The battle that had nearly cost the security of Basgiath still throbbed in his mind, like a drum that never ceased. The wounded filled the healers' quadrant, the echoes of cries and commands reverberating through the halls. But what had awakened him was not the sound of war, but the subtle click of a closing door, the whisper of a soul slipping away at the edge of danger. Violet had not hesitated. Xaden was hiding something, something significant enough to risk being seen... and she needed answers.

The cold of the bridge struck her forcefully as she stepped outside. The snow fell like a silent cloak, concealing the ravine that separated the quadrant from the main campus. Every step she took on the icy structure seemed to echo the storm raging within her. Xaden could be many things: impulsive, reckless, but not foolish. If anyone were to notice the red circles around her irises, the marks that betrayed the channeling of dark power, she would be arrested. Or something worse.

"Xaden!" His voice was lost amidst the winds that howled like enraged dragons.

Silence reigns supreme, a void where echoes fade into nothingness.