Chapter 18: Secrets Unveiled
The office felt different after that night. Adrian sat at his desk, pretending to focus on reports, but his mind kept replaying the fight in the alley — the hunter's glowing eyes, the clash of Qi, and Leah standing beside him, her aura unmistakably golden.
She wasn't ordinary. The pendant had been right.
Leah moved through the office like nothing had happened. She laughed with coworkers, jotted notes during meetings, and teased Adrian about his slow typing. But every time their eyes met, there was a weight between them. A silence filled with questions neither had asked.
By evening, Adrian couldn't take it anymore. He found her in the break room, pouring coffee. "We need to talk," he said quietly.
Leah glanced at him, her smile fading. "Yeah. We do."
They left the office together, walking through the crowded streets until they found a quiet corner near a closed bookstore. Adrian shoved his hands into his pockets, pendant warm against his chest.
"You're not ordinary," he said finally.
Leah sighed, leaning against the wall. "Neither are you."
The words hit harder than he expected. He wanted to deny it, to keep pretending, but there was no point. She had seen him fight. She had seen the pendant flare.
"What are you?" Adrian asked.
Leah studied him for a moment, then spoke. "I'm… like you. A cultivator. Not strong, not famous, not part of a sect. Just someone who stumbled into this world and learned to survive."
Adrian's chest tightened. "And the pendant? Why does it react to you?"
Leah shook her head. "I don't know. But relics have their own will. Maybe it recognizes me. Maybe it's warning you. Or maybe it's just reminding you that you're not alone."
Silence hung between them. Adrian wanted to believe her, but Elias's warning echoed in his mind: "Trust is risk. Isolation is death. Learn to tell the difference."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Adrian asked.
Leah's eyes hardened. "Because trust gets people killed. I've seen it. I've lived it. You don't just tell someone you're a cultivator. You wait. You watch. You see if they're worth the risk."
Adrian swallowed hard. "And now?"
Leah's gaze softened. "Now I think you are."
The pendant pulsed faintly, steady and calm. Adrian felt the warmth spread through his chest, grounding him. For the first time, he didn't feel completely alone.
But trust was heavy. Dangerous. Necessary.
Adrian took a deep breath. "There's someone else. A man named Elias. He's been helping me. Teaching me control."
Leah raised an eyebrow. "You trust him?"
"I don't know," Adrian admitted. "But he saved me. And he warned me. Without him, I'd probably be dead."
Leah nodded slowly. "Then maybe you're luckier than most. Most fledglings don't get mentors. They get hunted."
Adrian thought of the alley fights, the blood, the warnings. He thought of Marco, of the lies he kept telling, of the weight of secrecy pressing down on him.
"I don't want to drag anyone into this," he said quietly. "But I can't keep doing it alone."
Leah stepped closer, her voice steady. "Then don't. You've got me now. And maybe Elias. That's more than most cultivators start with."
The pendant pulsed again, brighter this time, as if agreeing. Adrian felt the warmth spread through him, steady and calm.
He met Leah's gaze, the silence between them shifting. It wasn't suspicion anymore. It was something else. Something like trust.
"Alright," Adrian said finally. "We'll face this together."
Leah smiled, faint but genuine. "Good. Because the hunters won't stop. And if they're coming for you, they're coming for me too."
Adrian clenched his fists, whispering to himself. "Then we'll be ready."
The city roared around them, neon lights flickering, shadows stretching. Adrian Reyes stood at the edge of trust, battered but unbroken, no longer alone.