Kael's gaze traveled slowly upward, tracing the line of the arm that held his badge hostage.
He saw the sleeve of a red leather jacket, tailored and reinforced with light armor plating. He saw a collar emblazoned with the silver crest of Elordia.
He looked higher.
Staring down at him from the top of the stairs was a girl.
She was about his age, maybe a year older.
She didn't wear civilian clothes, nor did she wear the now familiar black or blue of the Academy.
She wore the crimson and silver uniform of the Elordia City Watch.
She had hair the color of dying embers—a deep, vibrant red that fell in messy waves around her shoulders. Her eyes matched, burning with a mischievous, fiery intensity that made Kael feel like he was standing next to an open oven.
She was undeniably pretty.
Strikingly so.
But right now, Kael was too focused on the object dangling from her fingers to appreciate the aesthetics.
