Page 65 of Veil of Ashes

“What’s in it for you?” she asks.

Enzo folds the map without answering.

She presses him, eyes narrowed. “You said you weren’t coming back. So why now? Why let us find you?”

He sighs, the weight of it bending his posture. “Because I made sure the trail was visible now. I left the entry weeks ago—coded, buried deep. You were always smart enough to find it. I just had to wait for the right time.”

“And this is the right time?”

“Gia’s slipping. Rizzi’s bleeding allies. The power balance is collapsing faster than I expected. They’ll make a move before the end of the month—and if we don’t intercept it, a lot more people die.”

“And?” she prompts.

“And I need you alive when they do.”

Her laugh is sharp. “That’s convenient.”

He meets her eyes. “That’s truth.”

“You don’t know me anymore,” she says.

“I know what they’ll do if you’re not ready.”

“You made sure I had to be,” she spits.

The room gets quiet again.

I step forward, breaking the stillness.

“You disappear again,” I say flatly, “I’ll finish the job.”

Enzo doesn’t flinch.

“I won’t run,” he replies. “But I won’t beg either.”

He looks at Sylvara when he says it.

She looks down at the floor. Her shoulders lift and fall—one long breath.

“I used to dream of finding you,” she says quietly. “I didn’t know the dream would turn to ash.”

He opens his mouth.

She stops him with a hand.

“No apologies,” she says. “Not unless they come with action.”

We leave the room without another word.

The wind is louder when we surface—sharper, colder. It cuts through the jacket like razors.

Behind us, the steel door creaks shut.

I glance back.

Enzo locks it from the inside.

Sylvara stands beside me, still staring forward.

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