THE HEIR OF SHADOWFIRE

“Frank,” Morgan said sharply from the doorway, “we’re leaving. Now.”

Frank didn’t lift his head. “His lung’s collapsing. If I stop now, he dies.”

Morgan stepped closer, dripping rain onto the floor. “If you don’t move, you die.”

“That’s dramatic,” Frank muttered.

“It’s accurate.”

A heavy thud echoed outside, not footsteps. Something larger. Something wrong. Frank finally looked up, pupils glowing faintly with the Shadowfire he hadn’t yet learned to control. “That wasn’t normal.”

“No,” Morgan answered. “And neither is tonight.”

Frank pressed both palms to the boy’s chest. “Give me ten seconds.”

“Frank”

“Ten.”

Morgan’s jaw tightened, but he drew his blade. “Fine. Ten.”

Frank’s healing light spread across the injured boy’s ribs, knitting tissue, sealing torn vessels, restoring air. Seven seconds in, the clinic's front shutters trembled violently.

Morgan turned his head. “They’re here.”

“Almost… almost…” Frank whispered.

The shutters buckled inward, metal shrieking. Morgan’s voice dropped into a growl. “Frank, now.”

Frank’s light dimmed. He staggered back from the table. “Okay. Done.”

Morgan grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the back exit, The lights cut out. Darkness swallowed the room. Frank froze. “Morgan ?”

“Stay behind me.”

Frank obeyed instantly. Morgan’s training had drilled that into him since he was six: behind the blade, not in front of it. Something scraped along the clinic floorboards.

Frank whispered, “That’s not a person.”

“No,” Morgan said, lowering his stance. “It’s a Shadowbreed.”

“Why would Darrius send a Shadowbreed after me? Those things aren’t supposed to leave his fortress.”

“Because he’s desperate.”

A low hiss slithered through the dark. Frank’s breath hitched. “I thought… I thought they couldn't cross city borders.”

“They can’t,” Morgan said. “Unless someone helped them.”

A chill slid down Frank’s spine. “Someone betrayed us?”

Morgan didn’t answer, which meant yes. A shape materialized from the darkness. Too tall. Too thin. Bones bending the wrong way beneath its skin. Frank whispered, “Morgan, is that”

The Shadowbreed lunged. Morgan shoved Frank aside and slashed upward, the blade striking the creature’s arm. Black smoke hissed from the wound.

The creature reeled back. “The boy belongs to the King,” it rasped in a voice like stone grinding against metal. “Over my dead body,” Morgan said.

“That,” the creature replied, “is inevitable.”

It struck again, faster this time. Morgan blocked, but the force sent him sliding across the floor. Frank flinched. “Morgan!”

“Stay back,” Morgan barked.

“You can’t fight that alone!”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Frank hesitated, then raised his hands, letting Shadowfire flicker at his fingertips. Morgan’s eyes widened. “Frank. No.”

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t know what you’re doing. If you lose control”

“I won’t.”

The Shadowbreed rushed Frank this time. Frank panicked, thrusting his glowing hands forward. A burst of blue-white energy exploded from his palms, blasting the creature backward into the wall.

Frank stared at his hands in shock. “I… I didn’t mean to do that.”

Morgan grabbed Frank’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t even be able to do that.”

“I know!”

“What did you feel?”

“Nothing! It just”

A second Shadowbreed dropped from the ceiling rafters. Morgan cursed. “There are two!”

“No,” the creature hissed, eyes glowing purple. “There are many.”

Frank felt his pulse spike. “Morgan”

Morgan lifted his blade again. “On my signal, you run.”

“No,” Frank whispered. “I’m not leaving you.”

“This isn’t optional.”

The first Shadowbreed rose again, spine crackling. “Morgan…” Frank whispered, “they’re regenerating.”

Morgan exhaled slowly. “Of course they are.”

Frank’s voice shook. “What do we do?”

“We survive.”

The windows shattered as more shapes crawled inside. Their bodies bent at disturbing angles, faces covered in black veins, eyes hollow. Frank counted six… no, eight. He swallowed. “Morgan…”

Morgan tightened his grip on his blade. “Stay close.”

The Shadowbreeds moved as one. Morgan pushed Frank behind a toppled medical cabinet. “Hide.”

Frank glared. “I’m not a child.”

“You’re fourteen. That qualifies.”

“And I’m Shadowborn. And I’m supposed to”

“Prophecies don’t matter if you’re dead.”

Frank clenched his fists. “I can fight.”

“Not tonight you can’t.”

Frank hesitated, then ducked behind the cabinet just as two Shadowbreeds attacked Morgan simultaneously.

Morgan met them with a flurry of steel, his blade flashing through the dark. Frank watched with wide eyes, every movement efficient, every strike precise.

But the Shadowbreeds were faster, stronger, and there were too many. One slipped behind Morgan. Frank rose instinctively. “Behind you!”

Morgan spun and blocked just in time, but another creature leapt at Frank. Frank yelped, rolling aside as claws sliced deep grooves in the floor. Frank scrambled back. “Morgan!”

Morgan kicked the creature off him and threw Frank a small object, a silver medallion etched with runes. “Activate it!” Morgan shouted.

“How?!”

“Just hold it!”

Frank clutched the medallion. It vibrated violently, symbols glowing. The clinic floor cracked beneath him. The Shadowbreeds shrieked, retreating from the growing light surrounding Frank.

“Morgan, what’s happening?!” Frank yelled.

Morgan’s eyes widened. “That shouldn’t be possible.”

“What shouldn’t?!”

Before Morgan could answer, the medallion unleashed a burst of energy that swept through the clinic. The Shadowbreeds disintegrated into black dust. Frank blinked in disbelief. “Did… did I just… kill them?”

Morgan sheathed his blade slowly. “You wiped out an entire scouting unit.”

Frank stared at the medallion. “I thought it was just a locator charm.”

“So did I.”

Frank frowned. “You’re lying.”

Morgan hesitated, then nodded once. “Yes.”

Frank’s voice cracked. “Why?”

Morgan’s face softened. “To protect you.”

“You keep saying that,” Frank whispered. “But I don’t even know what I am.”

Morgan placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re the Shadowborn heir. You’re the only one who can end Darrius’s reign. And that medallion… it just awakened your core.”

“My core?”

Morgan took a slow breath. “Frank… you’re stronger than we thought.”

Frank stepped back. “What else haven’t you told me?”

Morgan didn’t answer. A sudden BOOM shook the street outside, an explosion, close enough that dust rained from the ceiling. Frank’s eyes widened. “They’re using breach charges now?

“No,” Morgan said, jaw tightening. “That wasn’t them.”

“Then who”

A voice echoed through the clinic’s shattered entrance: “Frank Tarrow! By order of the King, surrender yourself and your guardian will be spared!”

Frank’s blood ran cold. Morgan pushed him toward the back door. “Move.”

Frank grabbed his arm. “Wait. They said your guardian. Morgan, they know you’re with me.”

“Of course they know.”

“But that means”

Morgan exhaled. “It means the betrayal wasn’t small. Someone didn’t just tip them off to your location… they gave them your entire file.”

Frank’s chest tightened. “My entire… Morgan, who would do that?”

Morgan looked him straight in the eyes. “I think we both know.”

Frank froze. His heart dropped. “Morgan,” he whispered, “you don’t mean”

Morgan nodded once. “Yes. Frank… the traitor is someone from your family.”

The door behind them exploded. Frank grabbed Morgan’s hand tight. “Then we run,” Frank said.

Morgan nodded. “We run.”

And together, they plunged into the storm.