Elias took a step back, fingers pressing against the card in his pocket.

  The end? he repeated in his head. She said it like it was a fact. Like it had already started.

  His brow furrowed. “You really know how to sell paranoia, you know that?”

  Sera didn’t smile. She just watched him, eyes dark and unreadable.

  “I don’t need to sell it,” she said. “It’s already here.”

  Elias exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Great. Another vague warning. You and Valen should start a business together.”

  Sera’s jaw tightened. “I don’t work with Lie Sellers.”

  Elias froze.

  There it was.

  The first answer that actually meant something.

  Lie Sellers. Plural.

  Elias didn’t know what that meant, but he knew it wasn’t good.

  He crossed his arms, watching her carefully. “Alright. You clearly know more than you’re saying. So why don’t we start with the obvious?”

  He hesitated, choosing his words carefully.

  Then, carefully, he asked—

  “Who the hell is Valen?”

  Sera exhaled, her gaze flicking to the empty street before answering.

  “He’s exactly what he told you he was,” she said quietly. “A businessman. Someone who trades.”

  Elias narrowed his eyes. “Trades what?”

  Sera hesitated, choosing her words carefully.

  “Pieces of people,” she said finally. “Memories. Time. Reasons. Truths.”

  Elias felt something crawl up his spine.

  That sounded way too familiar.

  He reached for the words, trying to piece them together into something solid. But it was like grasping at smoke.

  He had walked into that shop.

  He had walked out.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Something had changed.

  But what?

  Sera must have seen something in his expression because she sighed. “You made a deal,” she said.

  Elias stiffened.

  She was watching his reaction closely, her fingers curling slightly at her sides.

  She was waiting to see if he remembered.

  And that—that was worse than anything she could have said.

  Because he didn’t.

  But she knew.

  And that meant Valen definitely knew.

  —

  The night felt too still.

  Elias shifted uncomfortably, glancing around. “Are we—alone?”

  “No.”

  The answer came too fast.

  Too firm.

  Sera turned her head slightly, her gaze flickering toward something Elias couldn’t see.

  “We’re being watched,” she murmured.

  Elias felt it then, too.

  The weight of unseen eyes.

  The feeling of something just beyond the edge of his perception.

  He exhaled slowly. “Valen?”

  Sera didn’t answer immediately.

  Instead, she took a slow breath—and then did something Elias didn’t understand.

  She shifted.

  Not physically.

  Not like movement.

  Like reality around her bent for just a second, like the air held something heavier than before.

  The streetlamps flickered.

  The hum of the city softened.

  And suddenly—

  It was just them.

  Like the rest of the world had stepped back.

  Elias staggered. “What the hell did you just do?”

  Sera shook out her hands, looking slightly drained.

  Elias noticed it then—how her breathing had changed, how her balance had shifted.

  Whatever she had done, it had cost her something.

  “I gave us time,” she muttered.

  Elias' brow furrowed deeper. “Time for what?”

  “For you to actually listen,” Sera said, her voice sharper now. “Because this isn’t just about you anymore, Elias. It never was.”

  Elias didn’t like that answer.

  Not because it was mysterious.

  But because it felt too big.

  He took a step closer, his frustration slipping into his voice.

  “Then tell me,” he said. “Tell me why I feel like my own life is unraveling. Tell me why I can’t shake this feeling that I’m—”

  “Missing something?” Sera finished for him.

  Elias’ brow twitched.

  Sera’s expression softened slightly. “Because you are.”

  Elias felt his pulse in his ears. “What did I lose?”

  Sera hesitated.

  Then, quietly—

  “More than you know.”

  —

  Elias’ breathing was uneven.

  The streetlamp flickered overhead.

  Sera was watching him, waiting for him to ask the next question.

  And he wanted to.

  He needed to.

  But before he could—

  A new voice cut through the air.

  “Well.”

  The word settled into the night like a slow-moving ripple.

  Elias felt the hair on his arms rise.

  Sera went rigid.

  She turned first.

  Elias turned second.

  And Valen was standing at the edge of the alley, hands in his pockets, watching them both with quiet amusement.

  —

  Sera cursed under her breath.

  Of course he had come.

  She had risked too much using the trick to bend reality, had given them only minutes before Valen sensed it.

  And she had paid for it.

  A small but sharp ache pulsed at the base of her skull.

  A cost.

  She didn’t know what yet—memories blurred, details flickering at the edges of her thoughts.

  She clenched her fists.

  Valen smirked. “Was that really worth it?”

  Sera didn’t answer.

  Because she wasn’t sure.

  —

  Elias could feel something between them.

  Something old.

  Something unfinished.

  Valen’s gaze flickered toward him. “I do wish you’d stop interfering,” he said to Sera. “It’s getting tedious.”

  Sera’s fists clenched. “And I wish you’d stop playing games, but here we are.”

  Valen chuckled. “Oh, Sera. That’s rich, coming from you.”

  Elias felt the weight of their history.

  It was more than just opposition.

  It was personal.

  And that—that made him trust her less.

  Something in him wanted to believe her.

  Wanted to follow her lead, to trust the urgency in her voice.

  But trust like that didn’t just appear.

  And Elias was too clever to let himself be pulled by feelings he couldn’t explain.

  —

  Valen studied him, his amusement fading just slightly.

  Elias didn’t like the way he looked at him.

  Not like prey.

  Not like an easy mark.

  Like something expected.

  Something familiar.

  Elias forced himself to breathe evenly. “You left me a card.”

  Valen nodded once. “I did.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re already in the game.”

  Elias felt his brow furrow deeper.

  Valen’s expression remained calm. “I’m simply waiting for you to realize it.”

  —

  Sera moved before Elias could react.

  She stepped between them, her voice sharp.

  “You don’t get to decide that.”

  Valen raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who does?”

  Sera’s jaw tensed.

  And for a moment, just a moment—

  Valen’s gaze softened.

  Not with kindness.

  Not with amusement.

  But with understanding.

  Like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  And exactly how this would

  end.

  Sera hated him for it.

  She turned sharply to Elias.

  “Don’t call him,” she said, voice urgent now.

  Elias hesitated.

  Valen smiled.

  And before Elias could say anything—

  The air rippled.

  The streetlamp above them burst, raining sparks.

  And in the sudden darkness—

  Valen was gone.