AUTHOR'S POV
Cassian stood in the command cabin of his private jet, the space alive with the low, constant chatter of his crew. Screens glowed along the walls, maps and data streams updating in real time as the aircraft cut through the sky.
He allowed himself a moment of grim satisfaction. He had moved quickly — efficiently. Everything had fallen into place with impressive speed. He had hired a specialist to breach the personal systems of Reone's companions, extracting their data and tracking Reone's last known location. He had secured the jet, assembled its crew — which included a private Legion army — and planted an informer in the field, someone feeding him live updates while subtly aiding his son from the shadows.
With all of that in motion, his mission to save his son was proving easier than initially expected.
Cassian believed he would be able to save him. Perhaps even before his friends did.
If he survives long enough, a colder part of his mind added.
According to the informer, Reone and his companion had encountered serious trouble with Nullborn Extractors. She had been injured — not Reone, thank the stars — but Cassian knew all too well how quickly circumstances could change. The forest they were moving through was without mercy. Danger lurked in every corner.
Cassian knew that he needed to reach his son. And soon.
"Any word from our informer?" Cassian asked, turning to a crew member stationed nearby.
"Negative, sir," she replied, shaking her head. "He's gone radio silent."
Cassian's expression didn't change, but the news unsettled him deeply. Silence, in situations like this, was rarely a good sign.
Growing impatient, he moved toward the cockpit, where the captain focused intently on the controls.
"Captain," Cassian said, his tone sharp, "can this jet go any faster?"
"Unfortunately not, sir," the captain replied calmly. "This is the jet's maximum speed."
"Well, it's not fast enough," Cassian snapped. "My son could be in danger as we speak."
"I understand the stakes, sir," the captain said evenly. "You've explained them twice already. And I'll tell you what I told you then — I'm doing everything I can."
Cassian frowned.
"I'm paying to get the job done, not—"
Cassian was cut off by a female member of the crew.
"Excuse me, Mr. Damascus. Captain — there's something you need to see."
"What is it?" the captain asked, turning toward her.
Cassian also went quiet, giving her his full attention.
The woman gestured toward a large display screen.
"We've identified the signatures of four individuals inside a cave," she reported. "And before you ask, Mr. Damascus — it's not your son. Nor his friends."
Cassian didn't bother hiding his disappointment.
"Then who are they?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"The signatures match fugitive Prince Damon Aeryn — the same one who attacked the King of Echian — and three known criminals collectively called the Sisterhood. But according to our records…" She frowned at the screen. "They're supposed to be dead."
Cassian and the captain exchanged a stunned look.
"What… what are your orders, Mr. Damascus?" the captain asked.
All eyes turned to Cassian.
He stood still for a long moment, thinking.
"Neutralize them," Cassian said at last. "Before they can do the same to us at a later date."
He didn't mention Reone's name, but that was who Cassian was really trying to protect.
With a stoic face, he turned back to the captain. "Land the jet in a secure location and deploy the soldiers."
"Roger that, sir," the captain said.
The captain nodded to the female crew member.
"I'll assemble the unit," she said, already moving away.
As the crew rushed to carry out Cassian's orders, doubt crept into his mind. Cassian's priority was reaching Reone as fast as possible. This detour would slow them down — not to mention that it would cost him more.
In the end, Cassian decided that he had made the right choice. It was what was best for all of Ruminia, including his son.
And this was definitely what Reone would want, Cassian thought, which made him more secure in his decision.
The jet finally touched down moments later.
The commander of the small strike unit approached the cockpit and snapped a salute.
"Sir, we're ready to engage. Are those your orders?"
The captain looked to Cassian.
Cassian nodded without hesitation.
"It is," the captain confirmed. "And keep us informed of everything that happens."
"Yes, sir," the commander replied before marching off.
With everything set in motion, Cassian could only pray that it would be enough.
---
Cassian could see the commander and the other men's position from the feed on the screen — the image streaming from the camera mounted on the soldier's armor.
"We're outside the cave," the commander repeated needlessly.
"Do you see anything, Commander?" Cassian asked over the captain's speaker system.
The captain shot him a sharp look.
"Mr. Damascus, I've got this. Please remain back," he said.
Cassian obeyed reluctantly. After all, his money had never failed him.
"No movement detected," the commander answered. "We're going in."
Cassian frowned. The speed of the decision made him uneasy.
"I don't think that's wise," he said to the captain. "Have the commander assess the situation first before launching an attack."
"Relax, sir," the captain replied. "He knows what he's doing."
"Maintain stealth, Commander," the captain ordered. "Don't alert them. Preserve the element of surprise."
"Roger that," the commander replied as the team entered the cave.
"Moving in. Still no sign of anyone," he reported. Then, "We're going deeper."
A moment later, the commander raised a fist, signaling his men to stop.
"I hear voices," the commander said.
"Is it them?" the captain asked.
No answer.
The feed shifted as the commander crept closer. Four cloaked figures came into view — three women and a man, gathered at the center of the cavern. The commander and his men hid behind a boulder.
"It's them," he whispered.
