.·:¨¨ ≈☆≈ ¨¨:·.Chapter 30: Alliance in the Shadows.·:¨¨ ≈☆≈ ¨¨:·.

Another day, Marlene wanted to know why Eveline and Kael had formed an alliance and how she could break it.

“Kira, can I use the invisibility item?” Marlene asked, a little worried.

[Yes, human.]

So Marlene returned to Eveline’s mansion.

Eveline’s mansion was shrouded in a strange silence. The fire from the torches barely lit the stone walls, casting shadows that stretched out like hungry creatures. The air had that suffocating weight that precedes revelations, and Marlene felt it as soon as she opened her eyes, still tied to the chair where Eveline had held her prisoner.

A door creaked open, and firm, confident footsteps approached the center of the hall. It wasn’t Dante, or Max, or Lucien. The newcomer was dressed elegantly: a dark coat embroidered with symbols Marlene didn’t recognize, and a cold, calculating gaze that seemed to pierce the soul of anyone who dared to meet it.

“Welcome, Kael,” Eveline said in a silky voice, rising from her seat to greet him. “The night becomes more interesting with your presence.”

Kael bowed his head slightly, like a monarch accepting tribute from his subjects.

“Eveline, always so… diplomatic. I hope it was worth crossing the borders of my kingdom for this meeting.”

Marlene held her breath. What was someone so influential doing, conspiring with Eveline?

Eveline smiled, the kind of smile that holds more poison than sweetness.

“Of course it’s worth it. My kingdom is kept busy with hunting games and monster tournaments. The nobles are distracted by their feats, while I prepare the ground for something much bigger. You and I, Kael, can change the balance of power.”

Kael gave a short, joyless laugh.

“Balance? I call it conquest. Your people entertain themselves by chasing wild beasts; mine use them as training. Soon there will be no tournament to distract the men of my kingdom. They will come for yours… and I want allies who won’t get in the way.”

Marlene shifted restlessly in the chair, but the scrape of the ropes only reminded her of her weakness.

“That’s why you’re looking for me,” Kael continued. “Not to play politics, but because you’re afraid of being forgotten when everything changes.”

Eveline approached, her heels echoing like hammer blows on the floor.

“No, Kael. I fear nothing. I desire power, and to achieve it, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. I’ve been ignored by Dante, Max, Adrian, and even Lucien. They all see me as a nuisance. But when they fall… I will be the one at the center of everything.”

The man looked at her with a flicker of approval in his eyes.

“Your personal ambitions align with my political plans. It works for me. But you must understand something: I don’t work with emotions, I work with results.”

“Results?” Eveline retorted, with an almost crazed glint in her eyes. “You want proof? I already have Marlene. She is the key. Those men will flock to her like moths to a flame. And when they do, I’ll destroy them.”

Kael leaned toward her, resting a hand on the table.

“Then turn her into bait. Leave her hanging between life and death, and watch the bonds of trust in that group break. Distrust will destroy them from within, long before I lift a finger.”

Eveline laughed softly, but there was something dark in her voice.

“Perfect. And when that happens, I’ll be the only one they look at… even if it’s with hatred, even if it’s with fear. Because one way or another, I’ll be at the center of their destinies.”

Marlene gritted her teeth. Every word was a poison embedding itself in her heart. I can’t let them win… I can’t let them use my feelings as chains.

As the conversation continued, a crack in the door allowed Lucien, Dante, Max, and Adrian to observe in silence. No one dared to move. The danger was real, but what weighed more was Eveline’s betrayal and the reach of the shadow Kael represented.

Marlene went to another place to take off the item and returned to the guys.

“Hello Marlene, you’re here again,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Marlene replied.

Lucien, with a frown, barely whispered, “So that’s the real enemy…”

Dante clenched his fist with contained rage, while Max watched with an icy glint in his eyes. Adrian, for his part, seemed to calibrate every word, silently holding a strategy he hadn’t yet shared.

Marlene, even without seeing them, felt a pang in her chest, as if an invisible thread were alerting her to their presence.

It was then that Kira’s warm, firm voice resonated in her mind:

[Kira: Team reinforced. Mission progress secured. New stage: neutralize Eveline-Kael alliance. Rewards: +3 Courage, +2 Group Strategy.]

Marlene closed her eyes. She wasn’t alone. She never would be.

Kael turned to Eveline and raised his glass, sealing the alliance with a solemn gesture.

“Then it’s a deal. Eveline, from today on, your ambition and mine will walk together.”

The clinking of glass against the table sealed more than a treaty: it was the echo of a dark future that was beginning to unfold.

Lucien barely backed away, whispering with tension, “We have to act… but not now. If they discover us, Marlene will be the first to pay.”

And so, the scene was suspended on a thread of silence and danger. Outside, the moon shone as a witness, illuminating the beginning of a war where every decision could change everyone’s destiny.

Time seemed to have stopped…

Coming Soon: Second Season.