IX

THE INDEPENDENT PLAIN

A lone figure darted through the long grasses of the Sovereign Plain, his breaths coming in ragged, hurried bursts as he neared the treeline of the Oria Forest. His voice was a hushed whisper, a tense countdown slicing through the quiet air. "Ten... nine... eight..." He slid to a halt, his body spinning to face the distant Sovereign City with rapt expectation. "Seven... six... five... four... three... two... one."

The final syllable had barely left his lips when the Sovereign Palace detonated. The explosion was a silent, concussive wave of force that shattered the structure into a million aerystal shards. They caught the crimson light of the setting sun, painting the vast plain in the color of fresh blood. From the epicenter of the blast, a dark shape leaped, stumbling for a moment in midair. The man, clad in the uniform of a Sentinel but clearly not one of them, ran a hand through his spiky hair, a smirk playing on his lips. He stood poised, waiting.

As if on cue, he whispered an incantation and launched himself into the air. Five figures tumbled from the sky toward him, falling amid the glistening aerystal rain and crumbling debris. His magic coalesced into a vast, ethereal cloud, catching four of them and cushioning their impact as they landed, already deep in a magically induced slumber. The fifth, a young woman with blonde hair he found particularly striking, he caught himself, her unconscious form settling perfectly into his arms.

Gazing down at her serene, beautiful face, he felt a potent, undeniable pull—more than mere physical attraction, it was a profound urge to see her safe and content. He forcefully shook the thoughts from his mind, concentrating on guiding the cloud and its occupants gently to the ground before allowing the magic to dissipate back into the atmosphere. He was about to congratulate himself on a job well done when the woman in his arms began to stir.

Ah, the Fated stirs, he thought, a hint of sardonic amusement in the mental aside.

Kara’s head snapped up, her last memory the terrifying sensation of falling from the disintegrating Sovereign City. A wave of relief washed over her as she found herself safe, held securely in the arms of the same enigmatic Elf who had been dragged away by the Sentinels during the ball. She opened her mouth to speak, but he simply shook his head, pressing a single finger to his lips before pointing upward.

Her gaze followed his gesture, and tears welled in her green eyes. The once-magnificent, "perfectly safe" Sovereign City was still crumbling in the sky, a ruin suspended between heaven and earth. The overwhelming conviction that she and Lyra were somehow responsible for this catastrophe gnawed at her. Her thoughts immediately flew to her sister. Her eyes scanned the ground below her perch, spotting her friends lying nearby, seemingly unharmed but unconscious. Reaching out with her mind, she brushed against Lyra’s consciousness, confirming she was alive, though clearly incapacitated.

Before Kara could ask a single question, the Elf launched himself into a powerful, leaping sprint. She instinctively tightened her arms around his neck to keep from being thrown from his grasp by the force of his strides. He was moving toward a colossal shape swirling within the dissipating chaos of the city’s remains. With a sickening lurch in her stomach, Kara realized they were racing directly toward the source of the destruction: the dragon.

"STOP!" she cried, her voice raw with panic. What could he possibly be thinking?

It became terrifyingly apparent that he did not view the dragon as an enemy. He set her down gently on the grass, offered her a disarming, cheeky smile, and then darted away again. The dragon crashed to the earth a moment later, the impact sending up a tremendous cloud of dust and unleashing an earth-shattering roar. Kara shielded her face as the plume of dirt and debris swirled toward her. As the draconic roar faded, it was replaced by a raw, human scream. Confused, she waited for the dust to settle. Was her rescuer being mauled? As the draconic energy that now felt so familiar murmured through her senses, a new clarity forced its way into her thoughts. The dragon was gone. In its place stood a strikingly handsome young man. Silver hair, streaked with violet and black, fell into amber eyes that held a universe of despair. Kara gasped, a jolt of recognition hitting her. It was the man Kiro had berated and sent away in the street earlier that day.

"H-how..." she breathed, staring at the man as he raged, his clothes in tatters and his body smeared with blood from numerous wounds.

The Elf, who had stood back and observed the man’s anguish with an expression of contempt, now stepped forward. He seized the distraught man’s arms, pinning them to his sides. He looked directly into the pale-haired man’s eyes, and Kara felt a tremendous surge of mental energy radiate from him. An image flashed through her mind—a crystalline structure, much like the Sovereign City, hovering in a gray sky above a sprawling metropolis. It was followed by the vision of a woman’s face, which filled her with an inexplicable sense of peace.

"Kara!"

Lyra’s voice shattered her trance. She turned to see her sister stumbling awkwardly toward her through the tall grass, with Kiro, Reya, and Aden close behind. They all looked exhausted. A glance down revealed that her own gown was in tatters and she was just as battered as they were. Lyra threw her arms around her in a fierce hug, her frantic, relieved words muffled against Kara’s ear. Kara laughed weakly, but her relief was tempered by a growing unease as she watched the Elf and the stranger standing so near.

As she had anticipated, the moment Kiro saw them, he summoned his energy sword. "KAEL! Prepare to die!" Without further warning, he charged. The Elf stepped back, leaving a much more composed Kael Runo to face the commander’s wrath.

Lyra cried out as Kiro attacked the seemingly defenseless man, but her protest died in her throat when Kael retaliated. He was deflecting Kiro’s furious strikes with an invisible barrier of force, a defense that only seemed to enrage the commander further. In the waning light, Kara saw Kiro’s earring glint and watched the impossible duel unfold.

The Elf moved to her side, his voice speaking directly into her mind. You will not fight in this. Do not interfere.

Lyra, who had slipped into her sister’s thoughts moments before, heard it too. She narrowed her eyes, glancing back at Aden and Reya, who hovered uncertainly.

"What are you doing?" Lyra demanded of them, her voice sharp. "Isn't he a traitor? You should be helping Kiro!"

The two exchanged a look and then rushed to aid their commander, who was staggering backward from an unseen blow Kael had delivered. Brushing aside Kara’s restraining hand, Lyra hurried to join them. She reached within and called upon her fire magic, just as Aden sent a powerful gust of wind at Kael and Reya cast a shield spell over their commander. But their magic was faint, a pale imitation of its usual strength; their exhaustion was clear.