Zara’s POV

  The silence after the fight was deafening.

  I stood in the middle of my wrecked living room, my breath still uneven, my fingers trembling as I took in the damage. The front door hung open, barely attached to its frame. Splintered wood littered the floor, and furniture lay overturned from the struggle. Shadows still clung to the walls where Kage had used his magic, as if reluctant to fade entirely.

  This wasn’t just a random attack.

  The Cleansing had been here. In my home. He had come for me.

  Kage paced the room, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, his frustration radiating like a storm cloud ready to break. His shadows flickered at his feet, restless, reacting to his emotions the way they always did.

  I exhaled shakily and pressed a hand to my arm. The cut burned, a dull ache settling in now that the adrenaline was fading. I moved toward the kitchen, but before I could reach the cabinet, Kage was already there, pulling the first aid kit down with swift precision.

  “Let me do it,” he said, his voice quieter than before, but firm.

  I hesitated, but the look in his eyes left no room for argument. He took my arm gently, his touch careful as he examined the wound. His fingers, usually steady, trembled slightly as he unrolled the gauze and began wrapping it around my arm.

  “You need stitches,” he muttered, his brows furrowed in concentration. “But this will hold for now.”

  I swallowed hard, watching him work. His jaw was still tight, frustration evident in every movement, but his touch was careful, deliberate. I wasn’t used to people taking care of me—not like this.

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  Kage didn’t look at me, just nodded once. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “Just… don’t scare me like that again,” he muttered, his voice quieter now, but no less firm.

  A pause stretched between us, the only sound in the room the soft rustling of bandages as he finished wrapping my arm. His fingers brushed my skin as he tied off the gauze, lingering just for a second longer than necessary. I felt his grip tighten slightly before he finally pulled away, his jaw still clenched, shadows flickering at his feet like restless echoes of his emotions.

  “I should have stopped him,” Kage muttered, his voice sharp, cutting through the silence.

  I looked up, meeting his eyes. There was anger there, but beneath it—something else. Something heavier.

  “You did stop him,” I said, my voice quieter than I intended. “He didn’t kill me.”

  His jaw tightened. “That’s not enough.”

  I swallowed hard. The realization was creeping in, slow and suffocating. The Cleansing hadn’t just killed magicals in the shadows, picking them off where no one could see. This time, he had come for me directly.

  I had always known I was different. Feared. Respected. But never hunted.

  A shiver ran down my spine. I clenched my fists, trying to push the fear away, but it stayed, settling deep in my chest like a weight I couldn’t shake.

  “He’s not going to stop,” I whispered. “Not until one of us is dead.”

  Kage’s pacing stopped. His gaze locked onto mine, dark and unwavering. “Then we make sure it’s him.”

  The weight of the night still pressed down on me as I sat on the couch, my arm wrapped in fresh bandages, the sting of the wound dull but persistent. Kage sat across from me, his posture tense, communicator pressed against his ear as he spoke to Detective Hall.

  “Yes,” Kage said, voice clipped. “He got inside. Broke the door down. He had a knife—he was trying to kill her.”

  I heard Hall’s muffled response on the other end, though I couldn’t make out the words. Kage’s expression darkened further. “We fought him off, but he got away. No, I didn’t see his face clearly. He was fast—trained. He knew what he was doing.”

  I swallowed hard, fingers gripping the blanket draped over my lap. The Cleansing had been here. He had come for me. That thought churned in my gut, making my hands tremble. If Kage hadn’t been here… I pushed that thought away before it could take root.

  “Yeah, we’ll be here,” Kage finished, hanging up and tossing his communicator onto the table with more force than necessary. “Hall is sending a team, but we both know they won’t find anything.”

  I nodded, forcing down the lump in my throat. “He’s careful. He plans everything.”

  Kage exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand down his face. “This wasn’t random anymore, Zara. He wasn’t just hunting magicals tonight. He was hunting you.”

  The truth in those words sent an icy shiver down my spine. The Cleansing had come here because I was a threat to him. I could bring back his victims, undo his work. And he wasn’t going to stop until he silenced me.

  “I know,” I said softly, my voice steadier than I felt. “That means he’s going to try again.”

  Kage’s jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists. “Then we make sure he fails. Again. And next time, we don’t let him run.”

  Before I could respond, there was a knock at the broken doorframe. Two officers stepped in, their gazes sweeping over the wreckage. Hall wasn’t with them, but I knew he’d be going over every detail of the attack from his office.

  One of the officers, a woman with sharp features and a weary expression, glanced at Kage. “Detective Hall said you’d give us a rundown of what happened.”

