CHAPTER 32: HOUSE ZEPHYR’S MERCY

Kaelen pov

Darkness.

Pain.

The smell of blood and dust.

These were the things Kaelen knew before consciousness fully returned. His body felt like it had been broken and poorly reassembled, every part screaming in protest as awareness crept back in.

He tried to open his eyes, but only one responded. The other was swollen shut. Through his working eye, he saw movement...figures in flowing robes, the color of storm clouds. Voices spoke in urgent tones, but the words were muffled, distant.

Someone was lifting him. Gentle hands, but even that gentle touch sent fresh waves of agony through his battered body. He tried to speak, to ask about the others, but only a weak groan escaped his lips.

"This one’s alive," a woman’s voice said. "Barely."

"The others?"

"Three more were breathing. One wolf, badly injured. The older woman has broken ribs, punctured lung. We need to move them now."

Kaelen felt himself being carried, the motion making his vision swim. He caught glimpses through the haze...Tiara’s pale face, blood on her lips. Serenya was lifted by two men, her silver hair matted with dirt and blood. Joanna, still unconscious, her head wound still seeping.

Then he saw the symbol on the robes of those carrying them. A spiral of wind surrounding a growing tree.

House Zephyr. The Wind mages.

The realization tried to form into coherent thought, but before he could process what it meant, darkness claimed him again.

——-

When Kaelen woke the second time, it was to the softness beneath him and the scent of healing herbs in the air. His body still hurt...a deep, bone-level ache...but it was duller now, manageable compared to the agony he remembered.

He opened his eyes. Both of them worked this time, though one was still tender and his vision slightly blurred on that side. He lay in a bed in a circular room with tall windows that showed sky in every direction. The architecture was unlike anything in House Valerius...walls that seemed to curve and flow organically, as if shaped by wind rather than built by hand.

A tower. He was in one of House Zephyr’s towers.

"You’re awake."

Kaelen turned his head carefully, wincing at the stiffness in his neck. A man sat in a chair beside his bed...older, perhaps in his sixties, with silver hair that seemed to move even in the still air. His pale blue eyes studied Kaelen with an intensity that was both curious and measuring.

"Archmage Aldwin," Kaelen said, his voice coming out as a rasp. He recognized the man from council sessions, though they’d never spoken directly.

"Just Aldwin," the man corrected gently. "Titles seem less important in moments like these." He poured water from a pitcher into a cup and offered it to Kaelen. "Drink slowly."

Kaelen took the cup with hands that shook more than he’d like. He sipped carefully. The water was cool and sweet, making his parched throat feel instantly better.

"The others?" he asked.

"Alive. Your companions are being treated in other rooms." Aldwin settled back in his chair. "The water mage...Joanna...woke up yesterday. She had a concussion, and some bruising, but she’ll recover fully. Serenya has been unconscious like you, but her injuries are healing. She’s strong."

"And Tiara?"

Aldwin’s expression grew more serious. "Her injuries were severe. Broken ribs, punctured lung, internal bleeding. The healers worked on her for hours. But she’s stable now, and improving. She should make a full recovery, though it will take time."

"Echo?"

"The wolf is in the gardens below. Broken leg that we’ve splinted, various cuts and bruises, but nothing life-threatening. He refused to stay away from the tower, so we let him keep watch from there." Aldwin’s expression softened slightly. "Loyal creature."

Kaelen closed his eyes, letting relief wash over him. They were alive. All of them were alive. After what that man had done to them, it seemed almost impossible.

"How long have I been unconscious?" he asked.

"Three days since we found you. The explosion drew city guards, but we arrived first. House Zephyr maintains independent observers throughout Luminis. When they reported the attack and identified the house, I mobilized our people immediately."

Kaelen opened his eyes again, studying the Archmage’s face. "Why? We’re wanted criminals. Helping us puts you at risk with the council."

"The council can go to hell," Aldwin said flatly. The bluntness of it startled Kaelen. "I spent twenty years watching them commit injustice in the name of order. Twenty years staying silent while they buried the truth and exiled anyone who questioned their authority." He stood and walked to the window, looking out over the city spread below. "When I heard Tiara was alive, that she’d returned after all these years... I knew I couldn’t stay silent anymore."

Kaelen tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Pain lanced through his ribs and chest. Aldwin was at his side instantly, helping him settle back against the pillows with practiced care.

"Easy. You took significant damage. The healers have done what they can, but your body needs time to recover properly."

"The suppression chains," Kaelen said. "My Aether...I couldn’t access it during the fight. I was useless."

"The effect is fading. Our healers examined you thoroughly. The residual suppression should be completely gone in another day or two. You’ll have full access to your power again." Aldwin returned to his chair. "That thing that attacked you... we found traces of its presence after we evacuated you. Corrupted Aether, engineered magic, the same signature as those creatures from the Marches. Someone created that man specifically to hunt you."

"The council sent it," Kaelen said bitterly. "Corvain wants me dead."

