Kael felt trapped between duty and something far more human, and far more difficult.
He didn't know what to do.
Then, as if to make his choice easier…
**Clang**
A sharp metallic sound rang out from outside the tavern wall, faint but unmistakable through the window.
Kael reacted instantly.
He caught Aveline's hand and pulled her out of the room. Aveline hurriedly gathered her things and followed him, with Hamilton in her pocket, confusion flashing across her face as she was dragged into the corridor.
But as they passed the stairs, she felt it again.
The strange distortion. The same one she had seen near the window earlier.
Her heart gave a strange, uneasy jolt, as if she were leaving something behind even while moving forward.
"Theron?" she called before she could stop herself.
She did not even know why she said it.
