Chapter 713 A Trace Of Liam

Irina stood up and turned toward the window, her eyes settling on the darkening sky outside. The rain had finally begun to ease, leaving behind a dampness that clung to the rooftops and the narrow streets of Elaris. The last traces of daylight were disappearing behind the distant mountains, and the village was slowly preparing to surrender itself to another night. From where she stood, she could see a few villagers returning to their homes, carrying baskets and pulling their doors shut against the lingering chill. Everything looked ordinary, almost peaceful, but Irina knew better than to trust that appearance. Beneath the quiet streets and familiar houses lay fifteen years of secrets, and somewhere in that darkness, Liam was waiting for her to find him.

She glanced toward Voss, who was still standing beside the table, visibly energized by the possibility that they had finally discovered a lead. "Voss, I need you to move out tonight," she said, her voice firm enough to immediately draw his attention. "Use your disguise. Your suit makes you move faster, doesn’t it?"

Voss nodded without hesitation. "Yes. The Veil enhances my movement, and it gives me much better vision in darkness. I can move through the village without drawing attention to myself, and most people won’t even realize I’m there." His expression grew serious as he considered what Irina was asking. "If Eldric really has an underground shelter somewhere, I should be able to search places that would normally go unnoticed. I can inspect the ground, the walls, the abandoned structures, and anything else that seems unusual."

"Good." Irina turned away from the window and faced him directly. "I want you to search the entire town. Every nook and cranny, every abandoned building, every field, every place where the ground looks uneven. Look for anything that resembles a concealed entrance, recently disturbed soil, stones that don’t belong where they are, or marks suggesting that someone has been digging. Don’t assume something is unimportant just because it looks ordinary. If Eldric has been working underground for years, he must have left some kind of trace somewhere."

Voss listened carefully, memorizing each instruction. "And if I find something?"

"Mark the location. Make sure you can find it again, but don’t enter anything suspicious until you know what you’re dealing with." Irina paused, her eyes narrowing. "If Eldric really has Liam, I don’t want you stumbling into another trap. Our priority is finding where he’s being held. We can deal with the rest afterward."

Voss nodded. "Understood."

He crossed the room and approached the table, where his blue suit had been carefully placed. Even without wearing it, the Cryovail Veil seemed to carry an unnatural chill, and a faint shimmer moved across its surface when the fading light touched it. Voss picked it up and examined it briefly, his expression hardening as he thought about the man he had spent ten years investigating. For most of his life, he had believed his greatest challenge would be finding enough evidence to expose Eldric. Now, the situation had become far more personal. Liam had risked himself to uncover the truth, and Voss refused to let that sacrifice become meaningless.

He pulled the suit on, fastening its components and securing the mask over his face. Within moments, the young man who had been standing beside the table disappeared beneath the blue material. The air around him seemed to grow colder, and the outlines of his body began blending with the surrounding darkness. Then he stepped toward the door.

"I’ll find something," Voss promised.

Irina gave him a brief nod. "Be careful."

Voss slipped outside and disappeared into the evening, leaving behind only the faintest stir of cold air. Irina watched the doorway for a moment before closing it. She could only hope that his search would produce something useful before their time ran out. Every passing minute brought them closer to Eldric’s deadline, and she had no intention of allowing that man to decide Liam’s fate.

Behind her, Mira had remained quiet throughout the conversation. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, watching Irina with an expression that combined gratitude with uncertainty. She wanted to help, but the truth was that she knew very little about the secrets Eldric had kept from her. The few memories she had shared were all she could offer, and she worried that they would not be enough.

"What do we do now?" Mira finally asked.

Irina turned toward her. "You stay with me."

Mira blinked. "With you?"

"Yes. Wherever I go, you go with me." Irina walked closer, then leaned against the edge of the table. "We don’t know what that sick psychopath has planned for you. Now that he knows you’ve escaped, I doubt he’ll simply forget about you. He might try to take you back himself, or he could send someone to look for you. Until we know what he’s doing, I don’t want you wandering around alone."

Mira nodded slowly. She understood the concern, and the thought of encountering Eldric again sent an unpleasant chill down her spine. Even after being rescued, she had not completely escaped the fear he had planted inside her over the years. Sometimes, a creaking floorboard was enough to make her look toward the door. A sudden sound outside could leave her holding her breath, waiting for footsteps she hoped she would never hear again.

Yet something about Irina’s answer still bothered her.

She looked around the room, then toward the darkening window. "But what are we going to do?"

Irina opened her mouth.

Then she stopped.

It was only a brief hesitation, but Mira noticed it immediately. She had spent years learning to recognize the small changes in a person’s behavior that came before they said something important. Irina’s expression had barely changed, yet her silence told Mira that there was something she was not willing to say.

Mira’s brows furrowed.

"Hold on." She leaned forward slightly. "Are you holding back because of me?"

Irina did not answer.

She remained standing beside the table, her gaze lowered as though she were studying something on the wooden surface. Her silence stretched between them, and the longer it lasted, the more certain Mira became that she had guessed correctly.

Mira sighed.

"Irina, please."

Irina lifted her eyes.

"You don’t have to pretend everything is fine just because I’m here," Mira continued. "I know what kind of situation we’re in. Liam is missing, Eldric has threatened to kill him, and we only have twenty-four hours to find him. I understand that."

She paused, her fingers tightening around one another.

"I don’t want you to lose him because you’re worried about me."

Irina’s expression softened slightly, but she still said nothing.

Mira looked toward the window. Outside, the village was growing darker, and the last few people on the street were beginning to disappear into their homes. "I can hide here," she said quietly. "Don’t worry about me. Eldric might be frightening, but he has no cultivation anymore. You told me that yourself. He can’t simply sense me from a distance or use his old powers to find me."

She looked back at Irina.

"And if he does come here, I can hide somewhere inside. You don’t need to keep me beside you every second."

Irina studied her carefully.

There was something almost heartbreaking about how quickly Mira had offered to make herself smaller, to become less of a burden, even after everything she had endured. Seven years of imprisonment had taught her to put other people’s needs before her own, to accept whatever was demanded of her, and to believe that her freedom could always be sacrificed for someone else’s benefit.

Irina hated that.

She hated what Eldric had done to her, and she hated the possibility that Mira might never fully understand that she was allowed to protect herself without feeling guilty.

Still, the situation was desperate.

Liam was missing, and the twenty-four-hour deadline was ticking away. Voss would need time to search the village, and if Eldric had hidden Liam underground, every minute spent waiting could make their task more difficult. Irina needed to investigate the surroundings herself. She needed to look for clues, follow whatever trails she could find, and determine whether Eldric had left something behind that might lead her to Liam.

She could not do all of that while keeping Mira within arm’s reach.

Irina finally stepped forward and placed a hand on Mira’s shoulder.

"Girl," she said, her voice gentler than before, "hide here and wait for me until morning