Shards of glass rained across the floor like falling stars. The assassin landed in silence, twin blades flashing in the dim glow of the city beyond. His movements were smooth, too smooth, as if every step had been rehearsed a thousand times.Kai had no time to think. Instinct roared through him. He shoved Kevin aside, hearing the boy hit the couch with a gasp, then spun to meet steel with steel.His dagger caught the first strike, sparks hissing as the blades clashed. The assassin didn’t pause. He moved like smoke, one blade pressing Kai back, the other darting for his ribs. Kai twisted, barely slipping aside. The strike sliced across his coat, close enough to sting. Kevin scrambled low, clutching the pistol Kai had given him. His hands trembled. “Kai!”“Stay down!” Kai barked, teeth clenched.The assassin’s mask caught the faint light, plain, black, faceless. Only the eyes behind it burned, cold and sharp.Steel rang again. The force of the strikes pushed Kai across the chamber, hi

The square burned with panic. Torches lay scattered, fire licking across the stones. The crowd had broken into a storm of fleeing bodies, their cries echoing off the charred walls. The captured assassin slumped in Kai’s grip, his words still hanging in the air like poison. The boy. Kevin.Kai’s heart pounded so loud he could hear it over the chaos. He shoved the assassin back, the man collapsing in the dirt. His blade was still wet with blood, but it felt suddenly heavier, colder.Kevin stood frozen, his small face pale, his eyes wide with terror and disbelief. “Me?” he whispered. His voice cracked. “Why me?”Kai grabbed him by the shoulders, kneeling so their eyes met. His grip was firm, maybe too firm. “Listen to me, Kevin. Don’t think. Don’t question. Right now, you move when I move. You breathe when I say breathe. Do you understand?”Kevin nodded, but his lips trembled. Lira strode up, her sword dripping with blood, her dark hair clinging to her face. Her gaze flicked to Kevin, t

The gorge was silent before the storm. Kai sat tall on his horse, his blade drawn, eyes scanning the cliff walls. The air felt heavy, like it carried a secret waiting to break open. His breath was steady, but inside, he burned with fire. He knew this was a trap. He knew the Veil had been waiting, and still, he had come.Lira rode beside him, her bow already in her hands. Her gaze flicked from shadow to shadow, the string pulled back, ready to sing at the first movement. “This place smells like death,” she whispered.Darius spat to the ground. His axe rested on his shoulder, and his eyes glowed with a savage light. “Then let death have a feast.”The words had barely left his mouth before the silence shattered. From above, a shrill whistle cut the night air. Then the sky rained black arrows. “Down!” Kai barked.He leapt from his horse, rolling hard against the rocky floor as arrows clattered around him. Lira’s horse screamed, nicked by a shaft, but she had already slid to her feet, l

The gates of Crest closed behind them with a heavy groan of iron. Kai did not look back. His eyes were already fixed east, where the horizon was painted in pale gray and the first light of morning burned faint against the sky.The parchment was clenched in his hand. Every mark, every symbol etched into it had become a wound in his mind. Kevin was moving east, moved like a piece on a board, shuffled from shadow to shadow by hands Kai had yet to cut off.Lira rode beside him, her hood pulled low against the morning chill. She studied Kai’s face, his jaw tight, his eyes sharp as blades. She wanted to speak, to calm him, but the words caught in her throat. Behind them, Darius let out a grunt. “Not the first time I’ve ridden east with blood in the wind. It always ends in fire.”Kai gave no answer. The road out of Crest was rough, lined with stones and patches of half-dead grass. They passed villages where shutters were nailed shut and smoke rose only in thin, weak trails from chimneys.

The land grew harsher the farther east they rode. The gentle hills of Crest were gone, swallowed by jagged cliffs and barren soil that crumbled under the horses’ hooves. The air itself felt heavier, sharper, carrying a chill that gnawed at the bones. Even the sky seemed darker here, as though the sun feared to shine too brightly.Tomas clung to his saddle, his small hands white-knuckled on the reins. He hadn’t spoken much since the inn. His wide eyes darted to every shadow along the road, as though expecting masked riders to spring from the rocks. “They won’t take you again,” Kai said suddenly. His voice was calm but hard. “Not while I breathe.”The boy swallowed and nodded. He wanted to believe it. Darius rode at the rear, his axe resting across his lap, eyes scanning the cliffs. “This land stinks of traps. We should be ready.”Lira adjusted her bowstring, testing the tension. “They’ll want to slow us. Bleed us before we reach the Fortress.”“They’ll try,” Kai said, his eyes forwar