The city was quieter now.
The stampede was over. The skies were clear of smoke and ash. But the air still clung heavy with the scent of burning timber, the sharp tang of sweat, blood, and scorched fur. Ironhold's outer walls stood battered but intact—a brutal, blackened monument to survival. Repairs had already begun. Fires were out. But the weight of what had just passed still pressed on the city like a storm that refused to fully leave.
Ash moved through the narrow streets of the Inner District with purpose, his boots echoing softly on the cracked cobblestone. Kade walked beside him, unusually quiet. The younger Tamer had reported to the Wardens first, but when Ash had excused himself, Kade had followed without a word of protest.
Ash didn't mind the company.
They passed small patrols. Quiet nods. Makeshift barricades being cleared away. Most people gave them space. Ash could still feel the adrenaline burned into his bones from the fight earlier. Smoke and Specter were both safe, resting in their bonds, but the weight of their evolutions—and the cost of victory—still lingered in his chest.
He wasn't done. Not yet.
They came to a halt at the edge of the Inner District, where the buildings pressed tighter and the crowds gave way to silence. The Vein Gate waited beyond.
"Ash," Kade said finally, breaking the silence, "where exactly are we going?"
Ash didn't look back. "Someplace that might give us answers. Or trouble. Probably both."
Kade frowned, but nodded and followed him as they approached a narrow alley flanked by rust-streaked walls. At first glance, the entrance looked like a collapsed fence or a disused sewerway—easy to miss, unless you knew what you were looking for.
Then the mist rolled in.
Ash stepped forward, eyes narrowing. Rusted iron bars formed a small archway ahead, choked by creeping vines. Fog curled along the ground like fingers searching for something lost. The very air pulsed here—faint, rhythmic, like breath drawn slow and deep.
"The Vein Gate," Ash murmured.
Kade gave a low whistle. "That's… not creepy at all."
Ash didn't respond. He reached out, fingers brushing the iron. Cold. Buzzing. Like the metal remembered pain.
A figure moved within the fog.
She stepped into the archway, tall and poised, framed by the moonlight filtering through the broken rooftops above. Seraphine Ashvein. The name echoed like a myth in Ironhold, but here she was—real and watching them both with eyes like cut obsidian.
Her black leather coat swept behind her, silent and perfect. There was no ornamentation, no need for it. She didn't command attention. She expected it.
"Ash," she said, then her gaze slid to Kade. "And friend. I'm glad you could make it."
Ash's expression didn't shift. "Didn't feel like much of a choice."
Seraphine smiled, faint and sharp. "Choices are always illusions anyway."
Kade stood straighter beside Ash, his fingers twitching just slightly. "You said you had information," he said. "About the Stampede. About what's coming next."
She arched a brow. "You're sharper than you look."
Kade didn't take the bait. "I've been through worse."
Seraphine inclined her head slightly, then turned her full attention to Ash. "The Wardens are scrambling. The Ironbrand are already using this as an excuse to lock down the city tighter. But you know as well as I do that this wasn't a random surge."
Ash kept his expression flat. "What was it then?"
"A push," she said. "A test. And not just of Ironhold's walls."
Kade glanced between them. "A test of what? Tamers?"
Seraphine's gaze lingered on Ash. "Of bonds. Of evolution. Of what happens when power outpaces control."
She took a few steps forward, her voice softening just slightly. "I've kept an eye on you, Ash. Specter. Smoke. What you've done—it doesn't go unnoticed."
Ash's jaw tightened. "I didn't do it for attention."
"No," Seraphine said. "You did it because you had no choice. But that's the kind of man Ironhold needs. Someone who acts when the rest hesitate."
Ash crossed his arms. "If this is a pitch, save it."
Seraphine's smile didn't fade. "The Syndicate doesn't want chaos. We want balance. The kind of balance the other factions disrupt in their pursuit of control. You're caught between their games whether you like it or not, Ash."
She turned her head slightly, eyes narrowing. "But you still have a choice. You can keep reacting. Or you can get ahead of it."
Kade stepped forward. "You said there's more coming. What did you mean?"
Seraphine met his gaze. "Something stirs beneath the surface of this city. Not beasts. Not just Syndicates or cults. Something older. And when it surfaces, the people who survive will be the ones who understood where to stand before the shaking started."
The fog thickened briefly, curling around her like a shroud. She looked back to Ash one final time.
"Think on it. You know where to find me."
Then she was gone. Vanished into the mist, as if she'd never been there.
Ash stood silent, watching the fog drift and settle.
Kade let out a long breath, tension finally loosening from his shoulders. "That woman gives me the creeps."
"She's supposed to," Ash said.
They turned away from the Vein Gate and began walking back toward the Inner District. Silence stretched between them for a moment, thick but not uncomfortable.
Then Kade spoke again, quietly. "Back there… she called you 'Rei.'"
Ash didn't respond immediately.
"That your real name?"
Ash's gaze stayed on the road ahead. His voice was quiet when he answered.
"It was. Before everything changed."
Kade nodded, slow and thoughtful. "Got it. You'll tell me when you're ready."
Ash didn't answer.
But this time, Kade didn't need him to.