The forest felt colder after the Council's threat, the morning sun hidden behind drifting clouds. Zindra, Liyaya, and Kethra walked in silence back through the undergrowth, every branch snapping underfoot like an echo of the choice they'd just made.
They found shelter in an old hunter's cabin deep in the woods — four walls and a broken stove, but enough to rest and plan. Liyaya tended the cuts on Zindra's arms while Kethra stood at the window, staring into the mist.
Liyaya's voice broke the quiet. "What happens now?"
Zindra's eyes were distant. "Now we hunt the next fragment before it finds another host. And we stay hidden from the Council's hounds."
Kethra turned, her face shadowed under her hood. "I can help you reach the next fragment faster. There's an old Cynean cache buried near the river — weapons, ancient tech, maps of the old portals. We'll need them."
Zindra studied her carefully. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
Kethra's eyes flicked to Liyaya, then back to him. "I didn't trust you'd stay. Now I do."
It made sense — but something in her voice made Liyaya's stomach twist.
By dusk, they left the cabin, moving through the trees as night fell. The river ahead murmured through the darkness, a silver thread under the moon.
They found the cache where Kethra said it would be — a metal vault buried under stones by an ancient Cynean marker. Zindra knelt to open it, feeling the lock respond to his runes.
Click. The lid opened — but inside there were no weapons. No maps. Only a small, dark orb pulsing with a sickly purple light.
Zindra recoiled. "This is Sanavak's seed!"
Before he could react, Kethra stepped behind him — and slammed the hilt of her hidden blade into the base of his skull. Zindra collapsed beside the vault, runes flickering as he hit the ground.
Liyaya spun, but Kethra was faster. The scout's free hand caught Liyaya's wrist, twisting it hard enough to send her to her knees.
Kethra's voice was low, cold — nothing like the ally she'd seemed. "I told the Council the truth — you would betray them for this world. They offered me freedom from Cyne's debt if I delivered you instead."
Liyaya's eyes burned with fury. "You lied to us!"
Kethra's mask cracked a little as she hissed. "Better to kneel to the Council than be eaten by Sanavak's rot. You think this world can win? I'm giving it a merciful end."
She lifted the dark orb, its pulsing glow spilling into the trees. The forest shadows bent inward, drawn to it like moths to flame.
Liyaya's mind raced. She forced herself to stay calm. Zindra lay unmoving — but his hand twitched near the vault.
Through gritted teeth, Liyaya whispered, "You forgot something, Kethra."
Kethra frowned, distracted by the seed's hum. "What?"
Liyaya rammed her free shoulder into Kethra's chest, knocking her off balance just long enough for Zindra's hand to flare with light. He grabbed the scout's leg, runes blazing. Energy pulsed into Kethra's armor, hurling her back against a tree.
The orb tumbled from her grasp — rolling into the grass. Liyaya grabbed it with trembling hands, feeling its cold burn in her skin. She hurled it into the river with all her strength. The dark seed hit the water — hissing like a dying snake before the current dragged it under.
Kethra slumped to the ground, dazed but conscious. She looked up at Zindra with something like regret in her eyes. "You should have chosen Cyne."
Zindra stepped over her, his voice like steel. "I did. I chose the part worth saving."
Beside him, Liyaya took his hand, her breathing ragged but steady. The river carried away the seed — but the betrayal cut deeper than any wound. They had lost an ally — but found something stronger in each other.