They walked through the dimly lit streets of Veyna, the echoes of their footsteps bouncing off the stone walls. The evening air was cool, but Corin barely felt it. His mind was still caught in the fight, in the ravens, in the way she had looked at him.
The most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
She was about his age, maybe a little older, though something in her presence made it feel like she was beyond his years. Her shimmering pink eyes flickered with amusement as she strolled ahead, unfazed by the battle they had just left behind. She walked with effortless grace, her black dress hugging her form, the smooth fabric flowing with each step.
She was pretty small. He was atleast an entire head above her. High heels clicked against the cobblestone, impossibly steady even after the chaos of the night. Black stockings traced the curves of her legs, disappearing beneath the hem of her dress. Her hands, still gloved in sleek leather, swung lazily at her sides as if this was just another evening stroll.
Corin felt like he should say something, but the words stuck in his throat.
She must have sensed it because she glanced over her shoulder, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.
"So, do you have a name, raven boy?"
"…Corin."
She waited, as if expecting something more.
When nothing came, she raised an eyebrow.
"Just Corin?"
He nodded.
"I don't have a last name."
Her expression flickered, maybe out of curiosity, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.
"Corin, then," she mused, as if testing the name on her tongue. Then, with a small flourish, she placed a gloved hand on her chest.
"I am Viviana."
Just Viviana. No title, no explanation.
Something about it felt deliberate.
Corin's gaze lingered on her, thoughtful. He wanted to ask something.
"Are you a Path Bearer?"
She laughed softly, a sound like silk sliding over steel.
"Now that's an interesting first question."
"You mentioned those men were Path Bearers… Rank 3." He hesitated. "And Path Ambassadors?"
She slowed her steps slightly, turning to face him as she walked backward.
"Oh? You don't know?"
He shook his head.
Her lips curled into a teasing smirk.
"A Path Ambassador is someone chosen by a constellation to represent them. Think of them as envoys. They inhabit the second lowest rank in the Path Hierarchy. The ones we fought were Rank 3, meaning they weren't just messengers; they were more dangerous."
She tilted her head, watching his reaction.
Corin absorbed the information silently.
"And you?"
Viviana grinned.
"Oh, I'm much worse."
Something in the way she said it, playful, but edged with truth sent a chill down his spine.
She turned back around, leading the way through the city streets, her heels tapping a steady rhythm.
Corin exhaled slowly, glancing up.
The ravens were still watching.
And he had a feeling that wherever Viviana was taking him… things were only going to get stranger.
They walked for a long time. Longer than Corin had expected.
Through the winding, narrow streets of the slums, past the damp stone alleys where lanterns barely cast their light. He knew these streets well, the uneven cobblestones, the scent of burning wood and unwashed bodies, the occasional glint of a knife in the dark. But as they walked, the air changed.
The slums faded into wider roads, where buildings weren't stacked so tightly together. The houses here were sturdier, made of solid wood and stone rather than patched-together scraps. Fewer people loitered in the streets. The smell of fresh bread and burning torches replaced the stench of damp rot and sewage.
Middle-class.
Corin had been through these areas before. Not often, but enough to know that the people here walked differently, with heads held higher and their steps less cautious. The marketplace was cleaner, the guards actually did their jobs, and the air didn't feel so heavy.
But they didn't stop.
Viviana led him forward, her pace never slowing. She was in no hurry, but she was taking him somewhere specific. And the further they walked, the more Corin felt like he didn't belong here.
Then he saw it.
The change was subtle at first. The streets widened further, the buildings turned to elegant townhouses with carved wooden doors and metal lanterns that flickered with a steady glow. The stone roads were polished, the people well-dressed and moving with effortless grace. Even the air smelled different and clean, laced with the scent of flowers and perfumed oils.
A noble's district.
Not that he had ever been in one.
Corin's shoulders tensed instinctively.
The eyes of the city guards lingered on him a little too long. He wasn't dressed for this place: worn boots, simple dark clothes, no sign of wealth or status. A shadow in a world of gold.
