The words hit her like a punch to the chest. She gasped, eyes darting to the floor. A cold weight sank into her stomach. “No… no, no,” she whispered.“But that’s a lie, right?” Joyce asked. “You were drunk, but Mother… she seemed to believe you. That’s why she yelled at me when I tried to tell you.”Natalia felt the walls of her mind close in. She had said it. She had said everything, and her mother, Thelma, would absolutely use that. If she hadn’t already. Thelma never did anything halfway. If there was a reward for Nathan’s capture, she would drag him to the noose herself.Natalia’s breath hitched. “I have to see Nathan… and warn him,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.“Natalia?” Joyce called, tapping her shoulder.Natalia turned sharply. “Joyce. You can’t tell Mother you told me, okay?”“Sure. She’d kill me and—”But Natalia was already heading for the door.“Hey!” Joyce called after her. “Where’s the money—”“I’ll send it to your account when I return!” Natalia cal

Midnight cloaked Orilah village in deep stillness. The stars blinked lazily in the sky, while a pale moon hung above, casting silver strokes over the dark rooftops. Crickets chirped softly in the background, but inside the courtyard house, tension hung like smoke.In the far corner of the courtyard, beneath the lantern-lit hallway, the doctor hunched over a low stool, sweat glistening on his wrinkled forehead. His fingers trembled as he poked cautiously at the boxes containing Nathan’s pills. Every attempt had proven fruitless. The seals didn’t budge, the boxes resisted being forced open, and even the sharpest tools failed to make a dent.Across from him, Tarka sat slouched in a wooden armchair. His face was locked in a bitter scowl. His right arm, the one he had used earlier to touch the pill, now hung limp at his side, completely paralyzed. There was no strength, no sensation, just a dead weight that refused to obey him.Inside the in-built cell, Nathan stirred from a light nap. His

Nathan didn’t respond immediately. His mind was a storm of questions, images, and voices. His mother’s face. Her strength. Her death. His own burden.He met her gaze and gave the smallest nod.And just like that, the night air shifted again, not from fear or rage this time, but something deeper.Recognition.He stood in silence for a moment, the cool night air brushing against his skin as the weight of the moment settled around them all. Then Tarka nodded slowly, lowering his gaze like a man humbled before a force he finally understood.“You can go,” Tarka said, his voice almost hoarse.A ripple of surprise ran through everyone present.Nathan rose from the ground in one smooth motion, as if the poison had never touched him. The weakness was gone, vanished like mist under the sun. The Dragonroot Dust, though lethal, had weighed off. His posture was firm again, his breathing steady. The glow behind his eyes had dulled into calm composure, but power still pulsed around him. A strange

It was Taylor.She stood a few feet away from him, a figure framed by the morning light. Her shoulders slouched, like someone who had carried a burden all night and could finally breathe again. The instant her eyes met his, they softened with relief.“Nathan,” she breathed, barely above a whisper.Before he could respond, she crossed the short distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. The hug came so suddenly that his body tensed on instinct. She squeezed him tightly, pressing her face briefly against his chest, like she needed to confirm he was real.He stood still, stunned.Then, as if remembering herself, Taylor stepped back quickly, her hands moving up to tuck strands of hair behind her ears. “Sorry for that,” she said, voice a little shaky.Nathan studied her, brows drawn in slight confusion. “What are you doing here?”She exhaled, nodding to herself before speaking. “I came to find you. You weren’t picking your calls. You’ve been missing for two days.”“I wasn’t m

Natalia’s eyes scanned both sides of the forest, her breath shaky and uneven. She moved with caution now, her steps light on the leaf-strewn path. Her heart pounded in her ears, louder than any rustling around her. What else was in this forest? What had she truly walked into?The sound came again. Closer. Louder.Snap.She turned, her body tense, and her breath caught in her throat.Her eyes widened in frozen terror. Hanging down from one of the tall trees just ahead was a massive snake. Its scales shimmered dark green with streaks of black, coiling slowly like a thick rope. The creature’s slit eyes gleamed like molten amber, locked directly on her.It blinked once. Then slowly, it started descending.Natalia couldn’t scream, her throat wouldn’t let her. Her breath hitched. Her feet stumbled backward on reflex, crunching twigs beneath her shoes. But when the snake slithered forward, making a terrifying, slow advance, her body finally unfroze.She bolted.Leaves lashed her arms, branch