NERO SERAPHANE

The safehouse felt smaller tonight.

Not physically.

Just… heavier.

Like the walls themselves knew too much.

Rain tapped softly against the windows overlooking Zephyrion’s lower sectors, neon reflections bleeding through the glass in fractured streaks of blue and crimson. 

The ventilation hummed overhead, but even that sound felt muted beneath the tension settling over the room.

Mi’kael sat across from me at the holo-table, elbows resting against his knees, head lowered slightly.

Thinking.

Or drowning.

Hard to tell the difference with him anymore.

Eryn lounged sideways on the couch nearby, one leg hanging over the armrest while he spun a blaster around his finger absentmindedly. Normally he’d be filling the silence with something stupid by now.

Instead, he glanced around the room once.

Then sighed.

“This place feels empty.”

Mi’kael didn’t answer.

Eryn looked toward him again. “So where is she?”

Silence.

Mi’kael’s fingers tightened together slightly.

“Aeris is…” he started quietly.

The hesitation alone already answered the question.

“She’s not coming with us.”

Eryn stopped spinning the blaster.

“Tsk.”

The sound echoed sharper than expected.

He sat upright slowly, staring directly at Mi’kael now.

“You’re unbelievable.”

Mi’kael’s eyes narrowed faintly. “Don’t start.”

“No, I’m absolutely starting.” Eryn leaned forward, irritation bleeding openly into his voice now. “That girl just buried her father and your solution is to leave her alone with that?”

Mi’kael’s jaw tightened.

“She’ll be safer away from me.”

“There it is,” Eryn muttered. “That stupid hero complex of yours.”

“Shut the hell up.”

“No.” Eryn pointed toward him sharply. “You keep acting like pushing people away makes you noble. It doesn’t. It just makes you easier to lose.”

The room went quiet.

Mi’kael stood abruptly from the table.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know exactly what I’m talking about.” Eryn’s voice lowered slightly now. Less anger. More frustration. “You think disappearing fixes things because it’s easier than staying.”

Mi’kael looked ready to snap back.

Then—

The hidden door hissed open.

All of us turned instantly.

Aeris stepped inside.

Still wearing black.

The same funeral attire.

Her makeup was faintly smeared beneath tired eyes, blonde hair slightly disheveled like she’d stopped caring about fixing it hours ago.

And despite that—

She still came.

Mi’kael’s expression hardened immediately.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

Aeris ignored the coldness in his voice completely.

“I know.”

She stepped further into the room slowly.

“I came anyway.”

Eryn leaned back against the couch quietly, glancing once toward me before staying silent.

Smart decision.

This wasn’t his moment anymore.

Aeris stopped a few feet away from Mi’kael.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Mi’kael didn’t respond.

“What I said earlier…” Her voice faltered briefly. “At the funeral. I didn’t mean it.”

Still nothing.

She swallowed once before continuing.

“And this is my way of proving that.”

Mi’kael finally looked at her properly then.

“You proving something doesn’t change reality.”

Aeris frowned slightly.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll get hurt.”

The answer came too fast.

Too honest.

Mi’kael realized it immediately.

His expression darkened.

“You’ll be dead weight.”

A slight pause followed.

And I saw it.

The tiny flicker in Aeris’ eyes.

Not pain.

Recognition.

Like she understood the lie hidden underneath the cruelty.

But she answered anyway.

“Rael Vantari killed my father.” Her voice steadied slightly. “I have every right to make him pay.”

Mi’kael exhaled sharply through his nose, looking away.

“And what happens when you get caught in the middle of this?”

“I’m already in the middle of it.”

That one landed.

You could see it.

Mi’kael’s shoulders tensed slightly.

Before he could answer, Eryn suddenly stood up from the couch.

“Then I’ll watch over her.”

Both of them looked toward him.

Eryn shrugged casually. 

“What? If pretty boy over here’s too emotionally constipated to admit he’s worried, I can handle it.”

“Eryn,” Mi’kael warned.

“No seriously.” He walked over beside Aeris now. “I’ll stick with her.”

Aeris blinked slightly in surprise.

Eryn grinned lazily. “Congrats. You’ve officially been assigned the coolest member of the group.”

“The coolest?” I repeated flatly.

“You dress like a depressed cathedral.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.”

Mi’kael looked visibly annoyed now.

That meant he cared.

Eryn noticed it too.

Of course he did.

