The morning light was soft, casting a golden hue across the fields as I rose early, far before anyone else had stirred. The events of the past few days weighed heavily on my mind—saving Reece, Sophia’s piercing gaze after she had seen me use magic, and the lingering dread that followed. It was too much.

I needed to clear my head, to think. I grabbed my cloak and slipped outside, the cool air biting at my skin, but I welcomed it. It was a relief to escape the tension that had been building in the house, especially with Reece’s constant glares and Sophia’s unspoken questions.

The sky was clear, a gift after the storm that had ravaged the farm. The land was still soaked, waterlogged in places, but the world around me felt calm for the first time in what seemed like ages. I walked aimlessly for a while, my boots squelching in the wet ground as I headed toward a small patch of woods on the far side of the farm. The trees stood tall, their leaves shimmering with droplets of rain, and I found a quiet spot near a cluster of rocks where I could sit and breathe.

As I settled down, I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. I focused on my breathing, slowing it, letting the world fade away as I entered a state of meditation. I needed to figure out what to do next. I couldn’t stay here—not with the Arcana’s constant threat looming over me and the lives of those I had grown to care for. But leaving those I cared for, undefended felt just a s wrong.

My thoughts drifted to Sophia, to the look she had given me after the flood. She knew. There was no hiding it anymore. She had seen me use magic. What was worse, I had felt that familiar pull—the darkness in the magic I had tapped into. It wasn’t the pure, controlled power of the Faye realm, but something raw and dangerous.

Then there was Ged, the family’s steadfast rock, and Ros with her kindness. What would they do if they knew? Could I risk staying and endangering them further? My heart told me to stay, but my mind knew better. Leaving was the only option.

Resolute, I opened my eyes, steeling myself for the decision I would have to make. I will tell Ged later today. He needed to know, and then I would leave. I couldn't risk their safety any longer.

The walk back to the farm was slower, more deliberate. As I approached the farmhouse, a creeping unease settled over me. Something wasn’t right. I quickened my pace, dread filling my chest as I neared the barn. Voices—harsh, angry voices—carried through the air. I ducked behind one of the wooden beams and peered around the corner.

THe Veilgaurd, enforcers.. But not just any enforcers, Greyden was there, standing over Ged as three of his lackeys stood guard mounted on their horses.. The enforcers wore thick, weather-beaten cloaks of black, which billowed out behind them in the gusting wind. They looked as if they belonged to some sinister legion of shadows, their faces grim and set like stone. Greydan, a tall, broad man with a scar cutting across his brow, had an air of cruelty that made my skin crawl. His eyes gleamed with malice, and I could see the twisted satisfaction in them as he stared down at Ged.

Ged was on his knees, his hands tied roughly behind his back, his face bloodied from a brutal beating. Blood dripped slowly from a gash on his cheek, staining the ground below him. Even in his pain, though, he refused to break. The old man’s eyes held a fire of defiance as he glared up at Greydan.

“Where’s the boy?” the leader snarled, his voice dripping with venom. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, fingers twitching as if eager for blood. "We know you’re hiding something. That was no normal accident, old man."

“I’ve told you everything!” Ged barked, spitting blood onto the dirt. “I had nothing to do with it! I paid my due and your men left. That's the truth!”

"Liar!" The Greydan’s voice was like a whip crack, and with brutal speed, he lashed out with his boot, kicking Ged hard in the side. Ged grunted, the force of the blow sending him sprawling into the mud, but he didn’t cry out. His chest heaved with labored breaths, but his eyes still burned with that same fire.

“We lost a man because of you,” Greydan sneered, towering over Ged like a wolf circling its prey. “ A friend of mine, a good enforcer, blood was spilled Now, you'll pay in blood.”

I could feel the tension crackling in the air, thicker than the storm clouds that had rolled in the night before. My heart pounded in my chest as I watched the scene unfold from the shadows of the barn. The anger swelled in me, but it was more than just anger—it was fear. Fear for Ged, fear for the others, and a terrible fear of what I might have to do if this went any further.

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Reece was nearby, standing by the barn, his face ashen with terror. His eyes darted between the enforcers and his father, wide and frantic. He looked like he wanted to do something, anything, but was too paralyzed by fear to act. The rage was there, bubbling beneath the surface, but it was swallowed by the panic that gripped him. He wanted to jump in, but he knew he couldn’t. Not yet.

