Kane stood on a hill overlooking the next target— a wealthy merchant town that supplied weapons to the Church. His small but growing army of Bone Wraiths waited silently behind him. The golden tint in his eyes was almost constant now, and the numbness in his chest made everything feel distant.Nyra stood at his right side, calm and supportive as always. Vesper was on his left, looking more worried with each passing day.“We take the town,” Kane said flatly. “Kill the Church loyalists. Take their supplies.”Thorne landed on his shoulder. “Another day, another massacre. You’re really committing to the ‘evil overlord’ aesthetic, huh? I give it four stars. Would’ve been five if you smiled once in a while. Or, you know, remembered you have a pregnant girlfriend out there somewhere.”Kane ignored the raven and raised his hand. The attack began.The battle was swift and brutal. His forces crashed through the town gates. Greater Blood Tithe drained groups of defenders at once. Kane moved like

Vesper and Elias arrived moments later with reinforcements, drawn by the noise. The warehouse became a storm of violence. Wood splintered. Shadows and bones collided. Seraphine fought fiercely despite her pregnancy, but the strain was clear—she kept one hand on her belly the entire time, face tight with pain. Nyra realized she was losing. With a final cold laugh, she melted into the shadows, leaving behind a message written in blood on the far wall: “The King is coming for what is his.” When the dust finally settled, the warehouse was half-destroyed. Several bodies lay on the ground. Seraphine leaned heavily against a wall, breathing hard, sweat on her forehead. The baby was kicking wildly inside her. Kane approached slowly, eyes gradually returning to purple-black. “Seraphine… I didn’t know. About Nyra, about any of it. I swear on everything I have left.” She looked at him, exhausted, torn, and still full of love. “I want to believe you, Kane. I really do. But I can’t risk

Seraphine woke up gasping in the middle of the night, her hands clutching her belly like it was on fire.The pain was different this time—sharper, deeper, like something inside her was tearing apart. The baby was thrashing wildly, kicking and turning with so much force that she could barely breathe. She curled onto her side on the thin blanket inside their hidden cave, sweat already soaking through her clothes.“Mira…” she managed to whisper.The young shadow apprentice was at her side in seconds, eyes wide with worry. “What’s happening? Is it the baby?”Seraphine nodded, teeth clenched. “It’s fighting again. Something… something triggered it. I can feel death magic somewhere far away. Kane must be using his power heavily.”Mira pressed her hands gently over Seraphine’s belly, trying to send calming shadow energy into her. “Breathe, just breathe. We’ve got you.”But the pain kept building. This wasn’t normal pregnancy discomfort anymore. The baby’s mix of shadow and death magic was cl

Kane couldn’t sit still.He paced the edge of the camp like a man who knew something bad was coming. The small suppression amulet around his neck felt useless now, just a cold weight against his skin. The golden flecks in his eyes kept coming and going, like they had a mind of their own. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Seraphine’s face from that night in the warehouse—the fear, the love, the way she kept her hand on her belly like she was protecting their child from him.Nyra sat nearby by the fire, watching him quietly. She had come back after the betrayal, claiming she only did what she had to do to protect him from Malachar’s full anger. Kane wanted to believe her. He needed someone who wasn’t afraid of him. Seraphine was still out there somewhere with her shadow people, five and a half months pregnant and running from the same enemies he was fighting.“You should rest, my lord,” Nyra said softly. “You’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”Kane didn’t answer. He just kept pac

The fire crackled softly between them as they sat on the fallen log. For a few minutes, the forest felt almost peaceful. Seraphine kept one hand on her belly, rubbing slow circles while the baby settled a little. Kane sat close enough to talk but far enough that his presence didn’t make the child restless. It was the closest thing to normal they had felt in weeks.“I never thought pregnancy would be like this,” Seraphine said quietly, a tired smile on her lips. “Some days I crave sour berries so badly I’d walk miles for them. Other days the baby likes salty fish. It’s like there’s a little storm inside me that has its own opinions.”Kane watched her, his expression soft for once. The golden in his eyes had faded. “I wish I could make it easier for you. For both of you. I keep thinking about what kind of father I’m going to be if I can’t even control myself.”Seraphine reached out and took his hand. Her grip was warm and steady. “Then keep fighting. Not for power. For us. For this lit