Fractured Steps

Mina’s footsteps echoed faintly as she left the cell, her heart a tangled mess of emotions. Anger still simmered beneath the surface, but it was no longer the sharp, blazing thing it had been when she’d arrived. Anaxi’s words gnawed at her, softening the edges of her fury.

The orb wasn’t just hers. It wasn’t just Anaxi’s. It was something in between—something alive.

She clenched her fists as she reached the edge of the Creche’s sterile corridor, her eyes narrowing. Victor was playing with fire, and he didn’t even know it. She felt the orb through him again, its presence faint but insistent, like a small bird trapped behind glass. It wasn’t just angry—it was watching.

For a fleeting moment, Mina thought she heard a whisper in the back of her mind. A soundless reassurance, a brush of warmth that wasn’t hers but wasn’t entirely foreign.

She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. Don’t get sentimental. It’s not over yet.

The corridor opened into the vast expanse of Ashvine’s outskirts, the last remnants of the storm still lingering on the horizon. She squared her shoulders and moved forward, every step firm and deliberate. Whatever Victor thought he could do, she wouldn’t let him succeed. Not with the orb. Not with anything.

And somewhere deep inside, she felt the faintest flicker of approval, as though the orb were nodding in agreement.