Rell hit the rooftops hard, his boots skimming tiles and chimneys as he leapt from building to building.

  Each jump strained his legs, the elf girl wrapped tight in one arm as he kept her safe mid-sprint.

  Behind him, Thessia closed the distance — faster than she looked. Her footfalls were silent but furious.

  Every time she got close, Rell swung the flat of a broken pole arm he’d picked up from a fruit cart.

  She ducked it. Flipped sideways. Cartwheeled off the corner of a roof. Landed beside him again.

  "You’re pretty quick for a cloak boy," she growled, clearly enjoying the chase more than she should’ve.

  Rell didn’t answer. He just jumped again — this time vaulting clear over a gap wide enough to make the elf girl gasp. They landed hard on a clay-shingled inn roof and kept going.

  Thessia tapped her boots mid-air and whispered something under her breath. Magic rippled through her limbs.

  *Body Enchant: Gale Pulse.*

  Her arms and legs lit with wind-light glyphs as her speed kicked up another tier. She was on him again.

  "No more hide-and-cloak."

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  She pulled her arm back and flung a circular weapon — a glowing metal ring shaped like a twin-bladed disc.

  It sailed through the air with a low hum, ricocheted off a water spout, pinged against a market bell, and looped back toward Rell like a boomerang made of vengeance.

  He ducked — barely. The edge grazed his hood and clipped a strand of hair.

  As he flipped over it, Thessia caught up — and kicked him square in the ribs.

  *CRASH!*

  They slammed into a street vendor’s canopy, crushing it in a storm of fabric, spice jars, and startled pigeons.

  Rell grunted, shielding the elf girl as he hit the ground, rolled, and stood up again.

  **Rell’s thought:** “This girl getting on my nerves.”

  Thessia landed in front of him, sweat glistening across her cheekbone, scarf fluttering in the wind.

  They locked eyes. And launched.

  The next exchange wasn’t just a fight — it was movement sculpted into poetry.

  Rell rolled forward, faking a sweep — she vaulted sideways off a merchant cart, came down with a two-foot stomp.

  He dodged again, flipping up and over a low wall, ducking under signage, spinning behind a lamp post.

  She tackled. He twisted. They bounced off walls, kicked off barrels, spun through clotheslines like dueling spirits.

  Pedestrians screamed and ran, but the duo barely touched the ground.

  He caught her wrist. She elbowed his chest.

  She jumped for a heel strike — he caught her ankle and spun, tossing her midair. She landed on one hand, pushed off, and rebounded again.

  They fought across rooftops and archways, down an alley and back onto balconies.

  By the time they stopped — both were panting. Half the sun had fallen behind the city walls.

  They stood across from each other in a narrow street, moonlight barely tracing their outlines.

  “You done?” Thessia huffed.

  Rell didn’t answer. He just looked at her.

  Then, he said: “Church... bad. Trade kids. You... wrong side.”

  The words weren’t perfect. But they hit like thunder.

  Thessia flinched. But just as she readied her stance again —

  *Snap.*

  Her men arrived. Three mercs. They dropped down behind her, dragging someone between them.

  The elf girl. Bound. Gagged. Tear marks on her cheeks.

  "Found her hiding. Dumb kid tried to climb a water tower."

  Thessia glanced at Rell. Then at the girl. She saw the bruises.

  Her brow furrowed — for just a second.

  But she turned away.

  "Mission’s the mission."

  Rell exhaled and dropped to one knee, hands raised. No resistance.

  "We’ll bring him in for judgment,” one of the guards said.

  The cuffs clicked. Magic-sealed.

  Rell glanced at the girl. She looked at him, confused.

  Then Rell smiled.

  **Rell’s thought:** “All according to plan.”