The Black Dagger, Docked at Raxis Trade Hub
Year 9783 C.C. – Six Days After the Trial
*****
Juno Reyes prided herself on never making stupid decisions.
Saving Kael Veyrin might've been the dumbest thing she had ever done.
She leaned against the ship's hull, arms crossed, watching as Kael disappeared into the chaos of Raxis Trade Hub.
'He doesn't belong here.'
He moved like a noble—too measured, too controlled, like he still thought the world operated on rules. That was going to get him killed.
And yet, she had saved him anyway.
Why?
Juno sighed, pulling out a small data slate from her jacket. She tapped a command, bringing up the latest private bounty listings.
No record of Kael. No Dominion-issued kill order.
That wasn't just rare—it was impossible.
The Dominion didn't just exile nobles. They erased them.
And yet, Kael Veyrin still existed.
*****
A soft beep from her communicator pulled her out of her thoughts. A private transmission.
Juno frowned. Only a handful of people had this frequency.
She stepped deeper into the cargo bay and answered.
A voice—low, mechanical, distorted.
"You made a mistake, Reyes."
Juno's muscles tensed. "That depends. Which one are we talking about?"
A pause. Then:
"The exile. Let him go."
Her grip on the communicator tightened. "That's interesting, considering the Dominion hasn't even put a bounty on him."
The voice remained cold. "Because they don't need to. The moment he becomes a problem, he will cease to exist. Do not get in the way of that."
Juno smirked, though her pulse was steady. "And what if I'm already in the way?"
Another pause.
Then, the signal cut off.
Juno stood there for a long moment, jaw clenched.
'Shit.'
She had been in this game long enough to recognize a warning.
Not from the Dominion. Not even from The Echelon.
Something else was watching Kael Veyrin.
*****
Juno wasn't a hero. She was a survivor.
She had gotten this far by following three simple rules:
Never trust anyone who says they don't lie. Always get paid first. If something looks like a trap, it probably is.
Kael was looking more and more like a walking trap.
And yet, she hadn't cut him loose.
She exhaled sharply, flipping the communicator in her palm. There was still time. She could let him go, leave him to whatever fate the void had in store for him.
But something about this didn't sit right.
Juno had seen men marked for death before. Bounty targets. War criminals. Traitors.
Kael wasn't any of those things.
'So why does someone want him gone so badly?'
And more importantly—why were they afraid of him?
Juno sighed, shaking her head. Maybe she was making a mistake. Maybe this would get her killed.
But for now?
She wasn't going anywhere.
Not until she figured out who was really hunting Kael Veyrin.
*****