"Facial recognition confirms the targets," one of the crew members said quietly. "Damon of Echian, and the Sisterhood — Veyra, Nivara, and Caelynn."
"Commander, activate audio. I want to hear what they're saying," the captain ordered.
"Roger."
---
The Cave
"Are you feeling strong enough to do this, my love?" Nivara asked, pressing a hand to Damon's forehead.
"He better," Veyra said coldly. "Because I'm officially out of patience."
"Veyra—"
"It's fine," Damon said smoothly, taking Nivara's hands. "I'm feeling great, thanks to you."
Nivara bit her lip, blushing.
Caelynn rolled her eyes.
"I'm about to throw up," she muttered.
Damon stepped away from Nivara.
"So let me get this straight. This spell you want me to do — it's going to give me the blood of the Diviner ancestors…"
"Yes. Which will allow you to assemble the Trident of Axis at the Temple of Echoes. Are you clear now?" Caelynn asked.
Damon sighed, looking unusually confused.
"Not exactly. I mean, I had long suspected the Trident exists, but it just seems crazy to me that it's at the Temple of Echoes. Also, I didn't think Diviners existed."
"It's all true, my love. The Matrons of Destruction's information never gives inaccurate details. And the spell they gave us will definitely work," Nivara said.
"All right, enough talk," Veyra snapped. She turned to Damon. "We've wasted enough time. Just perform the spell already."
Damon rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say. The spell isn't going to cost you your powers."
Veyra scoffed.
"Don't act like this spell is a big inconvenience to you. After all, it's only you who's getting the power to assemble the relic. And I don't really trust that you'll give it up after that," she said, moving toward him menacingly.
Damon narrowed his eyes at her.
Nivara stepped between the two before they could escalate things.
"Damon, you don't have to worry about being powerless. You have us to protect you, remember? You have me," she said.
Damon smiled, flashing it triumphantly at Veyra.
"You're right. I do."
Looking at him, Veyra resisted the urge to kill him.
Seeing this, Nivara intervened again.
"Damon won't betray us, Veyra. After all, he is my boyfriend."
"Since when are you so naive, Nivara?" Caelynn said despairingly.
"What Nivara and I have is real. You sisters just don't understand that," Damon said, turning to Nivara, who nodded sadly.
"But that's okay. We don't need you to."
He then turned to Veyra.
"I give you my word, Veyra, that the Trident will be yours. After all, you've already promised Echian," Damon said.
Veyra didn't trust a word he said. In fact, she was still resisting the urge to kill him.
After he's done his part, she promised herself.
She took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Fine, Damon. But you need to do the spell now," Veyra said suddenly. "We're running out of time. Reone, Lyrian, and their little group could reach the temple before us."
"I really don't think we should worry too much about them," Caelynn said.
"They don't know that only Diviners can safely assemble the Trident. And they don't have our spell. There's no way they can get it."
"These are the same people who killed us once, Caelynn. Us. You should know better than to underestimate them by now."
"Veyra has a point," Nivara added, still gripping Damon's arm.
Damon smiled, masking his irritation.
"As usual, I will listen to you, my love."
"I'll begin the spell now," he announced.
"Finally," Veyra muttered.
"Wait," Caelynn said suddenly.
Veyra groaned. "What now?"
She went still.
"I sense someone else here."
A scuffle echoed through the cavern.
"We all heard that, right?" Caelynn said.
In one swift motion, she launched a blast at the boulder behind them. Stone exploded, revealing the commander and his men as they stumbled back, shouting.
"Pests," Nivara exclaimed.
No sooner had she spoken than gunfire erupted in the cave.
Damon raised a shield instantly, bullets ricocheting harmlessly away from them.
"Insolent things. Let's take them down," Caelynn said.
Veyra's face darkened.
"I'll handle this."
Stepping out from Damon's shield, she moved quickly, knocking the soldiers off their feet with a violent gust of wind. Razor-sharp wind blades followed, severing bodies in seconds. The soldiers screamed — then fell silent.
"Really? You couldn't leave some for us?" Damon asked lightly.
Ignoring him, Veyra knelt and retrieved the commander's still-active comm unit.
"Commander?" the captain's voice crackled. "Commander? What's happening? Are you okay?"
"Looks like there's more where they came from," Veyra said flatly, crushing the comm.
Damon sighed. "Unexpected guests, my love. Will you and your sisters deal with them while I do the spell?"
"Of course," Nivara said, her voice cold.
"No, I don't take orders from you," Veyra snapped.
"You want him to finish the spell, don't you?" Nivara replied, annoyed now.
Veyra groaned. "Fine."
The trio flew out of the cave.
"Where are they?" Veyra asked, looking around at the dark forest.
"This way," Caelynn said, pointing as she sensed the energy of everyone on the jet.
---
Back on the Jet
"Captain, what's happening?" Cassian asked as the sounds of battle reached them from the soldiers' comms.
The captain didn't respond, focused on trying to reestablish the connection.
"Commander, do you copy?" the captain asked.
No answer.
They all saw Veyra's face on the feed before it flickered and went dark.
"All feeds are down," a crew member reported.
Silence filled the cabin.
