Kage’s POV

  Malrick wiped at his face with his sleeve, his hands still trembling, but there was something steadier in his expression now. He had agreed to help Zara, to undo what he had done, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

  I stepped away, pulling out my communicator and dialing Detective Hall. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Tell me you have something,” Hall’s voice was all tension.

  “I do,” I said. “I found the person responsible. We’re bringing him to the crime scene.”

  There was silence for a beat, then, “Is he in custody?”

  I glanced at Malrick, who stood between me and Zara, his arms wrapped around himself like he was trying to stay as small as possible. “No. He’s coming willingly. But listen to me, Hall. You need to clear the area. No civilians, no extra officers. Just you and the team we can trust. This isn’t what it looks like, and I need the space to explain.”

  Hall exhaled loudly. “Damn it, Kage. You better not be bringing me a mess.”

  “I promise I’ll handle it,” I said. “Just do this for me.”

  “Fine. But if this goes sideways, it’s on you.”

  I snapped the communicator shut and immediately dialed Naja. She picked up quickly.

  “Let me guess,” she said dryly. “You’re dragging me into another disaster?”

  “Wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t,” I said. “Meet us at the East Market crime scene. Zara needs your help to save a life.”

  “You’re being vague, and I hate that,” she muttered. “But I’ll be there.”

  I put the communicator away and turned back to Zara and Malrick. “Alright. Let’s go.”

  Zara gave Malrick a reassuring look before carefully guiding him forward. He hesitated, his breathing uneven, but he followed. I took the other side, keeping a watchful eye on him.

  We moved through the city carefully, staying to the quieter streets. Malrick flinched at every sound, every passing shadow, but he didn’t run. He was scared, but he was trying.

  That was enough. For now.

  The crime scene was eerily silent when we arrived. The street had been cleared, just as I asked. No civilians, no unnecessary officers—just Hall and a handful of trusted investigators standing near the body.

  Zara gently guided Malrick forward, keeping her voice soft as she led him toward the lifeless form on the ground. He hesitated, his breathing shallow, but he moved when she did, his fingers twitching at his sides.

  Hall took one look at the boy and strode toward me, his expression unreadable. His tone was measured, not accusatory, just searching. “This the one responsible?”

  I stepped in front of Malrick before Hall could get any closer, keeping my posture calm but firm. “Wait. Just listen first.”

  Hall’s eyes narrowed, but there was no immediate aggression in his stance. “Kage, tell me what I’m looking at here.”

  “Hall. He’s not a threat,” I said firmly, but without hostility. “This kid doesn’t need cuffs. He needs help.”

  Hall exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You know what this looks like, right? The city’s already scared, and this won’t make it any easier. What’s your plan here?”

  I exhaled sharply, grabbing Hall’s arm and pulling him a few steps away. “Listen to me. This kid doesn’t need a prison cell. He needs help. You know as well as I do that magic like his—like mine—doesn’t come with a guidebook. No one teaches people like us how to control it. And right now? He’s terrified. He doesn’t need punishment, he needs training.”

  Hall’s gaze flicked back to Malrick, watching as the boy stood stiffly by Zara’s side, his entire body coiled tight like he was waiting to be struck down. Something in Hall’s expression softened, just a fraction. “Where exactly do you plan to take him, Kage?”

  I didn’t hesitate. “Home.”

  Hall’s brows lifted slightly. “You’re serious? You’re just going to take him in?”

  “I’ll be responsible for him. I’ll make sure he learns how to control it. I know what it’s like to have people fear you for something you can’t change. I know what it’s like to have no one.” My voice lowered. “I’m not letting that happen to him.”

  Hall stared at me for a long moment, then sighed. “You’re sure about this? Taking in a kid with magic like that? That’s not a small decision.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” I said. “And so do you. If you let them take him, there won’t be a chance to fix this.”

  Hall considered that, then nodded slowly, rubbing a hand down his face. “Damn it, Kage… fine. But if this goes wrong—”

  “It won’t,” I said, my voice steady. “I won’t let it.”

  Zara’s pov

  I knelt beside the body, feeling the remaining tethers pulsing weakly in the air around me. They were still stretched between Malrick and the man on the ground, thin and frayed but not completely severed. That meant there was a chance. A small one, but a chance nonetheless.

  Malrick stood frozen beside me, his arms still locked around himself as if he were afraid to even breathe wrong. He stared at the body, horror flickering across his face. “I don’t know how to fix this,” he whispered. “I don’t know how to do anything except break things.”

