Alvera stayed quiet, her eyes locked on him like a hawk.
Kael continued, "And the troops? They weren’t locals. Most wore Night Star’s colors, but their accents were wrong. They are transporting heavy machinery."
"Did you take anything?"
Hearing this Kael smiled.
Silence stretched between them for a mont.
Then Alvera asked, voice low, "And how much of that did you take with you?"
Kael smirked. "Enough to confirm I wasn’t dreaming."
She frowned slightly, then sat straighter. "So you were spotted."
"Only at the end. I was listening to their conversation while hiding in the vent.I made sure to mask my presence...Alas!I found out."Kael clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"They fired without warning. I had to ditch the cloak. Took many bullets here and there"
He tapped his side gently. "Not a bad aim."
Alvera didn’t respond imdiately. She watched him, asured him, then finally said
"You realize what you’ve stumbled into, don’t you?"
Kael’s eyes sharpened. "Sothing bigger than a hidden port. Sothing even you are afraid to touch directly."
Her mouth curled just slightly. "Afraid? No."
"We are just cautious.We, the Ice Elves, don’t tread into wars, we didn’t light ourselves. Especially when there’s too much smoke and not enough fla."
"And yet you asked to look into it," Kael pointed out.
"You’re not us. That’s your strength—and your weakness."
Kael chuckled. "So this is where we trade, isn’t it? You want more. I want to know what this prophecy actually ans."
Alvera’s gaze cooled. "That depends. How much more are you willing to give?"
Kael leaned back in his chair, eyes glinting.
The frost of the chamber did little to cool the heated air between them.
Alvera sat straight on her silver-wrought seat, eyes narrowed, fingers intertwined in a poised yet stern manner. Kael, seated across from her on a fur-covered bench, leaned back casually, but his eyes were sharp—calculated. The slight bruising on his cheek and the barely healed gash near his ribs still pulsed under his tunic.
Alvera’s voice sharpened.
"How many strong fighters?"
"Hard to say. I encountered at least two dozen knights, and more eyes in the shadows. Enough to assu they’re guarding a secret, not a port."
"Who led them?"
Kael’s eyes darkened.
"Didn’t catch a na. But there was a mage—combat trained, swift. She used compressed fire spells, and sothing like a tether chain made from reinforced mana. Gave a tough ti. If Iris hadn’t appeared at the end, I wouldn’t be breathing right now."
He touched his ribs briefly with a wince.
Alvera watched him closely, silent for a beat. Then she folded her hands.
"And how much was being shipped? What quantity, and at what rate?"
Kael’s lips tightened ever so slightly. He looked away just for a second before responding.
"Enough to matter. But again, I was dodging blades, not counting crates."
Her gaze pierced him, searching. She knew he was holding back—but she also knew pressing would only make him dig his heels in. Kael played the ga too well.
There was a montary pause.
Kael sat up straighter now, his tone shifting—calm but edged.
"I did what I was asked to do. Got in. Fought through. Ca back with enough blood and answers to prove it."
He looked her straight in the eyes.
"Now, it’s ti for you to hold your end of the deal."
His voice dropped into a quieter, steelier tone.
"A fair transaction... isn’t it?"
Alvera’s expression didn’t shift imdiately. But her fingers stopped moving. Her breath drew in, cold and steady.
"Indeed. Fair... and dangerous."
She stood slowly, her gown brushing the ice-carved floor, and turned toward the inner chamber of her sanctum.
"
The tension lingered like mist—both players watching, testing, and withholding—but the ga had moved into its next round.
....
The frost of the chamber did little to cool the heat simring beneath their composed faces.
Alvera then took out sothing from sanctum.
Monts later, on the carved stone table with the ice-wrought chessboard between them, each piece shaped from polished crystal and onyx.
Her fingers, long and pale, moved the white queen with a click that echoed in the stillness of the chamber.
Kael, already seated across from her with a fur-lined cloak draped over his shoulders, smirked faintly as he toyed with a black knight between his fingers.
"You always preferred gas that mirrored reality, didn’t you?" he remarked.
Alvera gave a barely perceptible smile. "And you always pretend not to take them seriously. But every move you make on the board gives you away."