Cassian stared at the dead screens, dread pooling in his chest.
"They're defeated," he said quietly. Then, louder, "Captain, we have to go help them."
The captain shook his head.
"Negative, sir. They're gone."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. We were monitoring their vitals with watches. They confirm it."
"But there has to be something—"
He was cut off as a blast struck the jet.
Alarms blared. The cabin shook.
"Captain, we're under attack!" someone shouted.
"It's the Sisterhood," Cassian said, looking through the jet's windshield.
Nivara was laughing maniacally as she sent another blast their way.
Cassian held onto a chair as the attack rocked the ship.
"We need to get out of here," the captain replied.
"But what about the soldiers in the cave?" Cassian demanded.
"With respect, Mr. Damascus, it's too late for them. We need to save ourselves."
Cassian hesitated.
Sensing this, the captain tried another angle.
"You want to see your son again, right, Mr. Damascus?" he asked.
Cassian slowly nodded.
"Then give the order."
Cassian sighed in defeat.
"Let's do it," he said. "Let's leave."
The captain didn't need to be told twice.
"Start the launch sequence!" the captain yelled.
A chorus of agreement met the order.
The next moment, the jet surged forward — but the attacks continued.
"If this keeps up, the jet won't survive… neither will we!" a crew member shouted.
"What do we do, Captain?" another asked.
"I… I don't know," the captain said, pressing controls in desperation.
"We're doomed," someone whispered.
Cassian froze as chaos erupted around him.
Not for the first time, it occurred to Cassian how useless money and power really were when it came right down to it. His life began flashing before his eyes — and in that moment, he thought of the only thing he should have cared about above all else: his son.
Memories of Reone snapped him from his frozen state. He couldn't let it end like this, Cassian told himself.
He looked at the captain.
"Captain," Cassian shouted, "get us out of here! Launch the missiles!"
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" the captain yelled back.
He pressed a button. "Releasing the missiles."
The next moment, the attacks stopped.
"Direct hit!" one of the crew members yelled. Everyone started cheering.
"They're getting up again!" the captain shouted, cutting the celebration short.
"Make the jet invisible. They won't be able to hit what they can't see."
"This plane can do that?" the captain asked.
Cassian rolled his eyes.
"Yes. Now do it.And get out us out of here before they fully recover."
"Disappearing now," the captain said.
The jet was then pushed to it limits once more by the captain but the ride was bumpy this time because of all damaged parts.
Cassian held on, undeterred.
"Continue following the other jet's signal.With any luck, Reone's friend had better luck tracking him than we did,"Cassian muttered.
"Roger that."
Cassian let out a satisfied sigh.
With any luck, he would reunite with his son soon.
"
---
"Where are they?" Nivara asked, scanning the air around them.
"I no longer sense their energy," Caelynn said slowly. "I think they're gone."
"Damn it," Veyra snapped. "How did we let them get away?"
"Relax, Veyra," Caelynn replied. "It wasn't Lyrian and Reone's group."
"Exactly!" Veyra shot back, anger flaring. She turned on them, eyes blazing. "Don't you understand? The heat on us is increasing. More people are coming after us."
No one argued, knowing better than to do that when Veyra was like this.
"We need to get the Trident now," Veyra continued, voice sharp with urgency. "Or we won't be strong enough to survive the next attack."
Both Caelynn and Nivara nodded.
"Let's go back to the cave," Caelynn said carefully. "See if Damon has finished the spell."
Veyra didn't respond. She simply turned and took off, flying back toward the cave without a word.
The others exchanged uneasy glances before following.
"Damon!" Nivara called as they entered the cave, her voice echoing as she prayed he was done.
She stopped short.
A powerful surge of energy rippled through the cavern, pressing against her chest like a living force. Her sisters halted beside her, equally confused.
"What is this energy?" Veyra asked, eyes narrowing.
Without speaking, Nivara moved deeper into the cave. Then she froze — and gasped at the sight ahead of her.
Damon was levitating in midair, suspended on his back at the heart of a massive, violent storm of energy. Power crackled and twisted around him, filling the cavern with light and thunderous force.
"Damon?" Nivara whispered.
She turned to her sisters, nervousness creeping into her voice. "What's happening?"
"It's the spell," Veyra said — and for the first time, she smiled.
But Nivara didn't. Unease tightened her chest.
Damon wasn't moving. Not even a twitch.
She started walking in his direction,worried,wanting to get closer.
The energy lashed out instantly, flinging her backward. She cried out as Caelynn caught her before she hit the ground.
"It's beautiful," Veyra murmured.
Then, without warning, everything stopped.
The storm collapsed in on itself. The light vanished. And Damon slowly lowered to the ground, still lying on his back.
The cave was silent for a moment.
"Damon!" Nivara rushed to his side, relief flooding her as she knelt. "Damon — are you okay?" She reached out, gently touching his cheek.
His skin began to change beneath her fingers — turning a faint, unnatural blue.
Nivara gasped and pulled her hand away, confused.
"Damon?" she whispered again.
Then his eyelids moved.
They opened.
Bright yellow eyes stared back at her.