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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

BLADE

A tightening in his chest. A lump in his throat. A nagging sense of confusion and uncertainty. That’s what Blade felt as he stared at the closed door of Jessalyn’s office, all while feeling the piercing, inquisitive gaze of Zahra’s fixed on him from a distance.

Blade had known Jessalyn for many years. She had saved his life, restored his dignity, and given him back his honor as a man. She had rescued him from death and shielded him from the clutches of his father, a man who had hunted him down mercilessly and despised him simply for daring to exist, determined to erase him for the crime of his birth. Jessalyn had offered him safety when he and Hezra made enemies of dangerous people upon their arrival in Eldoria.

And though joining her guild had cost him dearly, most notably, his friendship with Hezra, despite the fact that his affection for her had never truly faded, only grew stronger. Blade had cherished every year spent by Jessalyn’s side.

She had given him something to believe in, a cause worth fighting for. He had become her sword and, in many ways, her confidant. Or at least, that’s what Jessalyn had led him to believe. Blade was a man of honor and unyielding loyalty. He had grown up in Gielgaban, where boys were raised to become knights and taught to aspire to serve in the king’s colonies, fighting in the name of the divine. Though they didn’t often speak of personal matters, he knew far more about Jessalyn than she let most people see. Yet, in all the years he had known her, she had never spoken as much as she had these past few days. She had never told so many stories, and legends, or opened her heart in this way before. He had learned to read her over time. His loyalty to Jessalyn was as vast as the waves of the sea. But Blade was no fool, nor was he blind. He could sense the shift in the air. He had noticed the way Jessalyn looked at Irene. The tone she used when speaking to her. That glint in her eyes…

He had never seen it before. Not once. It was excitement. Anticipation. Almost like she had been… reborn. As though Irene’s arrival had ignited something deep within her, a spark Jessalyn had been waiting for. She had assured him that they needed Irene, that she was essential to their mission. And so, without truly understanding why, Blade had followed Jessalyn’s orders, preparing for the day Irene would return.

And then, just as Jessalyn had foretold, Irene reappeared, out of nowhere. From that moment, everything changed. A shift Blade didn’t entirely understand, but one that unsettled him nonetheless.

Still, he had no choice but to remain focused. Like everyone else in this crew, Blade had his own reasons for risking his life on this impossible journey to the ends of the world in search of the sapphire. He needed to become someone. And in this world, gold was the only ladder out of oblivion.

Blade approached the door but heard nothing. He couldn’t help but wonder what was being said behind it. What was so urgent, so crucial, that Jessalyn needed to speak to Irene alone?

Jessalyn’s mind was a labyrinth of secrets.

Blade never found out what had been discussed behind that door. And he never would.

Unlike me.