Kael leaned forward, placing the knight on c5. "Careful. You’re starting to sound like a strategist, not a queen."
She answered with a bishop sweep to e3—an aggressive gesture. "I never said I wasn’t both."
The ga progressed, slow and deliberate, as did the conversation.
"Where were the shipnts being sent?" she asked, eyes not leaving the board.
Kael moved a pawn forward, chewing briefly on his thoughts. "Didn’t catch the destination. Too many variables, too little ti. I was focused on staying alive, not tracing shipping manifests."
Alvera’s next move was swift, her white rook taking his forward pawn.
"Suspicious activity? Anything that didn’t belong?"
Kael exhaled through his nose, his hand hesitating over his queen before settling on another pawn. "More than enough. Sigil-marked crates. Old tongues carved into their lids. Heavy guards. Precision routines. It was too clean. Too... quiet. Which only ans the truth is dirty."
"How many?" Alvera asked.
"Two dozen, at least. And more hidden. I wasn’t welco enough to stay long."
She pressed. "And the one leading them?"
Kael’s fingers paused over a rook before changing course to move a bishop.
"Not the typical captain type. A fore mage—battle-forged. Fast and brutal. Fire magic attacks with enhancents. If Iris hadn’t intervened..." He winced, subconsciously brushing his ribs.
"We wouldn’t be playing this ga."
Alvera nodded slightly. Her white knight leapt across the board.
"And the quantity being moved?"
Kael’s face didn’t change, but the pause was longer this ti. He slid a black queen forward—an unexpected risk.
"Enough to need silence. But I wasn’t in a place to count. You sent to bleed, not audit."
Alvera sat back for a mont, fingers tapping the table’s edge. Her silver eyes narrowed slightly. "You’re withholding sothing."
Kael didn’t deny it. He t her stare head-on, fingers tented beneath his chin.
"And you’re not? Co now, Your Highness Alvera. You’re probing with your left hand while hiding your dagger in the right. We’re not strangers to this ga."
She smiled coolly. "True. But I expected a little more generosity in return for saving your life."
Kael chuckled dryly. "Generosity is for alliances, not arrangents. This was a contract. I did my part." He reached for a piece but didn’t move it yet.
The ga had beco tighter now. Alvera had his king cornered with a looming bishop and knight combination, but Kael’s rooks were angled into a defensive barricade.
"You know what I want," he said. "You promised answers. Now it’s your turn."
Alvera arched an eyebrow. "Is this negotiation or demand?"
"Fair transaction," Kael replied smoothly, finally sliding his rook into position and cutting off her knight. "And fair warning—I don’t play twice for the sa truth."
The board reflected their words—constriction, threat, misdirection. Neither side was willing to fully open. Neither side was foolish enough to overextend.
Alvera studied the position, then advanced her pawn. Kael followed with his queen. In ten more moves, all pieces had locked into an intricate stalemate.
Her tone cooled. "A draw, then."
Kael rose, adjusting the collar of his cloak. "Only on the board. Off it, I’ve earned my prize."
Alvera stood as well, and for the first ti, a flicker of seriousness edged into her voice. "What you seek isn’t sothing lightly handed over."
Kael’s eyes narrowed. "And yet, it’s part of the bargain. I went into your shadows. I bled for your secrets. Now tell —" he stepped closer, gaze unwavering, "—what the hell is with the thing you are going to give ."
The chamber fell silent, the soft crackle of the frostfire torches echoing in the stone chamber.
Alvera’s gaze lingered on the chessboard for a mont longer, then lifted to et his.
"Very well, Kael. But before I speak..."
She stepped past him, toward the sealed door and asked.
"What is this thing that has imnse power? Sothing that can change the status quo to change the power balance.Allow you to destroy the nation and give you extre power."
The more Alvera spoke the more Kael’s expression worsened.He wondered if she was joking with him by speaking all that useless shit.
"What did you an by that?"Kael asked with a frown as his piercing gaze bore down on Alvera who stood firm and replied.
"I ant what I said."
Kael not knowing what this answer is.
"From the question, I am sure about one thing."
Alvera raised her brows and asked,"Now what’s that?"
"That you don’t know shit.."
CRACK!
Sothing crack but it wasn’t an object.
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