Dawn came as a smear of pale light through the rainclouds.
Kael hadn't slept. He sat just outside the cave mouth, cloak pulled tight against the chill, watching mist curl through the undergrowth. The boy snored softly from inside. Elara slept curled on her side. Halric leaned against the far wall, eyes closed but with the kind of stillness that meant he was only resting, not truly asleep.
The forest was too quiet.
Kael rose and stepped into the trees, boots sinking into the sodden earth. Every step seemed to echo. The air was damp, heavy — and wrong. The birds weren't singing. No rustle of squirrels in the branches. Just the faint hiss of rain on leaves.
Then he saw it.
A mark in the mud.
It was shaped like a boot print, but elongated — the toes spread wider, the heel narrower, as though the foot inside wasn't made for human shape. He crouched, touching it lightly. The edges were sharp. Fresh.
His skin prickled.
He turned back toward the cave just as a shadow passed overhead.
It wasn't the dragon — the wings were too small, the shape leaner — but the rider upon its back told him everything. A figure in blackened mail, face hidden behind a visor shaped like a snarling beast. The Warden's hunters.
The drake they rode circled low, scales glistening with rain. Kael sprinted back into the cave.
"Up!" he barked, shaking Elara's shoulder. "Hunters!"
Halric was on his feet instantly, grabbing his hammer. Elara's eyes widened as she pulled the boy close.
The sound of beating wings filled the clearing outside. A voice called out, deep and distorted by the helm:
"Kael Dareth. By order of the Warden, surrender the abyss."
Kael's grip on his sword tightened. "Not happening."
The hunter dismounted. His boots sank into the mud, but he moved like he barely noticed, a longsword drawn in one hand, the other holding a hooked chain.
"You are marked," the hunter said, voice low but carrying. "You walk with stolen breath. Give it back, and your death will be quick."
Kael stepped forward, feeling the abyss stir like a waking beast in his chest. "Come and take it."
The hunter moved faster than Kael expected — a blur of black steel. Their blades met with a jolt that rattled Kael's arms. The force behind the strike was monstrous.
The abyss whispered, Faster.
Kael obeyed. His body blurred, stepping past the hunter's guard to slash at his side. The blade bit deep, but no blood flowed — the armor itself seemed alive, writhing to close the gap.
The hunter's chain lashed out, wrapping around Kael's arm. With a brutal yank, Kael was pulled off his feet and slammed into the mud.
Halric roared, charging in. His hammer crashed into the hunter's shoulder, driving him back a step. Elara's arrows hissed through the rain, one striking the drake in the flank, making it screech.
The hunter twisted, chain whipping toward Halric. Kael seized the moment, surging up and slamming his dagger into the gap under the hunter's arm. The abyss poured through the blade like black fire.
The hunter froze. His armor shuddered. Then he tore himself free with inhuman strength, staggering back.
"You think you understand that power," the hunter rasped. "You don't even know what it's eating."
Kael's reply was cut short by the drake crashing through the treeline, jaws snapping. It lunged for Elara, who dragged the boy behind her as she loosed another arrow.
Kael's body moved before thought. He dove, driving his sword into the drake's neck. The creature bellowed, rearing back. Halric seized its moment of pain to smash its jaw aside with his hammer.
The hunter called to his mount with a sharp whistle. The drake stumbled toward him, wings flaring, and in a heartbeat they were both airborne again.
The rain swallowed them into the clouds.
For a long moment, the only sound was Kael's ragged breathing.
Halric spat into the mud. "They'll be back. With more."
Elara's gaze was sharp, searching Kael's face. "He knew your name. And he knew… about it."
Kael sheathed his sword, the abyss curling restless beneath his ribs. "Then we move faster."
---