Zara’s POV

  The announcement came mid-afternoon, but I had felt it coming long before then. There was a certain heaviness in the air as I stepped into the council chamber, the kind that preceded bad news. The gathered officials murmured in hushed voices, exchanging glances that spoke of knowledge I hadn’t yet been given. And then, Councilor Dorel stood, clearing his throat, and the room fell silent.

  “After much deliberation and consideration for my health and the future of this city, I have decided to step down from my position on the council,” Dorel announced, his voice steady despite the weight of his words. “It has been an honor to serve, but I believe it is time for new leadership.”

  The murmurs resumed, but they were no longer whispers. This was what the Sovereign Order had been waiting for.

  I clenched my fists as my eyes flicked across the chamber, landing on Alric Dain. He sat motionless, watching Dorel with an expression of perfect neutrality. But I wasn’t fooled. He had known this was coming. No, he had planned for this.

  And when he stood, smoothing down the front of his coat, I knew exactly what was about to happen.

  “It is always a difficult thing to watch a respected leader step down,” Dain said, his voice laced with feigned humility. “Councilor Dorel has served this city well, and his absence will be felt. But we must look forward. The city must move forward. And in times like these, with tensions rising and uncertainty gripping our people, strong leadership is more important than ever. That is why I am officially announcing my candidacy for the open council seat.”

  A ripple moved through the room, a mix of shock, anticipation, and—most frustrating of all—approval. A few scattered claps from his supporters quickly grew into a more enthusiastic response.

  I barely heard them. I was too busy staring at Dain, my mind racing with the implications. He wasn’t just trying to control things from behind the scenes anymore—he was positioning himself to rule. If he won, he wouldn’t need secret deals or backroom influence. He would have legal authority to push his agenda forward without opposition.

  Councilor Marek shot me a glance from across the room, her expression unreadable but tense. She didn’t look surprised. She had seen this coming, just as I had.

  Dain spread his hands, his voice smooth, calculated. “The people of this city are looking for security, for stability. I intend to give them that. The council’s decisions in the coming months will shape our future, and I will ensure that future is safe. We can no longer ignore the dangers in our streets. We must act.”

  I clenched my fists tighter, my nails digging into my palms. He wasn’t talking about crime. He wasn’t talking about real threats. He was talking about us—magicals, the university, everyone who refused to bow to the Sovereign Order’s demands.

  For a moment, I considered speaking up, challenging him right there in front of the council. But what would it accomplish? His supporters were already cheering. The undecided council members were listening. If I stood now, I would only look like an emotional magical lashing out.

  I forced myself to turn on my heel and walk out of the chamber. I needed to tell Kage. Because if Dain got onto the council, everything we feared was about to get much, much worse. Councilor Dorel, one of the few voices of reason in the city’s leadership, was stepping down from his position.

  Kage’s POV

  The records were old, buried beneath layers of bureaucratic paperwork, but they were there. A storage facility, registered under one of Alric Dain’s many companies. Hidden in the mountains, far from the city, far from prying eyes. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

  I leaned back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face as I stared at the faded documents spread across my desk. I already knew what Hall was going to say. No direct evidence linking Dain to the missing magicals. No clear justification for a raid. Just another dead end.

  But I wasn’t going to let it go.

  Hall barely glanced at the papers before shaking his head. “You don’t have enough.”

  I clenched my jaw. “It’s a storage facility in the middle of nowhere, owned by the same man we both know is behind the disappearances. You don’t think that’s worth lookin”

  Hall sighed, rubbing his temples. “I think it’s suspicious, sure. But suspicion isn’t evidence, Kage. You want me to send officers up into the mountains based on a hunch? The council would have my head. We need more.”

  “And how many more magicals have to disappear before we get that ‘more’ you’re looking for?” I shot back.

  He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he exhaled slowly, looking at me with something close to sympathy. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear. But if we go in without anything concrete, it’ll backfire. Dain will use it to make us look like we’re harassing him. And now, with him running for a council seat, he’ll have even more public support behind him. You and I both know how he operates. If we play this wrong, we don’t just lose—he wins even bigger. We make him stronger.”

  I hated that he was right.

  But something else hit me like a punch to the gut. “Wait—Dain is running for a council seat?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Hall exhaled, as if he had been waiting for me to catch up. “Yeah. He made the announcement earlier today. Dorel’s stepping down, and Dain wasted no time throwing his name in the race. With the Sovereign Order backing him, it’s not a matter of if he wins, it’s when he wins.”

  Hall sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “And now that he’s running for a council seat, there’s no way we can go after him. Not officially.”

  I snapped my head toward him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean Dain’s already got the public behind him, and the council isn’t going to approve any investigations into a man who could very well be one of their own soon. If we push too hard now, we’ll lose whatever leverage we have left.”

  My stomach churned. “So we just let him keep taking people? We just wait?”

  Hall looked at me, and for once, he didn’t have a clever answer. Just resignation. “I don’t like it either, Kage. But until we have undeniable proof, our hands are tied.”

  By the time I got home, the tension in my shoulders was a permanent ache. The scent of food hit me the second I stepped inside—something rich, warm, spiced. Laughter drifted from the dining room, a rare sound these days.

  I followed it, finding Zara, Malrick, Naja, and Doran gathered around the table, plates half-full, the room filled with the kind of ease I hadn’t felt in too long.

  Zara looked up first, her eyes flicking over my face before she frowned. “What happened?”

