CHAPTER 71: CH 71: WE ARE HERE TO TAKE HER - PART 1

Kana was still reeling from the dream—or whatever that nightmare had been.

Her heartbeat hadn’t yet slowed, the phantom image of that colossal eye still burned into her mind.

She blinked hard, trying to push away the dizziness that made the world sway slightly.

Her mouth opened, perhaps to say something... anything... but before a single word left her lips, she was yanked forward.

Irielle’s arms wrapped around her like a steel trap.

"Kana,"

The elf murmured, voice taut with urgency. She pulled back just enough to grab Kana’s face in both hands, tilting it this way and that as if checking for cracks in porcelain. Her eyes scanned every inch of Kana’s features, lingering at her temples, her cheeks, her lips.

Only when she was sure there wasn’t so much as a scratch did her posture ease, and she exhaled a long, quiet sigh of relief.

"She’s fine. The vision she experienced was purely spiritual. There’s no physical harm to worry about."

Jenna’s smooth voice cut in from the side, her tone light and infuriatingly calm.

Kana didn’t argue. But inside, her stomach knotted.

’No harm?’

The sensation of suffocation in that dream had been too real. The gaze of that eye had been suffocating—overpowering in a way no physical attack could match.

And Rose... Rose had pulled her out of it. Kana wasn’t sure how Rose had gotten there, or if it had even been the real Rose.

But one thing was certain—speaking of it here, in front of these people, felt... dangerous.

She swallowed her words.

The silence didn’t last long. Lysera’s voice, low but edged like a blade, broke through the air.

"Her mission here is over."

Jenna turned to look at her, still wearing that faintly amused smile.

Lysera didn’t flinch.

"The arrangement with the police was to borrow her for something minor. Something safe. She was never meant to be thrown into life-threatening situations."

Her tone sharpened.

"From what I’ve seen, she’s been in constant danger since the moment she arrived."

Irielle’s gaze joined Lysera’s, hard and unyielding.

The high priestess inclined her head slightly, her voice syrupy-smooth.

"I’m sorry you feel this way. Truly. But there are matters beyond my control. I’m not omnipotent. Still... as per our agreement, she hasn’t been harmed."

Neither of them looked convinced.

"We’re taking her back. Now."

Irielle said flatly.

For the first time, Jenna’s mask cracked. The playfulness in her expression slipped away, revealing something cold and sharp beneath.

"I can’t allow that. Her departure now would ruin my plans."

She said, her voice losing all warmth.

Irielle’s jaw tightened.

"Your plans have nothing to do with her—or us—anymore."

She spat.

She reached for Kana’s hand and squeezed it gently.

"Come. We’re leaving."

Kana rose to her feet with them, her body still heavy with lingering fatigue. But before they could take more than a step, a sudden force yanked her backwards.

She stumbled and crashed into Jenna’s side, the priestess’s arm hooked around her like an iron shackle.

"What the—?!"

Kana gasped.

Irielle’s fury flared instantly.

"Let her go!"

She stepped forward, fingers curling as a dangerous light sparked in her eyes.

But before she could act, a shimmering wall of divine energy sprang up around Jenna and Kana, the air humming with raw power.

The barrier glowed faintly, like a mirage solidified into glass.

Jenna’s gaze swept over the others, her tone suddenly cool and commanding.

"Give us a moment. When I’m finished, you can have her back."

The unspoken if I choose to lingered in the air, heavy and suffocating.

Kana’s pulse pounded in her ears as she stood trapped inside that luminous cage, caught between the priestess’s grip and the hostile stares of her friends.

The heavy double doors slammed shut behind them with a resonant thud, sealing the High Priestess’s chambers off from the rest of the hall.

The sudden silence that followed felt almost hostile.

Irielle stood frozen for a heartbeat, her expression stiff. Lysera, however, was already glaring at the closed doors as if she could burn a hole straight through them.

"That woman—!"

Lysera bit out, fists clenching at her sides.

"She’s protecting Kana. You know she’s not going to let us hover around her without a reason."

Irielle said, her tone even but her eyes sharp.

"Protecting? From what?That’s not protection. That’s isolation."

Lysera snapped back, stepping away from the door. Her boots clicked sharply against the polished stone floor as she turned toward the corridor.

"And isolation makes Kana more vulnerable, not less."

Irielle’s gaze softened, but only slightly. She followed in silence for a few steps before finally speaking.

"If we push too hard, Jenna will tighten the walls around her. We need a different approach."

Lysera stopped in the middle of the hallway, her frustration simmering under the surface.

"You mean waiting? While others are already moving against her?"

The words hung between them like a blade.

Irielle tilted her head slightly, meeting Lysera’s eyes.

"I mean... choosing a fight we can win. If we rush in recklessly, we can hurt Kana as well."

Her voice was calm, but the undertone was clear—this wasn’t surrender, only strategy.

Lysera’s jaw tightened. She turned away again, but her shoulders had lost some of their rigidity.

"Fine. But if something happens to Kana..."

"It won’t. Because we’ll be ready."

Irielle said, cutting her off before the thought could finish.

Outside the High Priestess’s wing, the air felt different—less refined, less guarded. The faint hum of whispered gossip followed them, like a reminder that every move here was being watched.

Lysera exhaled slowly, forcing herself to keep walking.

Irielle’s eyes scanned the passing attendants and robed priests, her mind already turning over possibilities.

The High Priestess had made her position clear, but so had the people lurking in the shadows.

If Jenna thought she could keep them away from Kana entirely, she was mistaken.

They had been thrown out—yes. But that didn’t mean they were gone.

Lysera’s voice trailed off into a tense silence, her arms crossed as she stared at the closed doors of the High Priestess’s wing.

The sting of being dismissed without even a proper explanation still burned in her chest.

Irielle shifted beside her, restless, her gaze darting to the guarded corridor as if expecting it to suddenly open.

Neither of them noticed the faint shuffle from the far end of the hall—at least, not until Evaya moved.

She had been sitting in the shadows near a narrow alcove, so quiet and still that her presence was almost forgotten.

Now, she rose with deliberate calm, brushing a hand over her skirt as if shaking off dust that wasn’t there.

Her eyes, sharp and unreadable, flicked between the two of them before she stepped forward.

The sound of her boots against the stone floor was soft, yet it drew both Lysera’s and Irielle’s attention instantly.

"You both seem... impatient."

Evaya remarked lightly, though there was an edge beneath her tone. She didn’t wait for them to answer, glancing instead toward the guarded doors.

"Patience will keep you from making mistakes here. And mistakes... have a way of spreading."

Her gaze lingered just long enough to feel like a warning before she looked away again.