The Riftspire was quiet again.
The patrol had returned to Shelter Nine without further incident. The Bark Hulk encounter was brief, but telling.
And Aria couldn't stop thinking about one person.
Kael Riven.
She leaned against the observation deck railing above the training yard, watching him from a distance. He stood by Rae and Dren, head lowered slightly, listening as they shared a laugh. He didn't laugh much himself.
Always watching. Always calculating.
He moved like someone used to danger. Not just surviving, but expecting it. His eyes scanned every corner of the room. Like a soldier. But he wasn't trained.
Not in any traditional sense.
Aria folded her arms.
She had seen many young fighters rise through the ranks, some gifted, some desperate, some arrogant. But Kael... was different. He carried silence like a weapon. His instincts flared in battle. The way he reacted to the Bark Hulk, the way he moved just before the beast struck.
It was like something else took over.
Something ancient.
And then there was the moment after. When the beast died and its energy faded, she had glanced at Kael.
And for just a second, his eyes were glowing faint red.
She hadn't said anything. Not even to Rae.
But that glow… it wasn't normal. It wasn't part of any known beast trait that she knew. And no equipment had picked it up.
"He's hiding something," she whispered to herself.
She didn't know what. Not yet.
But her instincts, sharpened from years serving the Velar Family in the military, told her two things clearly:
One—Kael Riven was not ordinary.
Two—Someone else would eventually realize it too.
And when that happened, it wouldn't be kind.
She straightened.
She had already reported him as a "gifted refugee with potential." No more, no less. No mention of the glow. No mention of her suspicions.
Why?
She wasn't sure.
Maybe it was the way he looked at the world, like it had betrayed him. Maybe it was the quiet strength he didn't even understand yet.
Or maybe… it was the tiniest flicker of something she hadn't seen in a long time.
Hope.
"Just who are you really, Kael?"
She didn't know.
But she would find out.
And until she had answers, no one else would get to him.
Not the commanders.
Not the council.
Not even her own family.
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End of Chapter 17 of volume 2