THE UNBROKEN

Everyone took cover.

La Doña's magic exploded in every direction, arcing and crashing against wood, stone, and air alike. Bolts of violet lightning cracked the heavens, striking dangerously close to anyone within range of the Matteo home.

No one dared intervene.

No one could calm the storm.

No one could take this pain away.

Another child. Her child.

Taken. Again.

The Mother of Storms raged.

Wind spiraled violently around her, lifting her dark curls into a halo of glowing chaos. Her spiral scars pulsed furiously beneath her skin. Her eyes, brimming with tears, burned like suns, her mouth open in a scream that sounded like it had torn from the very fabric of her soul.

The sigil on her chest blazed a molten red-gold, searing with every beat of her heart.

No one moved.

Except Niegal.

His body was still sluggish from the sedative, limbs heavy with poison, vision swimming.

But he moved anyway.

He let her lightning hit him, let it pass through him. Jaw clenched, knees nearly buckling from the force. His boots scorched black on the boards beneath him. His arm trembled as he reached through the magic toward her.

"Elena," he said, voice ragged but strong. "You know this won't bring her back!"

She didn't hear him at first. Or maybe she did- but she couldn't stop.

So he stepped closer.

Then closer.

Until he could grip her wrists.

Her hands were trembling violently, searing with violet light. Mana snapped around her like chains breaking.

Niegal held her hands to his chest, his own arms scorched and shaking. "We'll find her," he growled, the fire in his voice barely caged. "And we'll kill them all. I swear it."

The wind howled once more… then began to fade.

The magic around them thinned.

The thunder in the skies softened to a quiet rumble.

The trees swayed instead of snapping. The air settled into a hot, buzzing stillness. The marsh water beneath the stilted walkways calmed to a ripple.

The world paused.

Elena collapsed against him. Her fists balled into his tunic. Her tears hit his chest like acid rain. He held her as tightly as he could without breaking her.

She shook with grief, her body wracked by sobs that wouldn't stop.

Niegal said nothing. But his fury was a living thing. Quiet, heavy, waiting.

Behind the nursery door, Aurora and Alejandro lowered the protection ward, its shimmer hissing away like steam.

They stepped forward slowly, grief etched into every part of their faces.

Then they knelt beside the couple, joining their pain with their own.

Tears streaked Aurora's face as she placed a hand on Elena's shoulder. "Go," she said quietly. Her voice shook, but her eyes didn't. They were full of fire. "We'll handle things here."

Alejandro nodded, one hand resting firmly on her back. "Don't worry about us in the Hold," he added, his voice dark with promise. "Go get our Hope back."

Elena and Niegal turned to one another.

Eyes red. Magic humming under their skin. Hands trembling.

No words were needed.

Their hearts had already sworn it:

We will find her.

And we will kill whoever did this.