again," he said, his voice firm with quiet resolve.

  "No matter how dark the memories are that try to drag you under."

  She took his hand and rose to her feet.

  “Let me help you face them,” Kael added. “Together.”

  “Even if it means walking a path shaped by revenge?” she asked, searching his face for doubt.

  “I’ll walk with you,” he replied calmly. "But not for revenge. I’ll walk with you so you don’t forget how it feels to be human.”

  Something flickered behind her eyes—too fast to name.

  "It doesn't matter," she said after a pause.

  "As long as you follow me."

  She turned and left the room.

  Kael stayed behind.

  He understood her pain. He could trace its origin, too.

  But he knew this wasn’t the answer she wanted or perhaps even the answer she needed.

  Still, if helping her feel again also helped him survive what was coming, then maybe this fragile connection was worth the risk.

  After a while, he left the room and wandered through the mansion, unwilling to return to the academy just yet. It didn’t feel like the right moment.

  Eventually, he found himself on the first floor, near the meeting room. He stopped when he heard voices behind the closed door.

  The voices were muffled, but one was unmistakably Sera’s—loud and amused. The other voice was quieter and harder to identify.

  She chuckled. "You're right, but now isn't the time. The theft takes priority—"

  The voices abruptly fell silent.

  Kael knew they had sensed someone outside. He pushed the door open without hesitation and sat down on one of the couches.

  Sera and Rael turned their gazes toward him. Sylas was there as well, seated nearby with his attention—as always—fixed solely on his sword.

  "What were you talking about?" Kael asked. His tone was casual and curious.

  Inside, he was anything but relaxed.

  Sera waved a hand dismissively, her usual childish smile firmly in place.

  "Oh, that?" she said lightly. "We were just talking about what comes after the theft: What we’ll do, who we’ll kill, and who I get to operate on.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks, her expression dreamy.

  "I just love the smell of blood on my fingers."

  She turned toward Sylas.

  “Hey, mute. Next time, don't behead them right away. Just cripple them so I can still make use of them.”

  Kael felt a chill crawl down his spine. He kept his face neutral, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reaction.

  Rael sighed sharply and shot Sera an irritated look.

  "There is no next time," he said coldly. "We won't kill anyone. What happens after this is unknown. So stop fantasizing and do your job.”

  Sera pouted dramatically and clutched her chest as if she were deeply wounded. Before she could respond, the door opened.

  Astra stepped inside.

  Her gaze brushed over Kael for the briefest moment—an acknowledgment devoid of warmth—before settling on Rael.

  "Come on," she said evenly. "Let's train."

  Rael nodded, rose to his feet, and followed her out of the room.

  Silence settled in their wake.

  Kael leaned back and closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax while ignoring the way Sera kept staring at him as if he were an experiment waiting to be dissected.

  After a while, the door opened again. Bereos stood there, gesturing for Kael to follow him.

  Kael stood up, said his goodbyes, and went with him. As they made their way through the mansion, he returned nods and brief farewells. Neither Astra nor Rael were to be seen, however.

  Soon, they stood before the tunnel.

  Bereos stopped and handed Kael a folded piece of paper. Kael opened it to reveal a map of the outer district with several points marked in ink.

  Bereos pointed to each one.

  "These are sewer entrances you can use to follow the current back to the tunnel leading into the academy." His finger paused on one mark. "I'd recommend this one. It’s the shortest route, though the entrance is in a relatively open area. Go at night, and you should be fine.”

  Kael nodded, memorizing the layout. He glanced back at Bereos with a faint smirk.

  “But I suppose you can’t help me with the smell afterward, can you?”

  Bereos laughed.

  "I'm afraid not. But Astra told you about the extra room, didn't she? You’ll find clean clothes and water there.”

  Kael exhaled slowly, turned, and walked forward, disappearing into the darkness.

  Bereos looked at him for a long moment.

  “The world will try to define you by your actions,” he said quietly.

  “Do not let it. You are more than a plan, more than a sacrifice.”

  He smiled, tired but sincere.

  "If you must walk into the darkness, then do so in a way that allows something human to survive within you."

  “That is all any of us can hope for.”