The morning sun poured into the penthouse, golden light dancing across silk sheets. Aelina blinked slowly, adjusting to the warmth. She sat up, pulling the sheet around her bare shoulders, her back to the window.
Kael was already up, dressed in black slacks and a slate-grey shirt, sleeves rolled up as he leaned against the kitchen counter with a coffee in hand. He watched her in silence, his expression unreadable.
"That's not creepy at all," she said, voice rough from sleep.
His lips curved. "It's research."
"Research?"
"To understand how you look when you're not armored."
She raised a brow. "Disappointed?"
"Terrified. You look like you could break me."
She smirked, rising and walking over, sheet still wrapped around her. "Maybe I already have."
He offered her a mug. She took it, their fingers brushing briefly.
"About last night..." he began.
"No regrets," she said quickly. "Unless you're about to suggest otherwise."
Kael shook his head. "No. I just... hadn't planned on this."
She sipped her coffee. "Neither did I."
A moment passed.
"But," she continued, "I'm not good at pretending something didn't happen. We can either ignore it and walk around each other like ghosts... or we figure out what this is."
Kael leaned closer. "And if I want this?"
"Then you better be ready to bleed a little."
---
Later that day, Kael took her to a secure wing of his main building — a floor she hadn't seen before. Sleek corridors, reinforced doors, and guards who nodded at Kael like they feared him more than death.
"What is this place?" Aelina asked.
"It's where I keep truths. Secrets. And sometimes, the people who betray me."
"Comforting."
Kael scanned his hand and led her into a sealed room filled with monitors. One screen showed Marcus in a glass room — sitting, fidgeting, clearly sweating.
"He knows," Aelina said quietly.
Kael nodded. "He tried to move a coded drive last night. My team intercepted it."
"So what now? Torture? Intimidation? Bribery?"
"A conversation. Just me and him."
"You're not going alone."
Kael turned to her. "Why?"
"Because you burn when you're angry, and I know the smell of scorched earth. You'll say something you can't take back. Let me be the observer."
His jaw tightened. But he nodded.
Inside the interrogation room, Marcus looked up with forced bravado.
"Kael. Didn't know we were playing cops and robbers now."
Kael didn't smile. Aelina stood in the corner, arms crossed, unreadable.
"You betrayed me."
"That's a strong word."
Kael placed the intercepted drive on the table. "This says otherwise."
Marcus paled. "I had debts. They said they'd kill my wife."
Aelina narrowed her eyes. "Who are they?"
Marcus hesitated. "A man called Graye. He's building something underground. Recruiting people with access to tech, finance, government. He said you were a threat to the order."
Kael's face was stone. "You risked my entire operation for a whisper of fear."
"I didn't have a choice."
Kael stood. Aelina stepped between them.
"He's afraid. That's not loyalty, but it's leverage. Let him live. Use him."
Kael stared at her for a long moment, then looked back at Marcus.
"You work for me now. No more lies. No more secrets. I find out you're still talking to Graye, and you disappear."
Marcus nodded shakily.
Later, in Kael's office, Aelina watched the rain start to fall against the windows.
"Graye. You've heard that name before."
Kael was silent.
"He didn't just target Marcus. He was aiming for you. Why?"
Kael turned to her. "Because I used to be one of them."
Aelina blinked. "One of what?"
"Graye's faction. Years ago. I left when I realized their idea of order involved too much destruction. But you don't leave people like that. You escape — and you run."
She stepped closer. "So what changed? Why stop running?"
Kael looked directly into her eyes. "You did."
She swallowed hard.
"Then we fight. Together."
He nodded. "But it won't be clean. Or safe."
"Neither am I."
They stood there for a moment, thunder rumbling in the distance.
That night, Kael showed her a hidden archive beneath the building — lined with blueprints, files, maps, and encrypted data.
"This is where it starts," he said. "The war we can't avoid."
Aelina traced a city map with red markers scattered through it.
"And where does it end?"
Kael met her gaze.
"With us still standing. Or not at all."
She reached for his hand.
And for the first time, Kael didn't feel like a man alone in the dark.
He felt like someone worth saving.