The fire crackled within the half-finished stone circle, casting shadows over the trio's weary faces. The structure behind them—a crude two-level tower built from scavenged wood and stone—was still more symbolic than secure. But it was theirs.
Their kingdom.
"Stonewake," Ryker said again, almost reverently.
Kaela grinned. "Starting to sound less stupid the more we say it."
Elias sat cross-legged, his Ashbrand still faintly glowing at the hilt. "We have walls. A fire. Clean water. It's a start."
But something in his posture stayed alert.
As if called, the trees whispered.
Not wind. Footsteps.
All three were on their feet before the fire had time to flicker in alarm. Ryker raised his hand, gravity coiling at his fingertips. Kaela vanished into the breeze. Elias stayed still, listening.
A stumble. A cough. Then a figure emerged from the trees—tall, bleeding, gaunt but fierce. She leaned on a splintered spear. Her eyes, golden-brown and sharp despite her exhaustion, locked with Elias'.
"Help," she rasped.
Elias gave a subtle nod. "Kaela."
Kaela reappeared by her side in a gust, catching the girl before she collapsed.
They carried her to the fire. Kaela tore fabric from her own sleeve to press against the girl's wound.
"Name?" Elias asked.
"Aerin."
"Where from?"
Aerin swallowed hard. "East of here. I was with a group… ten of us. We found a cave. It didn't last."
Ryker squinted. "What happened?"
"Everything," she said. "Wolves. Shadows. Wyrm-things with teeth where eyes should be. We fought. We ran. Then… it found us."
Kaela's hands froze. "The Leviathan?"
Aerin nodded slowly. "Didn't see it. Just… water boiling where it touched the dirt. Screams—metal tearing. I ran. Days, I think. Saw your fire."
Kaela studied her. "Why trust strangers?"
"I don't," Aerin replied. "But I saw the tower. Figured if anyone's building out here, they're either insane or strong. I'm betting on strong."
Ryker smirked. "We're all betting on something these days."
Elias' eyes glinted faintly. His Insight probed deeper than words. Body tension. Vocal tone. Pupil dilation. She was tired, but clear. Fear behind the eyes—not deceit.
"You'll stay," he said. "But you'll earn it."
The Next Morning
Aerin awoke to Kaela sharpening a dagger. Elias tended to the fire. Ryker was balancing stone slabs using gravity, building what might one day be a gate.
"You're still alive," Kaela said. "Means we trust you. For now."
"I'm good with that," Aerin replied, sitting up. Her shoulder was stiff, but the bleeding had stopped.
"Ability?" Elias asked.
She stood and faced a nearby boulder. Her eyes narrowed.
The air shimmered around her as heat condensed—then burst in a sharp snap. A blast of sound exploded from her palm, slamming into the rock. Cracks webbed through it.
"Echoforce," she said. "I can release bursts of kinetic energy. Sound-based. Stronger when I'm moving."
"Good for crowd control," Kaela noted.
"Better when paired," Elias added. "That force could redirect Kaela's wind, or be amplified through my flame. Or Ryker's gravity."
Aerin tilted her head. "You've worked that out already?"
Elias shrugged. "Insight. It's what I do."
Training Begins
The next few days were filled with sweat, bruises, and silence. Aerin trained beside them, no longer a guest, but not yet family. She sparred with Ryker, pushed her limits against Kaela's wind barriers, and learned to time her bursts with Elias' flame strikes.
At night, they slept in shifts. The kingdom was still raw—one tower, a half-dug trench, two perimeter alarms made from bones and scrap.
But morale was higher than ever.
One night, after a particularly brutal sparring session, the four sat beneath the stars.
"Feels wrong," Ryker murmured.
"What does?" Kaela asked.
"This. Laughing. Building. Feeling like a real group. We barely know each other."
Elias didn't answer immediately. He stared into the fire, then said, "I think the Realm wants us to stay alone. Scared. Distrustful. That's how it wins."
Aerin added, "I didn't think I'd talk to anyone again. Not after the cave. But here I am."
Kaela wrapped a cloth around her knuckles. "We don't trust because we're naïve. We trust because the alternative is dying with no one to watch your back."
Elias glanced at each of them. "We're not family. Not yet. But we're… something. And that's enough."
Elsewhere in the Realm
A boy ran through the forest. Mud caked his face. His clothes were torn to ribbons. A crude blade hung from one hand. His breaths came in sharp gasps.
Behind him, nothing made sound. But the trees began to rot. Grass turned black where invisible footsteps passed. The air grew heavy with salt and static.
He looked back only once.
Eyes. Deep as trenches. Glowing faint blue.
He screamed, veered off-trail—and vanished into the brush.
There was no growl. No howl.
Just a wet, dragging noise. A shift in the wind.
Then, silence.
The Leviathan moved on.
Toward Stonewake.
Toward firelight.
Chapter End Teaser
As the sun dipped low on the seventh night, Elias stood watch alone. The others slept, curled in corners of the stone shelter. Aerin snored softly.
He stared into the trees, eyes glowing faintly.
A breeze moved through the forest—unnatural. No sound. No crickets. No night birds.
Elias' fingers tightened around Ashbrand.
Something had picked up their scent.
And it was hungry.