The clearing held its breath.
Kael could feel it—the tension threading between every movement, every glance. The three men weren't rushing him, but they weren't relaxed either. They were watching. Measuring.
Like hunters deciding whether something was prey… or a threat.
Lira didn't move from his side.
"That symbol," Kael said, nodding toward the faint glowing etchings on their armor. "What is it?"
The leader glanced down briefly. "A reminder."
"Of what?"
"That fire should never belong to anyone."
Kael let out a quiet, humorless breath. "Then we already disagree."
The man's eyes sharpened. "You think you own it?"
"No," Kael said, the heat in his chest rising slightly. "But I'm not afraid of it either."
You should be, the voice inside him whispered.
Kael ignored it.
Lira spoke before the tension could snap. "Enough. If you wanted him dead, you wouldn't be talking."
The leader nodded once. "Correct."
"Then say what you came to say."
A pause.
Then: "There's a place," he said. "A sanctuary. For people like him."
Kael frowned. "People like me don't exist."
"Not often," the man admitted. "But when they do… they don't last long alone."
Kael felt that truth more than he wanted to.
Still, he didn't lower his guard. "And what's the catch?"
"No catch," one of the others said. "Just rules."
Kael almost smiled. "That's always a catch."
Lira glanced at him. "You don't have better options."
He knew that.
Didn't mean he had to like it.
"Fine," Kael said. "We go. But if this turns into a cage—"
"It won't," the leader said.
It will, the flame whispered.
Kael clenched his jaw.
"Then lead the way."
End of Chapter 4