Chapter 1 – The Storm Bringer
The wind screamed through the steel bones of the Skybridge, a massive network of suspended walkways connecting the twin cities of Halveth and Norwyn. To anyone else, it was just a particularly bad night to be out. To Kael Veyra, it was the perfect time to disappear.
Kael darted between shadows, clutching the small silver capsule against his chest. It was warm — almost alive. Each heartbeat felt like a countdown.
Behind him, the city guard’s whistles sliced through the rain.
“You there! Stop!”
He didn’t stop.
His boots hit the slippery metal panels, his breath coming in white bursts. Below, the abyss yawned — a hundred meters down to the black, churning waters of the Rift River.
A figure stepped from the mist ahead, blocking the path.
A girl.
Kael skidded to a halt, his mind racing. She wasn’t wearing a guard’s armor — instead, a long maroon coat whipped in the wind, her hood shadowing her face. But the glint of the twin sabers at her hips told him she was dangerous.
“Hand over the capsule,” she said, her voice low and steady.
Kael tightened his grip. “Not yours.”
“It isn’t yours either,” she replied, stepping closer. “That thing will burn through your chest before dawn if you don’t give it to me.”
Lightning flared, revealing her face. She was maybe his age — seventeen, eighteen — with sharp amber eyes that seemed to measure him.
“I don’t even know you,” Kael said.
“Good,” she answered. “Makes it easier.”
And then she drew her sabers.
----------------------------------------
Chapter 2 – Sparks and Rain
Kael ducked as steel hissed above his head. He leapt back, the capsule still pressed to his chest, and tried to find an escape route. The girl moved like lightning, her sabers blurring in arcs of silver.
“I’m not here to kill you,” she said between strikes. “But if you force me—”
“I’d believe that,” Kael said, dodging again, “if you weren’t currently trying to slice me in half!”
The Skybridge trembled as another gust hit. Rain blinded them both, but neither slowed down.
Kael spotted a narrow maintenance ladder leading down the side of the bridge. Without thinking, he dashed toward it. But just as he reached the edge, a saber embedded itself in the metal railing, blocking his way.
The girl yanked it free. “You’re running from the wrong person. The real threat is coming.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Kael snapped, swinging himself onto the ladder. He descended three rungs before a deafening crack tore the night apart.
The capsule in his hand glowed white-hot, pulsing like a heart about to burst.
----------------------------------------
Chapter 3 – The Skyfall
The storm above twisted unnaturally, clouds forming a spiraling eye. Lightning struck again — not white this time, but deep violet.
Something broke through the clouds.
Kael froze halfway down the ladder, his mouth going dry. It was… enormous. A shape of jagged wings and a long, whip-like tail. Its eyes burned like two miniature suns.
The girl was already moving. She leapt onto the ladder just below him, grabbed his collar, and hauled him down faster than gravity could. The moment they hit the maintenance platform beneath the bridge, the creature’s talons tore through the metal walkway where Kael had just been.
“What—what is that thing?!” he shouted over the roar.
“Storm Bringer,” the girl said, pulling him into a maintenance tunnel. “And unless you want to be lightning-charred bait, you’ll shut up and follow me.”
Kael didn’t argue.
----------------------------------------
Chapter 4 – Safehouse
They burst into a dimly lit chamber deep inside the bridge’s understructure. The air smelled of rust and oil. The girl slammed the steel door shut and bolted it.
Kael slumped against the wall, still clutching the capsule. “You gonna tell me what’s going on?”
The girl threw back her hood. “Name’s Lyra. I’m a Runner for the Skyguard. That thing you’re holding? It’s a heart.”
“A… heart?”
“Not a human one,” she clarified. “It’s the Heart of the Skyfall — stolen from the Storm Bringer three nights ago. Whoever has it controls the creature.”
Kael’s stomach knotted. “And the people chasing me—”
“Work for someone who wants to level both cities,” Lyra finished. “If they get the Heart back to the Bringer, the whole Skybridge will come down.”
Kael glanced at the capsule. “I didn’t steal it. I just… found it.”
Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Sure you did.”
----------------------------------------
Chapter 5 – Uneasy Alliance
An hour later, Kael sat at a small metal table while Lyra worked on her comm device. She had a focused intensity that reminded him of the mechanics in Halveth’s shipyards.
“So,” he said slowly, “why not just take the Heart from me and deliver it yourself?”
