"The current needs of survival leave little time for luxuries like sentimentality. It is, he figures, a kind of mercy. No time to dwell on what was lost when there is more yet to protect." ― C. Matthew Smith (Twentymile)

* * * *

The engine of the motorcycle rumbled low beneath Elijah Rosales, a sound that once brought comfort in its constancy.

Today, it echoed too loudly down the narrow roads of Aurora—a town that once thrummed with laughter and music and life. Shops that had once boasted open windows and colourful signs were now shuttered, many with peeling notices tacked across the doors: Closed until further notice. Curtains were drawn, doors double-locked, and very few dared to walk the streets.

A haze hung over the town despite the bright mid-afternoon sun. Dust swept past in lazy spirals, drifting through the empty cobblestone roads like ghosts of the life that had once existed here.

Elijah slowed as he reached the familiar corner—Cross Café. The red awning above the door still flapped softly in the wind, but the chalkboard outside that once listed Timo's daily specials was blank. The windows were clean, but there were no patrons inside.

The bell above the door jingled as Elijah pushed it open, and the familiar scent of coffee beans and warm pastries greeted him. But the silence inside was stark. Timo, the café's owner and long-time underground contact, didn't look up from behind the counter. He merely jerked his thumb to the far corner without a word.

Elijah followed the gesture with a quiet nod, his boots making soft thumps against the wooden floor.

She sat where she always did—back in the left-hand booth where no one could approach her from behind. Sera Kroix looked up from her phone, strands of her dark hair shadowing her face. There was a crease between her brows, subtle but deep, and a tension in her shoulders that hadn't been there the last time he saw her.

"Sera," Elijah greeted quietly.

She lifted her gaze to meet his. A tired smile flickered across her lips—one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Elijah. It's been a while. I admit, I was surprised when I got your message. Not since you and Taylor ran off to join that Goddess-forsaken organisation."

Elijah winced and pulled the hood of his jacket back from his head. "We didn't join because we believe in their cause. It's for—"

"Chris. I know." Sera cut in, her voice gentler now.

He sat down across from her, slipping a worn leather folder from the inside of his jacket and placing it between them on the table. He didn't speak as he opened it, revealing several carefully handwritten pages. Inked in his meticulous, angled handwriting—his only copy of the information Louis had unearthed from the encrypted files of Project Nona.

Sera leaned forward slowly, her eyes scanning the pages as her fingers hovered above them like they might burn her. "…Project Nona," she whispered, the name tasting like ashes. "Never thought I'd hear that name again."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Elijah nodded grimly. "Even back before Taylor and I joined the ESA, we heard whispers. A project buried so deep not even the director talks about it. We never asked for the details, but… It's not hard to imagine what happened."

Sera's expression darkened. "Your director… Tiara… She's a good woman. One of the only ones left in that rotten institution who has her heart in the right place. But the truth isn't simple. Her hands are tied. If the Eldario Council issues a direct command, she either follows it, or ends up like the rest of us. Branded a traitor. Exiled. Or worse."

Elijah's voice dropped, quiet but fierce. "If the orders keep getting worse, it's only a matter of time. The ESA—hell, all of Eldario, is a rotting carcass. The hunters infected it long ago with their bigotry. Now it's just spreading faster. Even within the ESA, I don't know who we can trust anymore. The only person I know I can trust is Taylor."

"You're on a sinking ship," Sera muttered. "I warned you back then. The ESA will force you to see truths you'd rather not see."

Elijah gave a tired, bitter smile. "No matter how painful, I'm there for a reason. Project Nona… Those bastards who murdered Chris, who nearly killed you, they're still out there. And I will find them. I swore that."

Sera looked at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "That's if you can. Come on, Elijah. Something this big? You know the hunters are involved. Probably even the Council. You think you can take them down by the book?"

"I'll try. And if I can't… I'll hire someone who doesn't play by the book." Elijah flashed her a grin. "I hear there's a certain troublemaking leader of a rogue organisation I know."

Sera scoffed. "I'm not sure that leader of yours will be so keen on that."

The air shifted then, the playful tension giving way to something heavier.

"Lucas," Elijah said quietly. "I figured you both met. I heard something about that from Misha. And even from Alexis and Ethan. But, Lucas…isn't a bad guy. His heart's in the right place. But he's naïve. He still believes in…people. That the hunters can be reasoned with."

Sera sighed. "Naïve. Though considering whose son he is…" She trailed off slowly, shaking her head.

"He's not wrong for wanting to believe. It's who he is." Elijah sighed. "But I know better."

"And you and Taylor?" Sera asked softly, her eyes searching his. "You two were part of the Abyss. Before the ESA."

Elijah nodded. "The Director knew. No one else's business but ours."

"You're playing a dangerous game. When the flames catch up to you, it'll be your lives that get burned."

"I'll be careful," Elijah promised. He glanced at his watch, sighing. "I should go. I've been out too long already. Be careful, Sera. You've been causing quite the stir these past three years."

She gave him a dry smirk. "Right back at you."

The bell above the door jingled as Elijah left, vanishing into the fading afternoon light.

Sera watched the door for a long moment before getting up and moving to the counter. Timo was polishing glasses behind it. "I didn't ask," he said, not looking up. "But from what my contacts are whispering, things inside the ESA are getting worse."

"I haven't heard from Tiara. Or Karl," Sera said quietly.

Timo sighed, finally looking at Sera. "The old pervert's tough. But I'm worried."

Sera nodded, her fingers tapping the counter. "The ESA's a mess. The less I say, the better."

Timo frowned, glancing toward the window. "I think it's time Reina and I leave Aurora. You feel it too, don't you? It's only a matter of time before the chaos swallows us too. Won't take long before someone figures out what we've been doing for the Gifted."

"Larissa and Hayder can use the help. The Abyss could use more hands." Sera's voice was quiet as she stepped back. "I should get going. The others will be waiting."

Timo gave her a solemn nod. "Be careful."

"You too."

* * * *

It was nearly dusk when Sera returned to the quiet town along the river's edge, where a modest two-storey boathouse rocked gently with the flow of the water.

The trek had been long, her thoughts heavy. Each step had echoed with everything she and Elijah had discussed—the resurrection of Project Nona, the corruption crawling like rot through the ESA, and the firestorm poised to descend upon Eldario.

The front door creaked softly as she stepped inside.

From the murmurs and footsteps above, she could tell the others were home. She heard Neil's voice, low and animated. Kailey's laughter. Laura, as usual, barking something about cleaning up. And the laughter and chatter of the others.

But downstairs, on the couch near the low coffee table, Raul sat with his legs crossed and his eyes serious behind his black-framed glasses. The faint glow of his portable computer lit up his features, casting strange shadows across the dragonfly tattoo on his cheek.

He looked up as Sera entered. "You're back."

Sera blinked at the look on his face. "What's up?"

Raul turned the computer around. "I was just about to call you."

The screen displayed a secure channel. She recognised it immediately—a highly encrypted request terminal. Only used when people had nowhere else to turn. One of the ways Aegis uses to accept requests from their clients.

"We got a request," Raul said grimly. "And it's a rather unusual one this time around."

Sera's stomach sank.

And in her chest, something old and familiar stirred.

Dread.

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