  I hesitated for only a second before stepping forward, setting the folder of documents on the table. “I found something. A storage facility. Dain owns it.”

  The warmth in the room dimmed instantly.

  Malrick straightened, his glowing veins pulsing slightly. “The missing magicals. You think they’re there?”

  “I don’t think. I know.” I exhaled, frustration burning in my chest. “But Hall won’t authorize a raid. Says there’s not enough proof. And now that Dain is running for a council seat, there’s even less of a chance.”

  Doran’s fork clattered against his plate. He leaned back, crossing his arms. “He’s what?”

  Malrick stiffened in his seat. The veins along his arms pulsed faintly, a sign of his barely contained emotions. “You’re saying he’s about to get even more power?”

  I sighed, rubbing a hand down my face. “Yeah. He made the announcement today. Hall told me. With the Sovereign Order behind him, it’s not a matter of if he wins—it’s when. And once he’s in, there’s no way we’ll be able to move against him officially.”

  Naja slammed her palm against the table, her frustration barely concealed. “He’s doing this right in front of us. And we’re just supposed to sit back and let him?”

  Malrick clenched his fists. “No. We can’t. We won’t.” His voice was low, but there was an edge to it, a quiet certainty that made the room go still for a second.

  Doran leaned back, arms crossed. “So, what’s the plan? Because sitting here stewing over it isn’t going to stop him.”

  Naja’s silver-lit hands flexed at her sides. “We have to act. And soon.”

  The room fell into silence for a moment before Doran narrowed his eyes. “What?”

  Zara’s jaw tightened. “If the police won’t go, then we go ourselves.”

  I looked at her, then at the others. Malrick’s expression was set, Naja’s silver-lit hands flexed at her sides, and Doran just nodded, as if this had already been decided the moment I opened my mouth.

  “What, no,” running a hand through my hair, the weight of the decision settling heavily on my chest. “Do you understand what we’re walking into? This isn’t sneaking around the city or investigating leads. This is a direct confrontation. If Dain really has the missing magicals there, then that place isn’t just a storage facility—it’s a fortress.”

  Zara crossed her arms. “So what? We sit back and wait? Hope that more proof magically appears while people keep vanishing?”

  “No,” I said sharply, my frustration slipping through. “But there’s a difference between being smart and being reckless. If we get caught, if this goes wrong, we don’t just lose our shot at stopping Dain—we give him more power. He’ll paint us as vigilantes, as terrorists. And then what happens to the magicals in the city? They’ll suffer more because of us.”

  Silence filled the room, the weight of my words settling over them. Malrick shifted uneasily, his veins still faintly pulsing. Naja glanced between me and Zara, considering. Even Doran looked a little less sure.

  I exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over my face. “Look, I get why you all want to go. But this is reckless. If Dain has magicals there, then he has security too. This isn’t some abandoned shack we can just stroll into.”

  Zara folded her arms, her jaw set. “So what do you suggest? That we wait? Hope that something magically falls into our laps while more people disappear?”

  “No, but there’s a difference between being smart and being suicidal,” I shot back, frustration bleeding into my voice. “I’ll go. Alone. I can get in and out without being seen. If I find something concrete, then we can act.”

  Malrick’s chair scraped against the floor as he sat forward. “No way. If he catches you—”

  “Then it’s just me who’s caught,” I cut in. “Not all of you.”

  Zara stepped toward me, her green eyes flashing. “That’s not how this works, Kage. We do this together. You don’t get to throw yourself into danger alone and expect us to sit back.”

  I clenched my jaw, my pulse hammering. Every instinct in me screamed to protect them, to not let them walk into something that could get them killed. But looking at them now, I knew there was no talking them out of it.

  Finally, I exhaled through my nose. “Then we need a plan. We do this right, and we do it smart. No unnecessary risks. No rushing in blind.”

  Zara met my gaze, unwavering. “We can leave tomorrow.”

  I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. “Not unless we’re ready. If we’re doing this, then we do it smart. That means training.”

  Zara frowned. “Training?”

  “Yes. We don’t know what we’re walking into. If Dain’s holding magicals there, he’s got security, maybe even magical defenses,” I said, looking at each of them in turn. “If we’re going in, everyone needs to know how to fight—with their magic. We can’t afford mistakes.”

  Naja crossed her arms. “You really think we have time for that?”

  “We don’t have time not to.”

  Malrick straightened, his glowing veins pulsing. “Then let’s do it. I need to be ready.”

  Zara held my gaze for a moment longer before nodding. “Fine. We train first. But we’re not waiting forever, Kage. We do this soon.”

  I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Agreed. But if we’re going in, we’re going in ready.”

  Naja turned to Doran, her silver-lit hands flexing at her sides. “Are you really coming with us?”

  Doran raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d just sit this one out?”

  Naja frowned. “This isn’t your fight, Doran. You don’t have magic. If things go bad, you won’t have a way to defend yourself.”

  Doran huffed a laugh, leaning back in his chair. “And your magic isn’t exactly built for combat, is it? What are you going to do—heal them into submission?”

  She glared at him, but he didn’t let up. “Look, I might not be magical, but that doesn’t mean I’m useless. I’ve got other skills. Besides, someone’s got to watch your backs.”

  Naja exhaled sharply but didn’t argue further. She knew, just like the rest of us, that Doran wasn’t the type to be left behind. He was coming, no matter what.