Kael was still lying on the grass when he felt a shadow fall on his face.
"...Eva," he murmured, without opening his eyes. "If you’re going to kill , do it quickly. Save your energy."
"Dramatic," she replied imdiately. "You were gone for months and ca back even more whiny."
He slowly opened one eye.
Eva was standing in front of him, hands on her hips, her smile too wide to be reassuring. The wind ruffled her hair, and for a mont Kael had the distinct feeling that all of this—the hill, the sky, the sudden calm—was just the interlude before chaos.
"Where are we?" he asked, sitting up carefully.
"My favorite place to talk," she said. "Away from responsible adults trying to stop from kidnapping you."
"That’s not a good sign."
Eva ignored him.
She threw herself down beside him, too close, naturally too close, as if there had never been any distance between them.
"So," she began, resting her chin on her hands, "let’s do a quick review."
Kael sighed.
"Review... what?"
"You disappeared." A finger went up. "You went into a coma." Another finger. "You worried ." A third finger. "You made everyone panic." Fourth. "And, most importantly..." She leaned in, her eyes shining. "You bored ."
Kael blinked.
"...That’s the worst part?"
"Absolutely." She nodded with absolute conviction. "Do you realize how boring the world is without you to cause chaos?"
He rested his face in his hand.
"Eva, I really need to go back to the mansion. Adalric will—"
"He’s already given up," she interrupted calmly. "He literally wished you good luck with a little wave."
Kael closed his eyes.
"Traitor..."
Eva observed his profile for a few seconds.
Her smile softened. Just a little.
"You’ve changed," she said suddenly.
Kael opened his eyes.
"Changed... how?"
"Less noisy inside," she replied, lightly tapping his chest with her finger. "Before, it seed like you were always about to explode. Now... it’s like you’re trying not to break."
He looked away.
"It’s not a conscious attempt."
"I know," she said, surprisingly serious. "That’s precisely why it’s worrying."
Silence settled between them for a few seconds. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It was heavy.
Kael took a deep breath.
"Eva... why are you really here?"
She blinked.
"Besides kidnapping you?"
"Yes. Besides that."
She tilted her head back, looking at the sky.
"Because things are getting ugly," she said, her tone no longer playful. "And you always show up right in the middle of the ugly things."
Kael frowned.
"Adalric said sothing similar."
"Of course he did." She chuckled softly. "He’s annoying, but he’s not stupid."
She stood up suddenly, brushing the dust off her dress.
"Co."
Kael blinked.
"Co... where?"
"To spend so ti with ," she replied, extending her hand. "I said it’s my turn now, rember?"
"Eva, I really—"
She took his hand before he finished the sentence.
The grip wasn’t strong.
But it was firm.
"Kael," she said, leaning in slightly, her eyes fixed on his, "you’ve spent too much ti trapped in silence. Now you’re going to spend so ti trapped in ."
He swallowed hard.
"That didn’t sound healthy at all."
"It never did," she replied, smiling again. "Hurry up before I carry you again."
Kael hesitated.
Then he sighed, defeated, and stood up.
"Just... no supersonic leaps this ti."
Eva pouted thoughtfully.
"...I promise to try."
"Trying isn’t reassuring."
She intertwined her fingers with his and began to walk, pulling him down the hill.
"Relax," she said over her shoulder. "If sothing goes wrong..."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"...?"
She smiled.
"This will be interesting."
They walked for a few minutes in silence, the tall grass brushing against Kael’s boots as the salty breeze began to replace the sll of earth. The wind here was different—more humid, laden with sothing alive, constant, reminiscent of movent.
Kael frowned.
"...Wait," he said, stopping. "This doesn’t make sense."
Eva took two more steps before realizing he had fallen behind. She turned, tilting her head.
"What?"
"The air." Kael looked around, then at the sky. "It’s not the sa as in the capital. Not even close. How... how far did we go?"
Eva smiled with that dangerously casual expression.
"Oh. Not much."
"Eva."
"About..." she put her finger to her chin, pretending to calculate, "ten thousand kiloters, more or less."
Kael froze.
"...What?"
She shrugged.
"Maybe a little less. Or more. It depends on the wind."
"YOU THREW TEN THOUSAND KILOTERS?!"
"Technically, I carried you," she corrected. "Throwing would be unkind."
Kael ran both hands over his face, taking a deep breath, trying to avoid a ntal breakdown.
"A supersonic jump is already madness," he murmured. "Ten thousand kiloters is clinical insanity."
"Relax," Eva said, patting him lightly on the back. "Your body held up. I made sure not to dismantle you along the way."
"THAT’S NOT COMFORTING!"
She laughed.
Kael finally started walking again, still dazed.
"So... where exactly are we?"
Eva pointed ahead.
"Veirona."
He followed her gesture.
The hill where they stood ended in a gentle slope, and below them the landscape opened up like a living painting. The city stretched along the coast, built in layers that descended to the sea. It wasn’t gigantic like the imperial capital, but it was large enough to pulse with life.
