Kael woke to the rough jolt of the cart. A sharp groan escaped him as he pushed himself upright; pain flared through his body. He blinked several times, his eyes struggling to adjust to the dry air and dim light seeping through a narrow opening at the front.

  Absentmindedly, he rubbed his injured hand until he looked down.

  His face tightened.

  The memories surged back without mercy:

  Zaros’s projection.

  The grief carved into his family’s faces.

  They burned into his heart like a brand—one he would never be rid of.

  Kael dragged his hands over his face and bowed his head. He lifted it again when a quiet voice reached him from the front.

  "About time you woke up," Astra said, her gaze fixed on the landscape beyond the opening.

  Before he could respond, she turned toward him. Her dark, beautiful, intense eyes met his, and for a brief moment, impossibly, the pain dulled.

  "I won't apologize for what I did," she said, her voice softening. "But I am sorry you had to see that."

  Her hand clenched into a fist, trembling, and anger bled into her tone.

  "I trusted Nora too quickly. He arranged it so you would witness everything.”

  She lowered her head.

  "You were right."

  Kael sensed the weight of the blame she was placing on herself, and he slowly stood up. He moved toward her and sat beside the opening, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched. His gaze drifted outward with hers.

  Endless fields stretched before them, open, quiet, and untouched. The sky was a clear blue, and sunlight reflected in Kael’s pale pink eyes as his expression finally eased. The distant silhouette of the capital behind them blurred further with every passing moment.

  "Don't blame yourself," he murmured after a while. "And... even if it hurt, maybe I needed to see it."

  He paused, watching the city fade.

  "To finally leave the place I've lived in for as long as I can remember without regret."

  Astra looked at him sideways, suspicion flickering in her eyes as if she couldn't believe anyone could let go so easily.

  Because she knew she couldn’t.

  He didn’t notice her look, though. Instead, he kept staring outward, his expression calm, almost serene.

  "The world really is beautiful," he murmured as they passed a shimmering lake, its surface catching the last light of the day.

  "So beautiful," he added quietly. "One could almost forget the cruelty beneath it."

  Hours slipped by in silence as they sat side by side, watching the land roll past. Eventually, the sun dipped low, painting the horizon with the colors of dusk. Kael realized he hadn’t felt this kind of peace in a long time, and he knew Astra felt it, too.

  Still, he knew it wouldn't last.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  At some point, Astra’s eyes had fallen shut. In her sleep, she leaned against his shoulder. Kael didn’t move. She needed the rest. He closed his eyes as well, trying if only for a moment to push away the images of Zaros’s death, Lia’s unspoken resolve, and everything else they had left behind in the capital.

  A jolt woke him.

  “Wake up,” Astra whispered. “We’re here.”

  The fatigue vanished at once. Kael nodded.

  They quietly retrieved their equipment and provisions from the crates together and lifted the canvas just enough to slip through without alerting the driver. They jumped silently from the moving cart and sprinted across what appeared to be an empty, wide square. They disappeared into the darkness just as the wagon rolled on and vanished down the road.

  Kael leaned against a stone wall, catching his breath, and looked at Astra. She was still surveying the square with a sharp, assessing gaze.

  After a moment, she exhaled.

  "Good. No one noticed us.”

  "And now?" Kael asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're criminals hunted by the Empire. Even here, in a small border town near the mountains, the people have been warned.”

  Astra shrugged and pointed toward the looming silhouettes ahead.

  "We'll slip through the town until we reach the outskirts. There’s a wall on the way to the mountains, but it was built to keep out wild animals and the occasional creatures, not people like us. The soldiers guarding it are lazy. They drink most of the night.”

  A faint, humorless smile crossed her face.

  "We climb the wall under the cover of darkness and disappear before anyone notices. After that, it’s not far to the path.”

  Kael frowned.

  "The path that shouldn't be used? That’s a remarkably uninspired name.”

  Astra managed a tired smile.

  "People don't seem inclined to waste much creativity on a road that only leads to death."

  They moved on together, slipping through narrow alleys between houses where no lights burned and no sounds stirred. Even for nighttime, the silence felt wrong to Kael—too complete, too absolute.

  For the first time since leaving the capital, a quiet unease settled beneath his calm.

  But as they turned onto another street, a piercing scream tore through the night from the direction they had just come from.

  They both froze and exchanged a brief glance before continuing to walk forward and forcing themselves to follow the plan.

  The suffering of others doesn't concern me, Kael told himself.

  The thought made him stop.

  His breath caught and his chest tightened, not from fear of the scream, but from fear of himself. Of how easily the words had formed. Of how heartless they sounded. He had watched Lia the same way, standing still in self-loathing because he couldn’t help her.

  Astra noticed his sudden halt and turned around. She recognized his intention instantly and shook her head.

  "We don't have time to help," she said firmly. "We have to keep moving."

  "I have to," Kael replied shortly, beginning to turn back.

  She grabbed his shoulder and yanked him toward her, her expression hardening.

  “Didn’t you shut yourself off from the suffering and feelings of others?” she hissed, gripping him tightly and trying to force sense into him.

  Kael didn’t look at her. His gaze remained fixed on the darkness from which the scream had come.

  “If you go back now, you put everything at risk,” she continued, her voice growing more desperate. "You endanger the entire plan. If you interfere, we’ll be exposed.”

  That made him turn.

  Surprise flickered across his face, then it darkened.

  “And what makes you so sure?” he asked coldly.

  Astra looked away, unwilling to meet his gaze.

  "We've scouted this city countless times," she said quietly. "To be prepared for anything. And we never stayed long.”

  She exhaled sharply.

  "The Order is stationed in the capital and other important cities. You can think what you want of them, but they protect the citizens. They don't oppress them."

  Her voice hardened.

  "But here? This is a forgotten town in the north. A region deemed unprofitable. The king doesn’t care what happens to the people here. Neither does the nobility. The guards rule this place however they please.”

  She looked back at him.

  "The only thing demanded of them is to deal with creatures from the north, which rarely happens. Everything else is ignored.”

  There was a pause.

  "So you see," she said quietly, "you can't change the system by helping once. I thought you’d learned that by now.”

  Kael slipped his backpack off his shoulders and held it out to her.

  "You have two choices," he said evenly. "You can either go on without me, or you can help me and we'll face the consequences together."

  He shook his head once.

  "Maybe I'm doing this to feel better about myself. Maybe nothing will change. But maybe—just maybe—I can stop one person from suffering instead of causing it.”

  Astra’s body trembled with anger. For a moment, it looked as if she might shout.

  Then, she exhaled sharply, glared at him, and shoved the backpack back into his hands.

  "You know damn well I don't have a choice," she snapped.

  Kael smiled faintly.

  Together, they turned and ran back toward the source of the screams.

  "Seems your coldness didn't kill your naiveté," Astra muttered as they ran.

  Kael didn’t answer.

  His eyes were fixed forward, ready for whatever awaited them.