We returned to the residence assigned to us, and I felt the shift the moment we arrived. It wasn’t overt, nothing dramatic, but it was there in the way the attendants moved, more careful, more alert, eyes lingering a fraction longer than before. The news had already reached this place.
And it wouldn’t stop here.
What happened tonight would spread beyond this planet, beyond the Feran’s system itself. The Nagas would hear of it. The demons too. There was no containing something like that, not when an island had been split apart under an open sky.
The thought drew a faint smile from me. I could already imagine Primus’s reaction, the sharp bark of laughter when the story reached him.
Everyone drifted off to their own rooms soon after. I returned to mine and settled down, pulling the memory module on runes back into focus. The familiar patterns unfolded again, layers of runes made to work together with other runes and generate something complex.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
When I finally surfaced from my meditation, it wasn’t because I was finished.
It was because something had entered my perception.
A presence.
I opened my eyes just as it crossed fully into range.
Kael Sharka had arrived.
My perception wrapped around him the instant he crossed the outer gate. I lifted a hand and folded space with a casual motion, pulling him straight into the living room. The air rippled once, then settled.
Essence surged around Kael on instinct, sharp and defensive, reacting to the abrupt displacement. With another small gesture, I smothered it, pressing the turbulence flat until the room was calm again.
"Would you like a drink?" I asked, my tone unhurried.
Kael stared at me for a long second, muscles coiled, eyes measuring distances and outcomes. Then the tension drained from his posture and he let out a slow breath.
"Space laws as well," he said, clicking his tongue. "Figures."
He dropped into the chair across from me without waiting for an invitation, reached for the bottle on the table, and took a long pull straight from it. When he finally lowered it, he exhaled sharply.
"Hoo," he muttered. Then he looked at me again. "What you did today... I don’t have a better word for it than suicidal."
I laughed softly. "You’re reaching conclusions a little too fast."
Kael shook his head, this time more seriously. "No. If you had offended the Ferans alone, that would have been one thing. Politics. Posturing. Recoverable. But House Goldwing?" He leaned back, eyes narrowing. "That’s not a smart move."
I nodded once, accepting the assessment without argument. "Maybe not by your standards. But to me, Griffins and Ferans aren’t all that different."
I leaned forward slightly. "I didn’t call you here to debate tonight’s events. I called you because I want to discuss something."
A low chuckle escaped him. "Let me guess. You want my support. Or more precisely, you want the Sharka Tiger Clan to back you against the Ranthors."
I smiled. "Very perceptive."
His amusement faded into a tired sigh. "You’re not the first to approach us with that idea. The Nagas have tried. The Elementals too, despite calling us allies in public." He looked at me steadily. "Everyone wants leverage. No one wants to be the first to bleed."
I paused, letting the silence stretch while I sorted through what I actually wanted from him or from the Sharka as a whole. When I was honest with myself, there was nothing that they could help me with. Also, I wanted no scheme in this from my side atleast.
Anjee had given his life while standing beside me. And he had done it smiling.
"Do you know someone named Anjee Sharka?" I asked.
The change in Kael was immediate. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was unmistakable. His shoulders stiffened, his gaze sharpening as if a distant memory had just been dragged too close.
"How do you know that name?" he asked quietly.
"I met him," I said. "What about you? Are you related?"
He shook his head. "Not by blood. But he was one of ours. One of the Sharka sent on an expedition with Vaelix." His jaw tightened slightly. "I remember him because he was the only Sharka on that entire expedition. Even I wasn’t told what they were truly heading toward."
I leaned back a little. "What happened to the expedition?"
Kael exhaled through his nose. "Most likely? They’re all dead. We haven’t heard a word from Vaelix since. The Ferans kept it quiet at first, but when nothing came back, we knew." His voice lowered. "The Patriarch’s youngest daughter was part of that group. We sent search parties. Quiet ones. None of them returned either."
He paused, eyes darkening. "If the Crimson Zone hadn’t escalated the way it did, the Patriarch would’ve gone himself."
Then Kael looked at me again, his expression guarded but intent. "Where did you meet Anjee?"
"On the expedition," I said.
Kael froze for half a heartbeat. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"The same expedition the Ferans went on," I replied evenly. "I had a lead on that place as well. So I went. And as you can probably guess... we crossed paths."
Understanding crept into his eyes. "You also had a clue about that place?" he asked, disbelief slipping through despite himself. "How is that possible? Only the Ferans and the man who—" He stopped mid-sentence.
I smiled faintly. "The same man who shared the information with the Ferans also sold it to me."
It was a lie, but a clean one. There was no reason to tell him that the trail had begun near my own world.
Kael leaned back slightly. "So that’s where you met Anjee."
"Yes," I said. "That’s where we fought. That’s where we stood on opposite sides first... and then on the same one."
He didn’t interrupt.
"And that’s where Vaelix died," I continued calmly. "Along with the Feran princess."
The words landed hard.
Kael closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again, something restrained flickering beneath the surface. "You killed them," he said.
"Yes," I answered.
Silence filled the room. "And Anjee?"
"He joined hands with me," I said, "and became part of the Order of Absolute."
Kael looked at me for a long moment, then shook his head slowly, as if trying to clear an image that refused to fade.
"I can believe you killed Vaelix," he said at last. "Even the princess. Those things... they fit what I’ve seen of you." His gaze sharpened. "But Anjee betraying the Ferans? That’s harder to swallow."