  Kage stood, his presence solid, unwavering. “Yeah. Come in.” He gestured toward the damaged entrance. “Let’s go over everything.”

  As Kage started recounting the fight, I sat back, exhaustion pulling at me. The reality of what had just happened was settling in deeper now, coiling tight in my chest. The Cleansing wasn’t just a faceless threat anymore. He was real. He had been in my home. And he would come again.

  I wasn’t just trying to stop a killer. I was trying to survive one.

  The police had come and gone, leaving behind nothing but a mess of shattered wood and unanswered questions. I stood in the wreckage of my living room, arms crossed over my chest, exhaustion pressing down on me like a weight I couldn’t shake. The door was barely hanging onto its hinges, a painful reminder that my home was no longer safe.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Kage, standing near the broken doorway, exhaled sharply. “You can’t stay here, Zara.”

  I turned to him, already shaking my head. “I can handle myself.”

  “You shouldn’t have to.” His voice was firm, his dark eyes unwavering. “He got in once. He’ll try again. And next time, I might not be here.”

  The words sent a chill through me. I hated how right he was.

  I sighed, rubbing my temples. “So what am I supposed to do? Leave my life behind? Hide?”

  “Not hide. Be smart.” Kage crossed his arms, his stance solid, unwavering. “At least until we know more. We need to be proactive, not reactive. If you stay here, you’re giving him another opportunity.”

  I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening against my sleeves. “Then where am I supposed to go?”

  Kage hesitated for only a second before saying, “You can stay with me.”

  I blinked. “You?”

  “My building has security,” he continued. “Guards at the entrance. Limited access to residents only. It’ll be harder for him to get to you there.”

  I hesitated. Kage and I had been working together for days, growing closer, but living with him? That was different. That was… personal.

  But what other choice did I have? My house was compromised. I wouldn’t be able to sleep here without fearing another attack.

  Kage must have sensed my hesitation because he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s temporary, Zara. Just until we figure out how he’s finding you.”

  I let out a slow breath, my mind still reeling. “Fine,” I finally said. “But I’m not just going to sit around waiting for him to come for me again. We keep investigating. We stop him before he gets another chance.”

  Kage nodded. “Agreed. But first, we get you somewhere safe. Pack a bag—I’ll drive.”

  I turned toward my bedroom, a new heaviness settling over me. I wasn’t just leaving my house tonight. I was leaving behind the illusion that I was untouchable.

  Kage and I sat in his car, the quiet hum of the engine filling the silence between us. Neither of us had spoken since we left my house, both lost in thought, but the questions swirled in my head like a storm refusing to settle.

  “Back at the house,” Kage finally said, gripping the steering wheel tighter, “he wasn’t just a fighter. He knew how to counter magic. He knew how to move through my shadows like he’d trained against them before.”

  I turned toward him, processing what he was saying. “Which means?”

  “He’s either fought magicals before, or he’s been studying them closely.” Kage’s voice was tight with frustration. “And if he’s been studying, he has to have access to information we don’t know about.”

  I exhaled slowly. “So we’re back to the question—how is he identifying magicals? If he’s trained to fight against different types of magic, that means he’s either watching us up close or getting information from someone on the inside.”

  A pit formed in my stomach at the thought. “And if he has inside information… that could mean someone’s helping him.”

  Kage nodded, his expression dark. “Which means we’re not just dealing with a killer. We’re dealing with a network.”

  My mind immediately went to Naja. She was still in the hospital, helpless in her coma. “What about Naja? What if she’s still a target?”

  Kage glanced at me, his expression softening just slightly. “I already had a team of security officers stationed outside her room as soon as we realized this was bigger than one attack. No one’s getting to her.”

  Relief flooded me, but it didn’t erase the unease curling in my stomach. “Then we need to find the leak,” I said. “If someone is feeding him information, we need to cut them off before he gets another target.”

  Kage nodded. “Then we start at the source. We figure out who has access to magical records, and we find out who’s been selling us out.”

  I swallowed hard, bracing myself. “Because if we don’t, we’re just waiting for the next body to drop.”

  The weight of the night pressed heavily on me as Kage and I finally arrived at his apartment. I had barely spoken since we left my house, the fear of how close I had come to death still clawing at my chest. My home—my supposed safe haven—had been violated, and now, the only place I could be was here. With him.

  Kage’s place was exactly as I had expected: minimal, clean, efficient. A large studio with dark furniture, shelves lined with books, and weapons stored within reach but out of sight. A wall of windows overlooked the city, dim lights reflecting against the glass. It suited him—practical, controlled, yet with an undeniable depth just beneath the surface.

