Chapter 106: Before the Bell

The next move belongs to whoever can live with its cost.

The pursuit collides with the immortal gatekeeper feeding cities to strengthen a sealed god, forcing an alliance that neither Kael Rowan nor Lyra Voss is ready to name.

An ally makes the wrong decision for the right reason, and repairing it costs more than the original mistake.

Kael Rowan keeps the larger goal in view: master each gate discipline before the ash dragon consumes his identity. The immediate problem is smaller, sharper, and impossible to postpone.

They disagree without leaving. For both of them, that becomes a more intimate choice than agreement.

Their attraction grows through competence, danger, and the first honest confession.

The recurring signs of ash, runes, dragonfire return with a different meaning, linking this choice to what came before.

The evidence points toward someone they have both been protecting.