  I reached out, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “That’s why I’m here. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  I lifted my other hand, letting my magic extend outward, feeling for the thin, broken tethers that still lingered. To me, they looked like glowing green threads, delicate but waiting to be woven back into place.

  “Watch me,” I said softly. “See these tethers? The ones that are still connected to you?”

  Malrick hesitated but nodded. The faint glow in his veins pulsed as he followed my gaze, and for the first time, I saw something other than fear in his expression—curiosity.

  “These threads aren’t completely severed, which means we can reattach them,” I explained. “I’m going to do one first, and then I want you to try. Just follow my lead.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I focused on one of the tethers, wrapping my fingers around it carefully, letting my magic surge through me. Slowly, I guided the strand away from Malrick and toward the man’s chest, pressing it against where it belonged. The moment it reconnected, a faint hum of energy pulsed beneath my fingers.

  Malrick inhaled sharply. “You really can do it…”

  I turned to him and held out my hand. “Now you try.”

  His hands shook as he reached for the next tether, his fingers hovering over it like he was afraid it would shatter at his touch. “What if I do it wrong?”

  “Then we try again,” I said simply. “You’re not alone in this, Ricky.”

  Slowly, hesitantly, Malrick followed my movements, gripping one of the remaining tethers. His breath came in short, shallow bursts, but he didn’t let go. He copied my movements, guiding the thread forward, his entire body trembling with effort. And then—the tether latched.

  A small pulse of warmth flickered through the air, and Malrick let out a breathless sound, somewhere between shock and relief.

  Before he could say anything, a familiar voice cut through the quiet.

  “If you two are done playing with souls, I could use some help here.”

  I turned to see Naja approaching, her silver-glowing hands already moving as she crouched beside us. Kage followed close behind, his expression unreadable.

  Kage gestured toward Malrick. “Naja, this is Ricky. Ricky, this is Naja. She’s going to help heal the body before we attempt anything else.”

  Malrick’s shoulders hunched, but he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

  Naja placed her hands over the man’s chest, her magic flaring to life. But then, she frowned. “This is a problem.”

  Kage stepped closer. “What kind of problem?”

  Naja exhaled. “His body has lost too much blood. I can heal the wounds, but without enough blood in his system, his organs won’t function properly even if I fix them.”

  I looked over at Malrick, my mind already racing. “Ricky, can you pull the blood back into his body?”

  Malrick’s eyes widened in pure panic. “I—I don’t know how. I only ever take. I don’t know how to give it back.”

  Kage knelt in front of him, his voice calm but firm. “You’ve felt the pull of your magic, right? The way it moves, the way it calls to you?” Malrick nodded hesitantly. “Then try thinking of it like this—my shadows don’t just consume, they obey. I tell them where to go, how to move. Your blood magic? It’s the same. It listens to you.”

  Malrick swallowed, his gaze darting back to the lifeless man before him. “But what if I hurt him again?”

  “You can’t do anything we can’t fix,” I said. “Because we’re here. And we’re not letting you do this alone.”

  He took a shaky breath, lifting his hands over the man’s body. This was it. Either he would learn control, or we’d lose our only chance.

  Malrick’s hands trembled, hovering over the man’s chest. His breathing was uneven, his hesitation thick in the air. “I don’t know if I can,” he whispered.

  Kage’s voice was steady. “Just feel for it, Ricky. The way the blood moves, the way it calls to you. But this time, don’t take—guide it. Tell it where to go.”

  Malrick swallowed hard and slowly, hesitantly, reached deeper with his magic. The faint crimson glow in his veins pulsed brighter, and the blood that had pooled around the body began to shift. It didn’t vanish—it moved.

  I watched as the tendrils of dark liquid seeped back into the man’s skin, drawn through unseen pathways like streams returning to a river. The process was slow, unsure, but it was working.

  Naja’s eyes widened slightly. “That’s it, Ricky. Keep going.”

  Malrick clenched his jaw, his fingers twitching as he pushed harder. The remaining blood responded, flowing back into the man’s body, restoring what had been lost. Finally, Malrick gasped, pulling his hands back like he’d been burned.

  The glow in his veins faded, and he looked up at us, chest rising and falling rapidly. “Did I—did it work?”

  Naja pressed her glowing hands to the man’s chest, feeling for life. A moment later, she exhaled, nodding. “Now I can heal him.”

  I turned to Malrick, a small, proud smile forming. “You did it, Ricky.”