He casually draped an arm around Aeris’ shoulder, glancing sideways toward Mi’kael with deliberate smugness.

“Don’t worry, boss. I’ll protect her honor and everything.”

Mi’kael’s eyes narrowed instantly.

“Get your arm off her.”

A beat of silence.

Then Eryn smirked wider.

“Ohhh. There it is.”

Aeris stared between them, exhausted confusion mixing with the faintest hint of amusement.

Mi’kael clicked his tongue irritably and looked away.

“Do whatever you want.”

Eryn grinned triumphantly. “That’s basically permission.”

“It’s really not,” I muttered.

He ignored me completely.

“C’mon, princess,” Eryn said lightly, guiding Aeris toward the couch area. “You look like you haven’t slept in three years.”

“I probably haven’t,” she admitted quietly.

Something about hearing her joke again—even weakly—made the room feel slightly less suffocating.

Mi’kael noticed too.

I saw the anger in his face fade almost immediately into something quieter.

Relief.

Then guilt for feeling relieved at all.

Eryn caught my glance briefly.

The idiot knew exactly what he was doing.

I sighed heavily and turned back toward the holo-table.

“Focus,” I said.

Mi’kael nodded once, forcing himself back into the conversation.

“The supply route near Vitarus,” he muttered. “That’s where Vantari wants us.”

I activated the holo-display between us, blue light illuminating the room.

A map flickered alive instantly.

“The hidden Vel’Serah entrance is here,” I explained, highlighting a mountainous region beside the town. “And this—”

A second marker appeared.

“—is Vantari territory.”

Mi’kael studied it silently for a few moments.

Then his eyes narrowed.

“He’s doing it intentionally.”

I looked toward him. “Explain.”

“He’s creating a false sense of security.” 

Mi’kael pointed toward the route. 

“Everything’s too visible. Too controlled. That means he wants us to approach directly.”

“An ambush,” I concluded.

“Probably several.”

A brief silence followed.

Then Mi’kael spoke again.

“We need Garrick.”

I nodded immediately and activated my datapad.

The call attempted connection.

Failed.

I frowned slightly and tried again.

Static.

Nothing.

Again.

Still nothing.

“…Damn it.”

Mi’kael looked toward me sharply. 

“What?”

“Signals are being blocked.” I lowered the datapad slowly. “Outbound and inbound.”

Eryn glanced over from the couch. “Seriously?”

I nodded once.

“Rael’s probably using corporate-grade signal suppression.” My jaw tightened. “No communication to Vitarus.”

That was bad.

Very bad.

The room quieted again.

Then soft laughter broke through it unexpectedly.

I glanced sideways.

Aeris sat beside Eryn now, shoulders slightly relaxed while he rambled about something involving a stolen cargo shuttle and an illegal casino on Mars.

She actually smiled faintly.

Mi’kael noticed too.

His eyes lingered there longer than intended.

Mi’kael finally looked back toward me.

“If Garrick can’t help us,” he said quietly, “then we use Rael himself.”

I folded my arms. “Meaning?”

Mi’kael’s gaze lowered toward the map again.

“He worships the old Seraphane.”

Realization clicked instantly.

“The warrior traditions…”

He nodded.

“One-on-one combat.” His voice sharpened slightly now. “A challenge between champions.”

Eryn overheard immediately.

“Oh that’s insane.”

Mi’kael ignored him.

“Rael’s obsessed with proving himself worthy of them. If we challenge him directly, he’ll accept.”

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

“And what makes you think he’ll choose you?”

That finally made Mi’kael pause.

His gaze drifted briefly toward Aeris again before answering.

“Because he’s interested in me specifically.”

Not as a target.

As a symbol.

Rael saw something in Mi’kael.

Something dangerous.

Mi’kael understood that too.

“He wants to break me,” Mi’kael said quietly. “Not just kill me.”

The room fell silent again.

Then he added:

“And I’ll use that to kill him first.”

Cold.

Direct.

Certain.

But I caught it.

The tiny hesitation before he said it.

The exhaustion underneath the confidence.

Mi’kael wasn’t planning beyond Rael.

That much was obvious.

I leaned back slightly.

“This plan relies entirely on a gamble.”

“It’s the only move we have left.”

“And if you lose?”

Silence.

Mi’kael’s eyes lowered slightly.

Then—

“Then maybe that solves the problem too.”

Aeris went still behind us.

So did Eryn.

He wasn't talking about Vantari anymore.

Damn you Mi'kael.