"Corvain sent it," Aldwin corrected. "Not the full council. That’s an important distinction. Some council members are growing uncomfortable with recent events...the rushed trial, the immediate death sentence, the severity of the response to someone whose only crime was wielding a different form of magic. Cracks are forming in their unity."

Kaelen absorbed this. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to understand the situation you’re in." Aldwin leaned forward, his expression intent. "You’re not just fighting Corvain or even the full council. You’re fighting a system that’s been in place for centuries. A system built on controlling magic, on deciding who has power and who doesn’t, on suppressing questions about where that power truly comes from." He paused. "Tiara questioned that system, and they exiled her for it. You’ve proven her questions were valid, and they want you dead for it."

"So what do I do?"

"You survive. You recover. You find the answers Tiara spent twenty years searching for." Aldwin’s gaze was steady. "I want to help"

Kaelen hesitated. Trust was dangerous. House Zephyr had saved them, yes, but that didn’t mean...

"I understand your caution," Aldwin said. "But know this...I kept Tiara’s research notes when I was ordered to burn them. I’ve documented the Blight’s spread even as the council denied it was happening. I’ve watched them silence dissent and bury evidence for two decades." His voice grew quieter, heavy with regret. "I’ve been complicit in their lies through my silence. I’m tired of it. Let me help. Let me finally do something right."

There was genuine pain in the older man’s voice. The kind that came from years of knowing you’d failed to act when action was needed.

Kaelen made his decision. "My father told me to find my mother. Her name is Lysander. He said she would have answers about my power, about what I really am."

"Lysander," Aldwin repeated, and something flickered across his face...recognition, perhaps, or realization. "That name... there are rumors. Whispers of a secret council, one that operates outside the official structures, beyond even the Arcane Conclave’s knowledge. If your mother is connected to them..."

"Then I need to find this secret council," Kaelen said. "But I don’t know where to start looking. I don’t know where she is or how to reach her."

Aldwin was quiet for a long moment, his fingers steepled in thought. "A secret council would explain much. How someone with Aether magic...a power the Conclave insists is extinct...could still exist. He looked at Kaelen. "Finding them won’t be easy. By definition, they don’t want to be found."

"I don’t have a choice," Kaelen said. "My father died trying to tell me this. Whatever answers my mother has, they’re important enough that he used his last breath to point me toward them."

"Your stepbrother has announced the funeral," Aldwin said. "Three days from now. A grand ceremony. He’s using it to consolidate his position as the new Lord Valerius."

Rage flared hot in Kaelen’s chest. Lyren, playing the grieving son when he was the one who’d killed their father. When he’d framed Kaelen for murder and taken everything.

"I need to be there."

"That would be suicide. Every guard in the city will be watching for you. Corvain will have people positioned specifically hoping you’ll show."

"I don’t care. He’s my father. And Lyren needs to answer for what he did."

Aldwin studied him. "We’ll discuss it when you can stand without help. For now, focus on healing. You’re no good to anyone if you collapse before you even reach the funeral."

The Archmage stood to leave, then paused at the door. "Rest. Recover your strength. When you’re ready, we’ll talk about next steps...including how one might go about finding a council that doesn’t want to be found."

After Aldwin left, Kaelen lay in the soft bed, staring up at the curved ceiling. His body was broken, his magic still suppressed, his father dead, and his stepbrother had taken everything. A construct built to kill him was still out there, and would return to finish the job.

But he was alive. His friends were alive. And House Zephyr was offering help.

It wasn’t much. But it was something.

A soft knock came at the door. Before Kaelen could respond, it opened and Joanna entered. She moved carefully, a bandage still wrapped around her head and bruises coloring her face in shades of purple and yellow. But she was on her feet, and when she saw he was awake, she managed a weak smile.

"You look terrible," she said.

"You should see the other guy," Kaelen replied, then winced because even that small attempt at humor made his ribs protest.

Joanna pulled the chair Aldwin had vacated closer to the bed and sat down heavily, as if standing had taken most of her energy. "I’m sorry. I was supposed to be keeping watch. I never even saw him coming."

"None of us did. That thing was built to hunt. It wasn’t your fault."

"I felt like it when I woke up and they told me what happened after." She was quiet for a moment. "Aldwin says we’re safe here. That House Zephyr won’t turn us over to the council."

"Do you believe him?"

"I want to," Joanna admitted. "He seems genuine. But trust is dangerous right now." She looked at him seriously. "What do we do, Kaelen? We’re fugitives. That thing almost killed us all."

"We keep going," Kaelen said. "We find my mother and this secret council she’s connected to. We get the answers my father died trying to give me. And eventually, we make Lyren pay for what he did."

Joanna nodded slowly. "Then we keep going. Together."

After she left, Kaelen closed his eyes and reached tentatively for his Aether sense. It was there, still muted and distant, but less painfully so than before. Like a door that was locked but no longer barred shut. The connection was returning.

Soon. Soon he’d have his power back.

And then the real fight would begin.