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Chapter 30 – Crossing the Ridge
Frost glittered on the rocks when Ryan woke. The sun had not yet cleared the jagged horizon, and a pale mist lay across the ledge where they had camped. He rose quietly, careful not to wake Olivia, and stretched stiff muscles. Lightning stirred faintly beneath his skin, warm against the morning chill.Kael was already standing near the cliff’s edge, watching the east with the stillness of a carved statue. Maya crouched by the embers, feeding them a little kindling until smoke curled upward in a thin ribbon.Ryan joined Kael. “How far to the Vale?”“Across the ridge and down the western slope,” Kael said without looking away from the mountains. “Half a day if the path stays clear. But it won’t.”Ryan’s stomach tightened. “More hunters?”Kael nodded. “And worse. The Vale shelters power older than the Dominion’s rule. They won’t want you to reach it.”Olivia stirred then, blinking sleepily in the dawn light. Ryan knelt to help
Chapter 29 – Shadows on the Peaks
The jagged silhouettes of the Broken Peaks rose ahead, their ridges clawing at the clouds. Morning light washed over the stone, cold and silver, and the air was sharp with pine and the metallic scent of frost. Ryan shifted the strap of his pack higher on his shoulder as he followed Kael up the steep track. Olivia stayed close, her hood drawn against the chill, while Maya ranged a little ahead, scanning for danger with silent precision.They had left the forest at dawn, their breath misting in the air as they moved steadily west. The trees thinned as they climbed, giving way to boulders and narrow trails that clung to the mountainside. Ryan glanced at Olivia whenever the path widened, reassured by the determination in her eyes. She looked stronger than she had the day before; her spark pulsed in a steady rhythm that matched the quiet hum of his storm.Kael suddenly raised a hand, halting them. The sound of loose pebbles scattering echoed faintly from below. Everyone
Chapter 28 – Sparks in the Dawn
The first light of dawn spilled across the forest, thin shafts of gold piercing the mist. Dew clung to every branch, glistening like tiny stars.Ryan woke slowly, the ache in his muscles heavy but bearable. Olivia still slept, curled against his side beneath Maya’s spare cloak. Her breathing was soft, steady — a fragile rhythm that made his storm settle into a calm hum.Across the dying embers of the campfire, Kael sat cross-legged, eyes closed, face turned toward the sun as if greeting an old friend. Even in sleep-rumpled tatters, he looked composed, dangerous, and strangely serene.Maya returned from scouting, dropping lightly from a pine branch. “Perimeter’s clear — for now. I saw Dominion hounds on the ridge, though. They’re sweeping east.”Ryan’s jaw tightened. “How long before they find us?”“Half a day, maybe less.” Maya sheathed her knife. “We need distance or cover.”Kael opened his eyes, molten gold catching the li
Chapter 27 – The Stranger with Golden Eyes
The forest swallowed them whole.They ran until the fortress was no longer in sight, until the shriek of alarms faded into the night wind, until even Maya’s steady breaths grew ragged. Only then did they stop, collapsing near a grove of twisted pines.Ryan set Olivia down gently on a patch of moss. She was trembling, her spark faint but steady, her eyes glazed with exhaustion. He brushed the hair from her face, his storm still humming faintly under his skin.“You’re safe now,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I’ve got you.”Olivia tried to smile, but tears welled instead. She leaned into him, her voice breaking. “I thought… I thought I’d never see you again.”Ryan’s chest tightened. He wrapped her closer, letting the storm’s warmth surround them both. “I promised I’d come, didn’t I? Nothing was going to stop me.”Maya leaned against a tree nearby, wiping blood from her blade. Her eyes scanned the darkness, always alert, even in ex
Chapter 26 – No Way Out
The alarm wailed like a banshee, echoing through every corridor. Red lights pulsed, painting the walls in violent flashes.Ryan held Olivia against his side, his storm raging around them in jagged bursts. Sparks ran down his arms, leaping from fingertip to fingertip like restless serpents. He could feel her spark responding to him, a steadying rhythm that kept his storm from devouring itself.Behind them, Maya slammed the door shut, the steel already groaning under the pounding fists of soldiers on the other side. “We need an exit!”“There!” Ryan pointed down the corridor. At the end, another heavy blast door stood, sealed but not warded like the last one. Beyond it, faint traces of cold night air seeped through the cracks.Freedom.They ran.But the fortress wasn’t letting them go so easily.From side passages, Dominion soldiers poured out, weapons raised. The air filled with the crackle of mystic-charged projectiles, s
Chapter 25 – Stormbreak
The fortress loomed like a wound against the horizon.From the cliffside, Ryan could see its jagged walls of steel and stone, bristling with watchtowers. Searchlights swept in lazy arcs across the valley, and faint runes shimmered along the outer barrier. The air itself seemed poisoned here, heavy with a pressure that made the storm inside him restless.He clenched his fists, lightning whispering across his skin. “She’s in there.”Beside him, Maya adjusted the blade strapped to her back. Her eyes were sharp, measuring the defenses. “And so are half the Dominion’s soldiers.”“I don’t care.” Ryan’s voice was low, hard. “I’m not leaving without her.”Maya studied him for a moment, then gave a short nod. “Then we make this quick.”They descended under cover of darkness, slipping through the treeline until they reached a drainage tunnel. The grates were old, rusted, but still etched with faint runes to mask energy signatures.
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