  His wide, fearful eyes met mine, and I saw something new in them. Hope.

  Ricky and I continued to reattach the tethers as Naja worked, her silver-lit hands pressing against the man’s chest. Each thread we guided back felt like stitching together something fragile, something that might tear apart at any moment.

  Malrick’s hands were steadier now, his focus sharp as he mimicked my movements. I could feel his magic responding differently—less desperate, more deliberate. “You’re doing great, Ricky,” I murmured as another tether latched into place, sending a faint pulse of energy through the air.

  Naja let out a breath. “His organs are stabilizing, but I need another minute. Keep going.”

  Kage stood beside us, watching closely, his shadows flickering at his fingertips as if waiting to act if something went wrong. But nothing did.

  With every tether Malrick and I reattached, the body beneath us looked less like a corpse and more like something waiting to wake up.

  Naja exhaled slowly, pressing her glowing hands against the man’s chest. “That’s it. The body is stable now.”

  I nodded, shifting my focus back to the final tethers. “Okay, Ricky, one more. Stay with me.”

  Malrick’s hands were steadier than before, but I could still feel his hesitation. He looked at me, uncertainty flickering in his gaze. “What if he doesn’t come back?”

  I gave him a reassuring nod. “Then we know we did everything we could. But we have to try.”

  Together, we guided the last tether into place, and the moment it connected, a pulse of energy rippled through the air. The body twitched slightly, as if sensing the shift, but remained still.

  Kage stepped forward, watching closely. “That’s it?”

  I took a deep breath and let my magic sink deeper. “Not yet.” I placed both hands on the man’s chest, feeling the weight of what I was about to do. “Now, I bring him back.”

  I closed my eyes and let the magic flow through me, reaching beyond the veil of death, searching for the piece of him that still lingered. The world around me dimmed as I pulled at the remaining strands of his soul, coaxing them back, guiding them home.

  The air grew thick with energy, a silent hum vibrating in my bones. Then, after a long, breathless moment—

  The man gasped, his body jerking violently as he took his first breath back in the land of the living.

  Malrick let out a breath he had been holding, his whole body sagging with relief. But the moment the man stirred, his eyes fluttering open, Ricky flinched back like he had been burned. He stumbled away, his arms wrapping around himself, as if terrified he might undo everything they had just repaired.

  The crime scene around them shifted instantly. Officers moved in, murmuring in astonishment, some calling out for a medic. The once-dead man groaned weakly, his fingers twitching against the cold ground as his consciousness returned. Hall barked orders, ensuring that the scene didn’t spiral into chaos, but even he looked shaken by what had just happened.

  Kage stepped toward Naja, his voice low but firm. “Keep an eye on Ricky for me. I need to talk to Zara.”

  Naja glanced at Malrick, who was still breathing heavily, his back pressed against the wall as if trying to disappear. She gave a small nod. “I’ve got him.”

  Kage ran a hand through his hair, exhaling before turning to me. “I talked to Hall. The only other place Ricky could go is a jail cell. I couldn’t let that happen. So I volunteered to take him home—I’ll train him, make sure he learns how to control his magic.”

  He hesitated for a moment, his expression darkening. “I see myself in him, Zara. I know what it’s like to have people look at you like you’re a monster, to be feared for something you never asked for. If someone had given me a chance when I was younger, maybe things would have been different. Ricky deserves that chance.”

  I crossed my arms, studying him. “You’re taking him in? Just like that?”

  He met my gaze without hesitation. “Someone has to. He needs guidance, not a cell. And I know what it’s like to be feared for something you can’t control.”

  There was something in his voice—resolve, maybe even something protective. I opened my mouth to respond, but he continued.

  “I don’t expect anything from you, Zara,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I know you have your own life, your own work—”

  I cut him off by grabbing the collar of his coat and pulling him into a kiss.

  For a moment, he stiffened, but then he melted into it, his hands settling at my waist. The chaos of the crime scene, the murmuring voices of officers, all faded into the background.

  When I finally pulled back, I smirked up at him. “You’re not doing this alone. Ricky’s coming with both of us—to my house. There’s more room, and I think he could use the extra support.”

  Kage blinked at me, then let out a quiet chuckle. “You sure?”

  “I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t.”

  He exhaled, shaking his head, but there was a warmth in his expression. “Alright. We’ll figure this out together.”

  I glanced back at Malrick, who was still standing near Naja, watching us cautiously, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew we weren’t leaving him alone.