Houses of light stone and dark roofs were scattered in organized blocks. Watchtowers punctuated the outer wall. And, further down, the harbor.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"...There are many ships."
"Twenty-three today," Eva replied promptly. "Twenty-six if you count those arriving at sunset."
The harbor was wide, well-structured, with long docks of reinforced wood and warehouses lined up like soldiers. rchant ships of varying sizes were docked, so flying foreign flags, others bearing the imperial seal emblazoned on their sails.
"A dium-sized port city," Kael comnted. "But this port..."
"It’s not dium-sized," Eva added. "It’s the largest in the Empire in terms of export volu."
He looked at her, surprised.
"Really?"
"Veirona is deliberately discreet," she explained. "Little luxury, little political noise. But almost everything that leaves the Empire passes through here at so point. Refined ores. Enchanted grains. Sealed artifacts. Even things that officially ’don’t exist’."
Kael let out a low whistle.
"So this place is... vital."
"Extrely," Eva confird. "If Veirona stops, the Empire feels it in weeks."
He observed the city in silence for a few monts.
"You were born here," he then said.
Eva nodded, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "I grew up running around those docks," she said, pointing vaguely. "I learned to swim there." Another gesture. "I stole my first fish from that market."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Stole?"
"I was six," she replied indignantly. "It was survival."
He smiled slightly.
"I never imagined you as a port city girl."
Eva stared at him.
"And how did you imagine ?"
Kael thought for a second.
"Walking chaos spontaneously generated in the center of the world."
She smiled broadly.
"That works too."
The wind picked up at that mont, bringing the scent of the sea clearly. Seagulls crisscrossed the sky above them, and the distant sounds of the city—voices, bells, creaking wood—rose up the hill.
Eva took a step forward.
"I brought you here because this place is still... real," she said, her voice lower. "Before titles. Before wars. Before you beca a ’dangerous variable.’"
Kael swallowed hard.
"So this isn’t just an emotional kidnapping?"
"Not just that," she replied, smiling slightly. "It’s a pause."
She started down the hill.
"Co on," she said over her shoulder. "I want to show you the city before the world decides to interrupt us again."
Kael hesitated for only a mont.
Then he followed her.
Kael descended the hill beside Eva, feeling the terrain shift beneath their feet. The grass gave way to a dirt path, then to uneven stones, worn down by countless footsteps over the years. As they approached the city, the sounds beca clearer—voices mingling, the rhythmic clatter of hamrs in the shipyards, the deep creaking of anchored ships swaying with the tide.
Veirona was alive.
"It’s... different from the capital," Kael comnted, observing the first houses. "Less... heavy."
Eva smiled slightly.
"Because here nobody pretends to rule the world," she replied. "Everyone just wants the next ship to leave on ti."
They passed through the main gate without difficulty. The guards looked at Eva for a second longer than usual—not out of recognition, but instinct. Sothing in them felt uneasy, as if their bodies knew that this woman didn’t fit into any common category.
But nobody stopped them. The streets were wide enough for loaded carts to pass side by side. There were open shops, slls of fresh fish, freshly baked bread, spices from places Kael recognized... and others he didn’t. People ca and went naturally, without bowing, without whispering.
"Does nobody here know who you are?" Kael asked.
"So do," Eva replied. "Most prefer not to know."
She stopped in front of a small stall where an older man was arranging fishing nets.
"Good morning, Mr. Harl," she said casually.
The man looked up... and froze for a second.
Then he sighed.
"You took your ti," he said. "I thought the sea had swallowed you whole."
"It tried a few tis," Eva replied. "But it still hasn’t succeeded."
He mumbled sothing incomprehensible and went back to work, as if that conversation were the most normal thing in the world.
Kael blinked.
"...Who is he?"
"Soone who watched grow up," Eva replied, walking on. "And who learned early on that asking too many questions only brings headaches."
They continued walking, passing children running between boxes, sailors arguing over prices, rchants writing numbers on salt-stained parchnts.
Kael noticed sothing curious.
"They’re not afraid of you."
Eva shrugged.
"They know as ’Eva.’ Not as what the Empire whispers."
She stopped suddenly, turning to him.
"That’s why I brought you here."
Kael frowned.
"To show that you’re... normal?"
"To remind you that I’m real," she corrected. "And that you are too."
He remained silent for a few seconds, observing the movent around him.
"Adalric said the world is organizing itself too quickly," Kael comnted. "That soone is in a hurry."
Eva tilted her head.
"He’s not wrong."
"And you?" Kael looked at her. "Whose side are you on?"
She chuckled softly.
"I’m on the side of whoever survives to the end."
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only honest one."
They reached the edge of the harbor. The sound of the sea was louder there, mixed with the cracking of ropes and the crashing of waves against the hulls. Kael stopped to watch a ship being loaded with large boxes sealed with imperial symbols.
"All this cos from here...," he murmured. "And nobody in the capital pays attention."
"Too much attention attracts predators," Eva said. "Veirona learned that early on."
She leaned against the stone railing, looking at the sea. "Kael...," she began, in a different tone. Less playful. "I want to show you sothing..."
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