Elira's mind spun with questions as she stood before Kael in the dark tunnel—beneath a hotel that defied logic, reality, and time. Just hours ago, she had believed she was a normal woman with a missing father and a mother too silent about the past.
Now, a stranger with silver eyes was telling her that not only was she from another world, but that something ancient and powerful lived inside her heart.
The Crystal Heart.
A name that sounded like legend, but pulsed like truth in her veins.
Kael hadn't moved since revealing his identity—like he was afraid if he took one step closer, she might shatter, or run, or worse—unleash something neither of them could control.
"What do you mean 'take me back'?" she asked cautiously. "Back where? To the world my father escaped?"
"To Halvryn," Kael said quietly. "The land beyond the Rift. The land you were never meant to leave."
Elira backed against the cold stone wall. "And if I refuse?"
His jaw clenched. "Then others will come. Not like me. They will not offer you words, Elira. Only chains."
She narrowed her eyes. "And you—what makes you different? You're still one of them, aren't you?"
He didn't flinch. "I was. Until you."
There was something in his tone—soft, reverent, pained. Like he hated himself for what he was supposed to do. For what he might still have to do.
Elira didn't know whether to believe him—or fear him more.
"I don't know anything about Halvryn," she said. "I didn't even know my father was… one of you. I grew up here. This is my world."
"But the Crystal Heart is not from this world," Kael replied. "And now that it's awakened inside you, it's only a matter of time before it draws the others."
She felt the weight of the key in her pocket, warm like a tiny sun against her thigh.
"What is this place?" she whispered. "Why is The Red Sky Hotel connected to your world?"
Kael looked toward the carved door behind her. "It was built as a bridge. A neutral ground between realms. But when the war began, the treaty was broken. The door was sealed. Until… your father stole the key. And vanished with the Heart."
Elira blinked. "You keep calling it the Heart. What exactly is it?"
Kael's gaze pierced her. "The Heart is not just a stone. It's a living artifact—an ancient core of power born from the first fire of Halvryn. Whoever wields it becomes unbeatable. Eternal."
She swallowed hard. "And it's inside me?"
"Yes."
She let out a shaky breath. "So… what now? Are you going to drag me back to your world and hand me over to your council?"
Kael hesitated.
"No."
The answer surprised her. His voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed something else—turmoil, maybe even regret.
"I should," he said. "It's what I was sent for. But your father… he gave me something once. A choice. A life beyond blood orders. I owe him more than betrayal."
He stepped forward slowly, cautiously, until they were only a foot apart.
"I want to help you. But if I stay… I become a traitor. To them. To everything I once stood for."
"Then why would you stay?" she asked.
He studied her for a long, quiet moment. Then his voice softened.
"Because something about you makes me believe that this time… we have a chance to break the cycle."
---
Later that evening, they returned to the hotel's upper levels. The fireplace door slid back into place, sealing the tunnel behind them.
Kael had made a decision.
He would not return to Halvryn.
Not yet.
Instead, he would remain in the Red Sky Hotel—a forgotten guard in the shadows of a haunted threshold—while Elira prepared to face the truth of who she was.
And what she carried.
But not everyone in the magical world had Kael's conflicted conscience.
---
Far away, beyond the Veil that separated realms, in the obsidian towers of Halvryn…
A woman dressed in white silk stood before a shimmering pool, her hands raised as she whispered ancient spells. The waters rippled, revealing the image of Kael speaking with Elira.
Her eyes narrowed.
"So the Guard has broken his oath," she murmured.
Behind her, a cloaked man stepped forward. "Shall I dispatch the Shadows?"
She didn't turn. Her voice was cold as ice. "Yes. Send them through the Rift. Bring me the girl."
"And if Kael interferes?"
"Kill him."
---
Back in the hotel, Elira couldn't sleep. She stood once more by the window, gazing at the moon through clouds that shifted like breathing monsters. The weight of the key in her pocket, the fire in her chest—none of it would let her rest.
She didn't know who to trust.
Not Kael. Not fully.
Not herself.
But one thing had changed—she could no longer pretend to be normal.
The world had opened beneath her feet.
And she was falling.