Chapter 48

Logan and Neverra, recently rescued, spend days in seclusion, clinging to each other after their ordeal. Logan confesses fear of losing her and of worsening crises among their allies. Reaffirming their bond, they decide to rejoin the others.

In the meeting hall, the group welcomes Neverra with relief. Samkiel, exhausted and uncharacteristically affectionate, embraces Neverra and then Logan, signaling how near-loss has shifted him. He convenes a private debrief, insisting the details remain internal.

Logan reports that Dianna killed Haldnunen. Samkiel, torn between pride and worry, begins questioning Neverra gently. Neverra recounts how the vampire Drake arrived claiming Samkiel sent him; Gabriella trusted him, so Neverra did too. At a coffee shop, Kaden ambushed them. Neverra awoke chained in Yejedin beside Gabriella; Rick lay dead, torn as if he’d fought.

Neverra explains that Kaden later took Gabriella and she never returned. Yejedin trembled afterward—likely tied to Dianna’s actions—unsettling their guards. Neverra describes the oppressive heat, iron and blood stench, machine noise, and the sense of a massive factory. Logan adds they saw vast numbers of weapons; Neverra insists Kaden is remorseless and fixated on capturing Dianna for something named with an “E.”

Concluding the session, Samkiel orders the team to return to the Council of Hadrameil and keep the intel discreet. He has lifted Silver City’s restrictions and assigned Vincent’s team to hold it. When Neverra asks about Dianna, Samkiel says she still sleeps, over a week since their return. Neverra wants to deliver a message from Dianna’s sister, and Samkiel agrees to wait until Dianna wakes.