The castle is quiet the next morning.
Too quiet.
I wake up early, heart still racing from the dreams I had.
Dreams of fire.
Dreams of people screaming.
Dreams of Kael calling my name.
I shake it off and dress quickly.
Outside my window, the sky is gray. Heavy clouds roll across the mountains.
Something feels wrong.
I step into the hall. The guards are already tense. Their hands grip their weapons too tightly.
I find Kael in the war room.
He's standing over a table covered in maps. Several advisors are around him. Their faces are pale.
"What's happening?" I ask.
Kael looks up. His jaw is clenched.
"There's been an attack on the border town," he says. "Three villages burned."
My breath catches. "By who?"
"We don't know yet. But it wasn't beasts. It was planned. Clean. Fast."
He points at a mark on the map. "They hit here. Then vanished."
One of the guards speaks. "They left no survivors."
A chill runs through the room.
I move closer to Kael. "Is it the faction that hates the peace treaty?"
Kael nods. "Most likely. They want war. And they know where to strike."
I feel anger rise inside me. "What can we do?"
Kael meets my eyes. "You've already done more than enough, Aria."
"I want to help more."
He sighs. "Then come with me. We're going to the town."
The ride is fast and quiet. We fly on black-winged beasts called valehawks.
I've never ridden one before. The wind burns my cheeks. The sky is cold.
Kael rides beside me. His eyes never leave the horizon.
By the time we land, the town is gone.
Smoke still rises from the ruins.
Ash covers everything.
I step down slowly.
It smells like burnt wood and something worse.
Kael walks ahead. His steps are heavy.
People are digging through rubble, looking for anything—anyone—they can save.
A small girl cries beside a broken wall.
Her arm is burned. Her face is streaked with soot.
I rush over without thinking.
"Hey," I whisper, kneeling beside her. "It's okay. I'm here."
She flinches at first.
Then she looks at me. Her lips tremble.
"M-my mama," she says. "She didn't wake up."
I hold her close.
"I'm so sorry."
Kael joins us a moment later.
His eyes soften when he sees the girl in my arms.
"Can you heal her?" he asks.
I nod.
I place my hands gently on the girl's arm.
Light glows from my fingers. Warm and soft.
Her skin begins to knit together. The burn fades slowly.
She stares at me with wide eyes.
"You're magic," she whispers.
I smile. "A little."
Kael watches silently. His face is unreadable, but something in his eyes shifts.
Pride. Maybe even wonder.
When I finish, I look at him. "We can save more."
He nods. "Let's move."
We spent the next hour helping.
Kael clears rubble with his magic. I heal the injured.
More survivors are found.
A man with a crushed leg.
An old woman with a burned back.
A baby, miraculously still breathing beneath the ruins.
Every time I use my magic, it costs me a little energy. But I don't stop.
Not until the sun starts to set.
Kael finally pulls me aside.
"You need to rest."
I wipe sweat from my brow. "I'm okay."
"You've done more than anyone could ask," he says. "Let me take care of the rest."
He places a hand on my shoulder.
And the moment he does, that strange warmth returns.
The bond between us is still there. Still growing.
"Come," he says. "There's something you should see."
He takes me to the edge of the town.
To a small burned house.
"This was where the peacekeeper lived," Kael says. "He was the one who first reached out to us. He believed in the treaty."
The house is nothing but ash now.
Kael kneels and picks up something from the rubble.
A metal crest.
Black with gold edges.
I recognize it.
"It's the sigil of the Shadow Faction," I whisper.
Kael nods. "They left it behind on purpose. A warning."
He looks at me.
"They want me to break. To turn into the monster they believe I am."
I step forward.
"But you're not that."
He holds my gaze. "Not when you're around."
His voice is quiet. Honest.
And just like that, the bond between us tightens again.
He tucks the sigil into his coat.
"We go back tonight," he says. "We prepare. They're coming for the castle next."
I feel fear creep into my heart.
But I also feel something else.
Resolve.
"I'll fight with you," I say.
He studies me.
"You don't need to prove anything."
"I'm not trying to prove anything," I say. "I just… I won't leave you to face this alone."
He stares at me for a long moment.
Then nods.
"Thank you, Aria."
And in the dying light of the day, as fire still smolders in the ashes, I realize something—
The war has begun.
But so has our bond.
And maybe, just maybe…
Love is the most dangerous weapon of all.