  “You should get some sleep,” Kage said, watching me as I stood frozen near the entrance.

  I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “I don’t think I can.”

  He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re safe here, Zara. No one’s getting in.”

  “I know,” I murmured, my voice quieter now. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll sleep.”

  I felt his hesitation before he spoke. “Do you want me to stay up?”

  I hesitated too, then looked up at him. The exhaustion in his expression mirrored my own. “No,” I admitted. “You need sleep too.”

  Kage exhaled through his nose, nodding as he moved toward the bed, stripping off his jacket and tossing it over a chair. He turned back to me. “You can take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”

  Something inside me twisted at the thought of being alone in this unfamiliar place. The vulnerability I had felt all night hadn’t faded—it was still gripping me, making my skin feel too tight. I glanced at the couch, then at him.

  “Kage…” I started, then stopped, feeling foolish for even asking.

  His dark eyes locked onto mine, waiting.

  I swallowed past the nervous lump in my throat. “Will you—stay? Just for tonight?”

  His brows lifted slightly, but he didn’t question it. He simply nodded. “Yeah.”

  A breath I didn’t realize I was holding escaped me. I turned toward the bed, slipping beneath the covers, feeling awkward and exposed in a way I hadn’t before. Kage hesitated only briefly before moving to the other side, careful and measured in his movements, like he didn’t want to startle me.

  The silence stretched between us, heavy but not uncomfortable. I lay on my side, staring at the faint city lights through the window. Beside me, Kage was still, his breathing slow and steady.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this… vulnerable,” I admitted into the quiet.

  Kage didn’t respond right away, but when he did, his voice was softer than I had ever heard it. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Zara.”

  I turned my head slightly, just enough to see the outline of his face in the dark. “I know,” I whispered.

  Without thinking, I shifted closer, just enough to feel the warmth of him beside me. I expected him to tense, to pull away, but he didn’t. Instead, his arm moved slightly, as if offering silent reassurance.

  The fear was still there, lingering at the edges of my mind, but with Kage beside me, it felt… distant. Manageable.

  I took a slow breath, then whispered, “Thank you, Kage.”

  His head shifted slightly, like he hadn’t expected me to speak. “For what?”

  “For saving my life. For staying. For making me feel safe for the first time since…” I hesitated, swallowing the lump forming in my throat. “Since my father.”

  The silence between us deepened, not heavy with discomfort but filled with something else—something unspoken. When Kage finally spoke, his voice was softer than I had ever heard it. “I’m sure your father was a good man. He’d want you to feel safe.”

  I nodded, even though he couldn’t see it. “He was the only one who ever made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Until now.”

  Kage was quiet for a long moment before he finally said, “You’re not alone, Zara. Not anymore.”

  I turned my head slightly, just enough to see the outline of his face in the dark. The warmth between us wasn’t just physical—it was something I hadn’t let myself feel in a long time. Trust.

  The fear was still there, lingering at the edges of my mind, but with Kage beside me, it felt… distant. Manageable.

  “Get some sleep,” he murmured, his voice just above a whisper.

  Kage’s POV

  But I couldn’t. Not yet.

  I listened to Zara’s breathing, slow and steady now, but I knew she wasn’t asleep yet either. The weight of everything that had happened still hung between us, the danger still too close, too real. But here, in the quiet, in the warmth of her beside me, something else stirred in my chest—something I wasn’t ready to name.

  I had spent so much of my life keeping people at arm’s length. It was easier that way. Safer. But Zara had pushed past every wall without even trying. And now, lying here, feeling the warmth of her so close, I knew I would never be able to step away from her. Not completely.

  She had thanked me earlier, and I hadn’t known how to respond. Not because I didn’t care, but because I cared too much. Because hearing her say that I made her feel safe—hearing her say that I was the first since her father—it did something to me. It settled into my chest, deeper than I wanted to admit.

  I turned my head slightly, watching her in the faint glow of the city lights filtering through the window. Her face was relaxed now, the tension from earlier softening. She looked peaceful. And I wanted—no, I needed—to keep her that way.

  I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. Not again. Not ever.

  For the first time in years, I allowed myself a moment of vulnerability. A moment of wanting something for myself. And right now, that something was her.

  I let out a slow breath, finally allowing myself to close my eyes. “I’ve got you, Zara.”

  I closed my eyes, letting the steady sound of her breathing lull me into the first real rest I had found in days.