Lyra didn’t look up. “Because the moment I touch it, the Bringer will sense me. My orders were to track it, not hold it.”
“So I’m bait.”
“You’re holding bait,” she corrected.
Kael ran a hand through his damp hair. “Great. I’m a lightning rod and a target.”
Lyra’s device beeped, and she frowned. “The guards are closing in. We’ll have to move.”
Kael hesitated, then said, “You saved me back there. Thanks.”
Her eyes softened briefly. “Don’t thank me yet.”
----------------------------------------
Chapter 6 – Skyguard’s Shadow
They moved through the maintenance tunnels, avoiding patrols. The storm outside hadn’t let up, but the unnatural violet lightning had vanished — for now.
“Why do you even care?” Kael asked as they climbed another ladder. “About the bridge, the cities?”
Lyra glanced down at him. “Because I grew up in Norwyn. My little brother’s still there. And I’m not letting some lunatic drop him into the Rift.”
Kael swallowed. He’d lost his sister to a collapsed tower in Halveth when he was twelve. He understood.
They emerged into a storage bay lit by swaying overhead lamps. At the far end, a man in a black coat stood with his back to them.
“Friend of yours?” Kael asked quietly.
Lyra’s eyes narrowed. “Not even close.”
The man turned, revealing a pale, angular face and a single golden monocle. “Miss Lyra. And… the thief.”
“I’m not a thief,” Kael muttered.
The man smiled coldly. “Give me the Heart, and you can walk away.”
“Not happening,” Lyra said, drawing her sabers.
----------------------------------------
Chapter 7 – Monocle’s Game
The man’s coat shifted — and from beneath it, metallic tendrils snaked outward, each tipped with a blade or claw.
Kael’s instincts screamed at him to run, but Lyra had already launched forward. Sparks flew as her sabers clashed with the man’s mechanical limbs.
“Go!” she shouted. “Get to the east hatch!”
Kael bolted — but one of the tendrils lashed out, coiling around his ankle. He crashed to the floor, the capsule rolling from his grip.
The man stepped over him, reaching for the Heart.
“Such a pity,” Monocle said softly. “You could have lived.”
A gunshot cracked through the bay. The man staggered back, one tendril severed. Lyra stood between them, breathing hard, her left arm bleeding.
“Run, Kael!”
----------------------------------------
Chapter 8 – The Leap
Kael didn’t think. He snatched up the capsule and sprinted for the hatch Lyra had pointed out. Behind him, the clash of steel and metal rang out, punctuated by the occasional hiss of pain.
The hatch opened onto the outer bridge again — the storm now a frenzy of wind and rain. And through the clouds, the Storm Bringer was coming back.
Kael’s chest burned where the capsule touched his skin. The thing inside it wanted to return to the creature. He could feel it.
Lyra burst through the hatch behind him, shoving the hatch closed. Her hair was plastered to her face, but her eyes were blazing. “We have to jump.”
Kael blinked. “Jump?! That’s a hundred meters down!”
“Better than being fried alive. There’s a salvage skiff below. Trust me.”
The Bringer roared, a sound that shook Kael’s bones. Lightning lit the world violet.
He met Lyra’s gaze. “If we die—”
“We won’t.”
They jumped.
----------------------------------------
Chapter 9 – Rift Current
The fall was a blur of wind and rain until they hit the water. The shock ripped Kael’s breath away. He fought to surface, the Heart still clutched in his fist.
Lyra was already swimming toward a small, rusted skiff bobbing near one of the bridge’s support columns. They clambered aboard, coughing and shivering.
Above, the Bringer’s massive shadow circled the bridge.
“We need to get to the Skyguard dock,” Lyra said, starting the skiff’s small engine.
Kael collapsed onto the deck. “Next time, maybe just… I don’t know… a normal evening?”
She smirked faintly. “Where’s the fun in that?”
-----–----------------------------------
Chapter 10 – The Sky Between Us
Hours later, the storm had faded to a drizzle. The skiff glided toward the glowing spires of Norwyn. Kael sat at the bow, watching the capsule pulse gently in his hands.
“You really think we can stop them?” he asked.
Lyra joined him, leaning on the railing. “Not alone. But there are others who will fight.”
Kael looked at her. “Then I guess I’m in.”
“You guess?”
He smiled faintly. “Alright. I’m in.”
The Bringer’s distant roar echoed from the clouds. Kael tightened his grip on the Heart.
Whatever was coming, they’d face it together.
----------------------------------------
End — Book One