He clenched his fists.
If they stopped him, if they tried to throw him out…
"Relax."
Viviana's voice was smooth, amused.
He looked at her. She hadn't even turned to face him, but she had noticed. Of course, she had.
"You're with me."
And just like that, he felt it.
The shift in how people looked at him. Not as an intruder, not as someone who had stumbled into the wrong part of the city.
But as someone… accompanying her.
Viviana walked through this place as if she owned it. As if the very stones beneath her heels were meant to carry her forward. She didn't slow down, didn't hesitate. And that confidence alone was enough to make others step aside.
Corin exhaled slowly, forcing himself to loosen his hands.
Still, a single thought burned in his mind as they passed under the ornate archway of the noble district:
'What the hell am I doing here?'
The longer they walked, the more he noticed a small difference…
'She doesn't seem like someone who searches for power, but rather is already a part of it. But something still seems off.'
Corin has had his chances to see high-ranking nobles before and how even other nobles treated them. A strict hierarchy. That's what it was.
'The people here don't bow too deeply. Just enough to show their acknowledgment.'
"Who are you really, Viviana?"
But then they stopped before a huge estate.
The moment Corin saw the crest, his steps faltered.
A rose, crowned with silver thorns. Elegant, refined, but unmistakable.
His stomach tightened.
'No way!'
He lifted his gaze, following the iron-wrought gate up to the estate beyond it. It wasn't the gaudy, overdecorated monstrosity he had expected from nobility. No gold-plated doors, no ostentatious statues screaming for attention.
It was refined. Understated. Yet undeniably powerful. Dark stone walls lined with lanterns, tall windows reflecting the moonlight, a sprawling courtyard framed by manicured hedges. Every inch of it whispered of quiet authority.
And it belonged to them.
The Virellis.
One of the two biggest mafia families in the Council.
Corin clenched his jaw. His fists. His very thoughts.
His whole life, he had learned to avoid people like this, the ones who owned the city in ways no king ever could. The ones who moved the pieces on the board while others thought they were playing the game.
And she…
"Welcome to the Virelli Quarter."
She turned to him with a knowing smile, eyes glittering under the courtyard lights.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
She knew this would shock him. She had led him here without a single warning, and now she was watching his reaction like a cat playing with a cornered mouse.
"What, no clever remark?"
She was teasing him as they stepped through the open gate.
"I thought you had questions, Corin."
Corin forced his feet to move, following her inside. The moment he crossed the threshold, he felt it.
The air was different here.
And if you weren't one of them, you'd better remember that.
The estate was just as refined inside as it was outside.
The entrance hall was wide, with polished floors that reflected the glow of the chandeliers. A grand staircase curved upward, lined with a silver railing carved in swirling patterns. The scent of aged wood and faint incense lingered in the air.
And the artwork.
Paintings, sculptures, intricate tapestries, everywhere. Not the kind flaunted by new money nobles desperate to prove their wealth, but carefully chosen pieces, each with a story behind them.
Corin wasn't an art expert, but even he could tell some of these were old. Expensive beyond reason.
A few people passed by, servants, most likely, but they barely spared him a glance. Either they had already been informed of his presence, or strangers weren't uncommon here.
Viviana walked with ease, her heels clicking against the floor.
"Something wrong?"
Corin exhaled sharply through his nose.
"You could've told me who you really were."
She laughed softly.
"I did. My name is Viviana. That is who I am."
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Viviana Virelli."
"Oh, so now you're interested in my last name?"
She smirked.
"And here I thought you didn't have one either."
Corin tensed at that. She was sharp. Too sharp.
She didn't push further, though. Instead, she stopped near a tall marble statue of a woman with a sword, her pose regal yet hauntingly solemn.
Viviana turned to him fully, one hand on her hip.
"So, tell me, Corin…" She tilted her head.
"Are you still coming along? Or are you about to turn and run?"