Sophia was a few steps behind, her hands covering her mouth in horror as she watched her father being brutalized. Her body trembled, but her eyes met mine from across the farmyard, and in that single glance, I saw the silent plea—the desperate hope that I would intervene. But how could I? My magic was unpredictable, untamed after years of suppression. Could I even pull it off? Could I stop these men without making everything worse?

The Greydan drew his sword slowly, savoring the moment. His sneer widened as the tip of the blade glinted in the fading light, hovering just above Ged’s neck.

“Last chance, old man,” he growled. “Tell me what I want to know, or you’ll die right here. And then, we’ll take our time with your family.”

The threat hung in the air like poison, seeping into my bones. Ged struggled to lift his head, his voice rasping. “I’ve… nothing more to say.”

The leader raised his sword high above his head, his sneer twisting into something monstrous, the final blow ready to fall.

“Stop!” I shouted, bursting from the shadows, my voice sharp and desperate. My boots splashed into the muddy ground as I ran toward them, my breath ragged in my chest. “It’s me you want! Not him!”

Everything happened so quickly. Reece rushed forward, abandoning his hesitation as the sight of his father in mortal danger snapped him out of his fear. “Leave him alone!” he screamed, his voice cracking with both rage and terror. “He’s got nothing to do with this!”

Sophia, still frozen by the house, watched in wide-eyed horror, her hands trembling as she held them over her mouth. The wind whipped through her hair as she struggled to hold back tears. I could see her want to run to her father, to help, but she held herself back, knowing that one wrong move could be the end for all of us.

The Greydan’s eyes flicked between Reece and me, the cold amusement in his expression deepening. “Well, well, the whole family’s here for the show.” His gaze locked onto mine. “And you. I knew you’d show yourself eventually.”

He turned his sword toward me, its tip gleaming as he took a step forward. “You’re the one who caused this mess. That little trick you pulled cost me a man, and you think you’ll get away with it?”

Greydan didn’t know anything, he was using this as an excuse to punish us. He would have blamed ten other people on the way here just to abuse his power and get what he wanted.

I felt the pull of magic in my gut, the temptation to use it swirling inside me like a storm. The fury inside me rose, just as the rain began to fall once more, a cold, biting wind sweeping through the farm. My mind raced—if I didn’t act, Ged would die. But if I used magic, I might make things even worse.

The sword hovered in the air, the leader's wicked grin stretching across his face. “No more stalling. This ends now.”

Reece’s eyes darted to me, wild with fear and confusion, but also with a silent plea. He couldn’t lose Ged. He couldn’t lose everything. And suddenly, I knew. There was no choice. If I didn’t act, I’d lose them all.

The magic pulsed beneath my skin, but as I reached for it, something slipped. It faltered, flickering weakly as my concentration wavered. I was out of practice. Too much time had passed, and now I was paying the price. Panic surged through me as I struggled to pull the magic into focus, my heart hammering in my chest.

The leader smirked, sensing my hesitation. “All here now I see, I suppose there is no longer a use for you.” His sword swung down, fast and final.

“No!” I screamed, but before I could reach Ged, before the magic could take hold, Sophia moved. She threw herself forward, her hands grabbing her father’s shoulders, her body shielding him from the blow.

The blade cut through her back in one terrible, swift movement. Time seemed to stop.

Her gasp was so quiet, so soft, I almost didn’t hear it over the pounding of the rain. For a moment, everything was still. And then, with a soundless cry, she crumpled hanging on the blade as it pierced her back and pinned her to the ground.

I collapsed to my knees beside her, my mind unable to grasp the horror of what had just happened.

Sophia—kind, gentle Sophia—was gone.

Ros screamed, her voice breaking through the storm as she ran toward her daughter. But the collectors moved fast, one of them stepping forward with a blade raised. His sword struck her down, silencing her forever.

Ged’s cries of grief and rage filled the air as he lunged toward the collectors, but he was no match. They cut him down swiftly, without mercy.

The farm, once so full of life and warmth, was now a place of death and despair.

And I was too late. I couldn’t save anybody. I had killed them.

The collectors didn’t speak as they dragged me and Reece away, our wrists bound in chains. And all I could think of was the lifeless look in Sophia’s eyes as she died, it was the same look I had seen in Myia’s all those years ago.