Kael had grown used to the quiet, It curled around him like a blanket that offered no warmth, the mansion's walls, once cold and daunting, now blurred into a background hum, something to navigate, not fear, yet this night felt different.
A strange weight clung to the air, the moon cast a ghost-pale glow across the courtyard, and even the wind seemed to notice and tiptoe, Kael stood by the servants' quarters, restless, sleep wouldn't suffice, not with the pendant beneath his pillow thrumming like a second heartbeat.
It called to him again. No words this time, just a pull.
He pulled on a hoodie and stepped out into the night.
The estate gate was quiet, but not unguarded, he took the long way, cutting past the garden, past the east wing where the Asolukas never went, and slipped out through a gap in the hedges he'd spotted days ago.
The city beyond the gates looked the same, but Kael didn't, not anymore.
He wandered without direction, past shut stalls and flickering streetlamps, past tricycle drivers arguing over fares, he didn't know what he was looking for.
Until he saw her.
A cloaked figure, standing still near the edge of an alley.
Kael paused.
The woman turned, Her eyes flooded like wells of sorrow, pain pouring from them in waves
He stepped forward instinctively. "Are you okay?"
She didn't answer, she just looked at him, looked into him, like she knew.
Then she spoke, Her voice was low and shaken, "You carry more than memory now. Be careful, Kael. They will come for you."
"Who? Who are you?"
She took a trembling breath. "Your future has more enemies than your past."
Kael's heart thudded. "How do you know me?"
But the woman began to back away, step by step, disappearing into the mist pooling from the alley's shadows.
He tried to follow.
She was gone.
Back in the servant's quarters, Kael took the pendant again, the symbols shifted, no longer foreign they pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, and faintly, at the very bottom, new words had appeared:
"When the heir begins to burn, the Watchers will awaken."
Kael stared at them.
Burn?
A knock on the door jolted him. One of the house staff peeked in. "You're wanted. Now."
Kael hid the pendant beneath his bed.
When he entered the main house, Mr. Asoluka stood near the window, Sai stood beside him, arms crossed.
"Where were you?"
Kael stood straighter. "Just... clearing my head."
"My daughter's safety is your job and you wander around at night?" Mr. Asoluka's voice was sharp.
Sai glanced at Kael, but said nothing.
Kael lowered his gaze. "It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't," Mr. Asoluka said, turning away. "You may leave."
Kael stepped out into the hallway, every muscle tense. Sai followed.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
He looked at her. Her concern felt real.
"I will be."
She paused. "You don't have to carry everything alone."
He forced a small smile. "Some weights are mine to carry." He walked away before she could answer.
---
That night, he slept with tthe pendant in his hand and dreamt of fire that didn't burn skin, but memory, truth, and time.