The Undermarket felt colder than before.

  Sable’s words hung in the air like a half-solved equation, the missing variables twisting in my mind.

  Eldric Varos—the royal court magician—was after the Forbidden Grimoire.

  But he couldn’t just take it. Not yet.

  The Forbidden Grimoire was locked away in Vault Theta, the highest-security archive in Velmathis, the neutral kingdom. It had been sealed for centuries, untouched because—

  No one could understand it.

  It wasn’t just written in an unknown language. The very structure of its magic was an unsolved theorem—a puzzle that no mage, scholar, or alchemist had ever cracked.

  And the only way to even open it?

  You needed to wield Axion Magic—a form of mathemagical energy derived from the High-Level Grimoire.

  Which meant one thing.

  Varos wasn’t just collecting grimoires.

  He was trying to complete the equation.

  "This is bigger than we thought," Lena muttered.

  "Way bigger," Ryn agreed. "And way above our pay grade."

  I ran a hand through my hair, forcing my thoughts to align.

  Varos had one of the High-Level Grimoires, either from the human kingdom or the demon kingdom. He wouldn’t need both—just one would be enough to unlock Axion Magic.

  And once he did, he’d have the key to the Forbidden Grimoire.

  Which meant we were already running out of time.

  "We have two options," I said. "We stop him before he gets to Velmathis—"

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Or we get there first," Lena finished.

  Ryn let out a low chuckle. "Oh, yeah. That sounds easy."

  "It’s not supposed to be easy," I shot back. "It’s supposed to be possible."

  Sable, still flipping that damn coin between her fingers, finally spoke.

  "You’re assuming you can even get into Vault Theta."

  I frowned.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean," she said, tossing the coin in the air, "Velmathis doesn’t trust outsiders. At all. You can’t just walk into the vault and expect them to hand you the grimoire. Hell, even if you had a kingdom’s backing, it’d take years to get permission."

  "So what are you saying?" Lena asked.

  Sable caught the coin and grinned.

  "I’m saying, if you want that book…" She leaned in, eyes glinting in the lantern light.

  "You’ll have to steal it."

  "Just to be clear," Ryn said, adjusting his coat as we walked through the crowded streets of Solmaris, "our new plan is to break into the most heavily guarded archive in the neutral kingdom?"

  "That about sums it up," I muttered.

  "Fantastic."

  Lena, walking ahead, turned back to us. "It’s our only shot. If Varos gets there first, the entire world is screwed."

  I exhaled. She wasn’t wrong.

  We needed to leave now, before the kingdom’s forces closed in.

  We were already wanted for the Valcairn heist. If we stayed in Solmaris any longer, the city watch, bounty hunters, and maybe even kingdom-sanctioned mages would be on us.

  We needed a way out.

  "How fast can we reach Velmathis?" I asked.

  Lena frowned. "Fastest route is through the Silverwood Pass. A week if we ride hard."

  "And if we don’t take the fastest route?"

  Ryn smirked. "Two weeks. If we’re lucky."

  We weren’t lucky.

  We barely made it to the stables.

  By the time we reached the outer district, the city watch had doubled their patrols. Posters with our faces were pasted on nearly every wall, some with magically shifting ink to prevent disguises.

  Solmaris wanted us dead or alive—preferably the first option.

  "They’re moving faster than expected," Lena muttered as we ducked into an alley.

  "Yeah, no kidding," Ryn whispered, peering around the corner. "We’re not getting out of here clean."

  And he was right.

  The east gate was locked down, guards posted at every exit. Any attempt to leave would be suicide.

  We needed another way.

  "Underground tunnels," I said.

  Lena looked at me. "Are you serious?"

  "Do you have a better idea?"

  Ryn grinned. "Oh, I like this one."

  Solmaris was old. Older than its rulers, older than its walls. Beneath its streets, there was a network of tunnels, relics of an ancient city buried under layers of stone. Most had collapsed, but some still remained.

  And one of them led outside the city walls.

  The trick was finding it before the city watch found us.

  We moved fast, cutting through abandoned alleys and forgotten courtyards, making our way toward the old merchant quarter.

  But just as we reached the hidden entrance--

  "Halt!"

  A group of six guards blocked our path, weapons drawn.

  Shit.

  "We don’t have time for this," Lena growled.

  "Then we make time," Ryn said, reaching for his blades.

  No choice, then.

  We fought.

  The battle was quick, brutal, and messy.

  Lena’s daggers struck first, disabling the nearest two before they could even react.

  Ryn moved like a shadow, cutting through the air, his sword finding gaps in the armor with surgical precision.

  I wasn’t as fast—but I didn’t need to be.

  A quick calculation, a sharp breath—

  I channeled mathemagic, crafting an equation mid-motion, adjusting for weight, force, and velocity. The result?

  A perfectly aimed shockwave.

  The remaining guards hit the ground, unconscious.

  We didn’t stay to admire our work.

  We ran.

  The tunnel led us outside the eastern walls, emerging into a dense forest.

  We barely had time to catch our breath before Lena turned to me.

  "We need to move. Now."

  She was right.

  Varos was ahead of us.

  Velmathis was far.

  And we had just burned every bridge behind us.

  I exhaled. "Then let’s go."

  We saddled up and rode into the night.

  Because if we didn’t reach Vault Theta before Varos…

  The world would never be the same again.