Mira’s POV

I entered Kesh’s quarters without knocking. He rose slowly. “You met with her,” I said. He didn’t deny it. “She gave me a choice.” “Peace through surrender?” I asked. “Survival through alignment,” he corrected. I stepped closer. “You were supposed to protect the Accord.”

“I still am.” “No. You’ve already chosen her.” “She will win,” he said quietly. “Better to make peace now than bury what’s left later.” His calm carried certainty, and certainty hid calculation.

“She burned a border village last night.” Kesh didn’t blink. “A warning. Not war.” I motioned to the guards. “You’re relieved of duty. Effective now.” He let them lead him away. “It was always going to break,” he said. “You’re just delaying the fall.”

By dusk, Lyra and Kael joined me in the strategy chamber. Cyrus paced. “Derian sent word. One southern outpost was hit last night. No survivors.” “Proof it was Hollowfang?” I asked. Cyrus dropped a bundle. Burned cloth, sigil faintly etched.

“Retaliation. Now,” he said. Kael shook his head. “Could be rogue packs. We can’t strike without evidence.” “She’s playing us,” Lyra said. “Every delay benefits her.” I said, “She wants a mistake. We won’t give her one.” Kael’s voice lowered. “Scouts are out. We’ll know soon.”

“And if she strikes while we wait?” Cyrus asked. “Then we draw the line. But only when we’re sure.” Lyra stepped forward. “The child. Not Hollowfang. Here. South of Derian’s ruins. Faded crest. Hidden.” “Hidden how?” I asked. “Beneath ash and stone. Alive.”

Kael leaned in. “If Rhenna has her, why leave her there?” “She doesn’t,” Lyra said. “Someone else does.” Cyrus frowned. “You mean the prophecy child survived the raid?” Lyra nodded. “We must reach her first.” The room paused. Strategy stalled.

I dismissed them all but Kael. “When we find her, keep her safe. Not just from Rhenna.” “Another player?” Kael asked. “Too many variables. Rhenna escalates unnaturally fast. Someone’s pushing her. The child matters more than she admits.”

Kael nodded. “I’ll prepare a team. Quiet, fast. Tonight.” “One condition,” I said. “I go with you.” He didn’t argue. I checked Terek’s sealed message. She has my heir. The Accord bleeds from within. Blackmail, raids, threats. We needed more than battles; we needed protection.

Kael and Lyra prepped. I stood at the edge of the council chamber. Once full. Now half-empty. Oaths had fractured. But we weren’t done. Not if the child lived. Not if she had a choice.

Kael returned before midnight. Team ready. Lyra traced the vision to the southern ridge. We left with only what we could carry. The village was gone. Kael signaled. We split. Lyra followed visions. I stayed with Kael.

Two hours in, first mark found. Hollowfang sigil. Carved, old, faded. “Not from the attack,” Kael said. “Before.” “Setup,” I muttered. Cellar remains. Tracks not recent, not abandoned. A trap disguised as evidence.

Lyra called us. Edge of broken foundation. “She was here. Someone moved her.” “When?” Kael asked. “Within the last day.” Tracks led into hills. Kael held a broken pendant. Lyra recognized it from first vision.

“She dropped this. Or left it intentionally,” I said. Lyra nodded. Temporary cover beneath ridge. Kael scouted north. Lyra and I watched the valley. “Why her?” “She’s the decision point,” Lyra said. “She decides who survives.”

Cyrus’s voice crackled. “Return. Now.” “Status?” “Two more Alphas broke rank. Pledging neutrality.” “Rhenna?” “Open court. Declared Hollowfang sovereign.” She named me. “Bloodtraitor. Hiding the child. Surrender in three days.”

Kael returned. Grim. “We’re not alone. Two campsites. No flags, no crests. Watching ruins.” “How close?” “Too close.” “Rhenna?” He shook his head. “Not her.” Lyra said, “The third voice. Vision. Not Hollowfang. Not Accord. ‘Blood binds what laws cannot.’ Not hers.”

“You think third faction’s here?” “Already moving.” I nodded. “We reach the child first.” Kael pointed to hollowed structure. One entrance. Scorch marks. False wall inside. We moved fast.

Wall old stone, recent seal. Kael broke through. Tunnel. Crude. Leading down. Twenty minutes. Lyra stopped. “She’s here.” Chamber carved beneath ruins. There she was. Silent. Soot-covered. Eyes locked on Lyra. She didn’t move.

Kael stepped forward. “We’re here to help.” She stared, then pointed behind us. Wall slid open. Three hooded figures. No sigils, no scent. One held blade. Second, scroll. Third stepped forward. “We’ve waited.” I reached for weapon.

Figure raised scroll. “Accord’s original draft. Before your blood rewrote it.” Lyra froze. Kael narrowed eyes. “Who are you?” Figure smiled. “We are what comes before kingdoms.” Child spoke first time. “Run.” Tunnel collapsed behind us.

We ran without pause, the weight of the scroll and the child pressing against every step. Kael glanced back once, then forward, signaling we weren’t alone, but the presence behind us didn’t reveal itself. Every tunnel branch held a shadow, every echo suggested pursuit, yet nothing confronted us directly.

Lyra’s energy pulsing with urgency. I felt it too. The currents of intent, deliberate and sharp, threading through the darkness. Kael whispered, “They know the Accord, but they know you more

” I froze. The child’s eyes widened. And then the voice added, “Now, choose. Her life, or the Accord.”