Lucas's legs burned, but he kept running. The forest blurred past — a mess of trunks, thorns, and shadows. Behind him, the hunters crashed through the undergrowth, their shouts growing louder.
A crossbow bolt hissed past his head. Another thunked into a tree just ahead. He swerved, stumbled, and nearly went down — only for the ground to vanish under him.
He tumbled down a steep slope, mud and leaves sliding with him until he slammed against a mossy log. His breath caught in his throat, pain flaring along his ribs.
Get up. Move.
But before he could rise, a figure stepped from the shadows.
Tall. Hooded. Cloak the color of storm clouds. A glint of metal at the belt — a dagger? No, several. And in one gloved hand, a staff tipped with a crystal that glowed faintly blue.
"Stay down if you value your skin," the stranger said, voice calm but sharp.
Lucas barely had time to blink before the figure raised the staff. A pulse of light erupted from its tip, streaking into the trees above. The air shivered, and suddenly the branches bent inward, weaving themselves into a tangled wall of wood and leaves. The hunters' shouts grew muffled.
"They'll be through that in minutes," the stranger muttered, turning to Lucas. "Can you walk?"
Lucas hesitated. "Who the hell are you?"
The hood tilted slightly, as if the stranger were assessing him. "Kaelen Veyra. Scholar. Sometimes troublemaker. And you are the boy who just set half the forest on fire."
Lucas's jaw tightened. "That was… an accident."
"Of course it was," Kaelen said dryly. "Accidents usually involve ice spears as well, yes?"
Lucas opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Kaelen didn't wait for an answer. "We don't have time for your confusion. If those men catch you, they'll take what's inside you — and they won't ask nicely."
Lucas's stomach knotted. "Inside me?"
Kaelen crouched, meeting his eyes. In the dim light, Lucas could finally see the man's face — sharp features, a streak of white in otherwise dark hair, and eyes the color of molten gold.
"The Rainbow Orb," Kaelen said. "It didn't vanish. It bonded with you. Every affinity it held — fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, ice, light, shadow… and one more that should never have been released — they're all in you now."
Lucas blinked. "You're insane."
Kaelen smirked faintly. "Perhaps. But I'm also the only one here not trying to kill you."
Before Lucas could reply, the wooden barrier behind them cracked. The hunters were breaking through.
Kaelen's expression hardened. "You've already used the Orb's power without training. That will get you killed — or worse, enslaved."
"Then teach me," Lucas said before he could think better of it.
Kaelen studied him for a long moment, then nodded once. "Fine. But lesson one is survival."
He grabbed Lucas's arm and pulled him to his feet. Then, with a swirl of his staff, the air around them shimmered — and the world bent.
Trees blurred into streaks. The ground vanished. For a heartbeat, Lucas felt weightless, like falling sideways through the world. Then they were somewhere else — a rocky cave lit by flickering firelight, the sound of the forest far away.
Lucas staggered, clutching his stomach. "What—"
"Translocation," Kaelen said. "Very draining. You'll learn it later, if you survive long enough." He glanced toward the cave mouth. "Those men won't stop hunting you. And when they realize what you carry, others will come. Worse ones."
Lucas swallowed. "And you?"
"I'm here because I'd rather see the world unburned," Kaelen said. "The Orb is power beyond imagining — and chaos beyond controlling. You have days, maybe weeks, before it starts tearing you apart."
Lucas stared into the fire. "So… what do we do?"
Kaelen's gaze was steady, almost grim.
"We make you into something the hunters can't catch. Or kill."