Chapter 5 · Drake's Back Door

The forge district smelled like burning metal and bad decisions.

Kade crouched behind a stack of rusted crates, one hand pressed against the rune scar on his chest. The black core pulsed under his ribs like a second heartbeat. Steady. Hungry. He'd learned not to ignore it.

Across the alley, Drake's private forge sat behind iron gates and ward lines that glowed faint blue in the dark. The building didn't look like much—just another soot-stained workshop wedged between two warehouses. But the wards were fresh. Expensive. The kind of setup that said someone inside had money to burn and secrets to hide.

Kade checked his mother's map one more time. The paper was worn soft at the folds, ink smudged where his fingers had traced the route too many times. Her handwriting curved across the bottom in tight, careful strokes: *If they come for you, start here.*

She'd known. Somehow she'd known this was coming.

He folded the map and shoved it back inside his coat. The knife at his belt—the one that used to be hers—felt heavier than it should. The black rune core inside the handle hadn't made a sound since the bounty fight, but he could feel it waiting.

"Should've stayed gone," he muttered.

The rune didn't answer. It never did. It just ate charges and made him stronger and left him with questions that tasted like ash.

Kade stood, rolled his shoulders, and stepped into the alley.

That's when he saw her.

Mira Voss stood twenty feet away, one hand resting on the hilt of her blade. The city guard uniform fit her like it was made to intimidate—dark leather, polished steel trim, the Ashgate crest stamped across her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back tight, and her eyes tracked him like he was already in chains.

"Riven."

Her voice cut through the noise of the district. Flat. Cold. The kind of tone that didn't leave room for excuses.

Kade froze.

For a second he thought about running. The rune scar flared hot against his chest, ready to move, ready to burn. But Mira's hand hadn't drawn her blade yet. She wasn't charging. She was just standing there, watching him like she was trying to solve a puzzle she didn't want the answer to.

"Guard Voss," Kade said slowly. "Didn't think you worked nights."

"I don't." She took a step forward. "Not officially."

That was worse.

Kade shifted his weight, mapping the alley in his head. Two exits. One behind him, narrow and cluttered. One past Mira, wide open but straight into her sword range. The forge gates were thirty feet to his left, but the wards would fry him the second he touched them without the right key.

"So what," Kade said, keeping his voice light, "you're freelancing now? Bounty work on the side?"

Mira's jaw tightened. "The warrant on you is garbage."

Kade blinked.

"The timeline doesn't work," Mira continued. Her hand stayed on her sword, but her eyes flicked toward the forge behind him. "You were logged at the west workshop when the ward fell. Three witnesses. Your tools were still on the bench. But the charge says you sabotaged the core from inside the tower."

"Yeah," Kade said carefully. "That's what I've been saying."

"Then why are you here?" Mira's voice sharpened. "Why are you breaking into Drake's forge instead of turning yourself in and letting the system work?"

Kade laughed. It came out bitter. "Because the system doesn't work for people like me. You know that."

Mira didn't argue. She just stared at him, and for a moment Kade thought he saw something crack behind her eyes. Doubt. Anger. Maybe both.

"The file," Kade said. "The one they used to frame me. It's in there, isn't it?"

Mira's hand tightened on her sword. "How do you know that?"

"Because my mom left me a map." Kade pulled the paper out again and held it up. "She knew Drake was dirty. She knew if anything happened to me, the proof would be here."

Mira took another step forward. Close enough now that Kade could see the faint scar along her knuckles, the way her breath misted in the cold air. She looked tired. More than tired. She looked like she'd been carrying something heavy for too long and didn't know how to put it down.

"If I let you in there," Mira said quietly, "and you're wrong, I lose my badge. My family loses everything."

"If you don't," Kade shot back, "an innocent man stays wanted and the real saboteur walks."

Mira's eyes narrowed. "You're not innocent. You're breaking about six laws right now."

"Yeah, well." Kade shrugged. "Innocent and legal aren't the same thing."

For a long moment, neither of them moved. The forge district hummed around them—distant hammers, the hiss of steam vents, the low rumble of cargo wagons on the main road. The ward lines on Drake's gate flickered, pale blue turning gold for half a second before settling back.

Mira exhaled slowly. Then she drew her blade.

Kade's hand went to his knife on instinct, the black core flaring hot under his palm. The air between them felt like it was holding its breath.

"There's a gap in the ward," Mira said. "East corner. Maintenance hatch. It's open for another ten minutes."

Kade stared at her.

Mira didn't lower her sword. "I'm not helping you. I'm following a lead. If you happen to be there when I find evidence, that's on you."

"Right," Kade said slowly. "A lead."

"Move," Mira snapped. "Before I change my mind."

Kade moved.

The maintenance hatch was exactly where she said it'd be—a narrow iron panel set low in the wall, half-hidden behind a pile of slag. The ward line overhead buzzed faintly but didn't flare when Kade slipped through. Mira followed a second later, her boots silent on the stone.

Inside, the forge was dark except for the dull red glow of banked coals. Rows of rune molds lined the walls, each one tagged with serial codes and house marks. The air smelled like ash and hot copper. Kade's chest scar pulsed once, sharp and insistent, like the rune inside him recognized something.

"Where's the file?" Mira whispered.

Kade scanned the room. His mom's map didn't have interior details, just the location. But if Drake was smart—and he was—he wouldn't keep the dirt out in the open.

"There." Kade pointed to a locked cabinet in the corner, half-hidden behind a workbench. The lock was old iron, but the ward seal on the handle was new. Fresh. Someone had reinforced it in the last day or two.

Mira crossed the room in three strides and knelt by the cabinet. She pulled a thin steel pick from her belt and slid it into the lock. The ward seal flared once, gold light spilling across her hands, but it didn't trigger. Her fingers worked fast, precise, and the lock clicked open.

Inside were files. Dozens of them. Purchase orders. Shipping manifests. Rune core transfer logs.

And one folder marked with Kade's name.

Mira pulled it out. Her face went very still.

"What?" Kade stepped closer, close enough to see over her shoulder. Close enough to catch the faint scent of steel polish and cold night air clinging to her uniform.

Mira opened the folder. Inside was the sabotage charge. The arrest warrant. The witness statements.

And at the bottom, a signed order authorizing the ward inspection that "found" Kade's tools at the core breach.

The signature was Soren Drake's.

The timestamp was six hours before the ward fell.

Mira's hand shook. Just once. Then she steadied it and looked up at Kade, her eyes hard and bright.

"He knew," she said. "He knew the ward was going to fail, and he set you up to take the fall."

Kade's chest went cold. The black rune scar burned hot, hungry, like it wanted to drag him toward something he couldn't see yet.

"Why?" Kade's voice came out rough. "Why me?"

Mira didn't answer. She was staring at the signature, her jaw tight, and Kade realized she wasn't just angry.

She was scared.

"We need to go," Mira said. She shoved the folder inside her coat and stood. "Now."

But before either of them could move, the forge door slammed open.

Light flooded the room. Voices. Boots on stone.

And standing in the doorway, backlit by lantern glow, was Soren Drake himself.

He smiled.

"Guard Voss," Drake said pleasantly. "I wasn't expecting company."