Chapter Forty-Nine: Blood in the Fields
The wind smelled of wheat and earth.
Kael walked slowly between the rows of green stalks, their heads heavy with the promise of harvest. Sunlight bathed the clearing in golden light, a contrast to the shadow-drenched halls he often occupied.
Humans bent low in the fields, their hands practiced as they pulled weeds, checked growth, and tended to the crops with quiet diligence. Children darted between the rows, laughter carrying on the breeze, while a wolfkin hunter lounged nearby with his spear across his lap, watching for trouble.
Kael stopped beside a farmer, a broad-shouldered man with dirt streaked across his face. "You've done well," Kael said, his voice low but firm.
The man straightened, wiping sweat from his brow. "We had land before, my lord. But never the safety… never the tools. Here, it feels different. Here, the soil listens."
Kael allowed himself a small smile. "It's not just the soil. It's the people tending it. You've given the Hollow something no weapon can."
The farmer's chest swelled with pride. Others nearby glanced over, hearing Kael's words, and the quiet murmur of satisfaction rippled through the workers.
Kael was about to turn back toward the Hollow when the forest line exploded.
Trees shuddered. Birds screamed into the sky.
Then she came crashing through—an ogre, her massive form staggering into the clearing. She was taller than two men, her gray-green skin slick with blood, her eyes wild with pain. She fell hard onto her knees, earth cracking beneath her weight, before collapsing onto her side.
Gasps tore from the farmers. Children screamed. The wolfkin hunter leapt to his feet, spear raised.
Kael's hand was already at his side, shadows curling instinctively at his fingertips. He stepped forward, crimson eyes narrowing.
Behind the ogre, figures spilled from the treeline. First came bandits—ragged men with blades and crossbows, their eyes gleaming with hunger. But behind them marched soldiers. Their armor bore the crest of the nearby human kingdom, steel catching the light, discipline in their ranks even as they moved alongside the brigands.
The clearing erupted into panic. Farmers scattered, dragging children behind them. The wolfkin snarled, positioning himself between the invaders and the humans.
Kael didn't move. He stood tall, his cloak of shadow flaring at his back, Umbra growling at his side. His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Why is she bleeding in my fields?"
The lead soldier stepped forward, helmet tucked beneath his arm. His scarred face twisted into a sneer. "That beast is ours. She's been raiding villages, killing innocents. Step aside, and we'll finish what we started."
Kael's eyes flicked to the ogre. Her chest rose and fell shallowly, blood soaking into the soil. Yet her gaze locked on his, not with hatred, but with desperation.
She didn't look like a marauder. She looked like someone fleeing for her life.
The bandit captain spat into the dirt. "Move, boy. She's worth more to us alive, but dead works too. Either way, she ain't yours."
Umbra's growl deepened, hackles raised.
Kael's shadows writhed, coiling like serpents ready to strike. His voice was calm, dangerous. "You chase her onto my land, spilling blood in sight of my people, and dare to claim she belongs to you?" His crimson eyes glowed faintly, the air heating around him. "You've mistaken me for someone who negotiates with carrion."
The soldier's sneer faltered, but pride kept his stance rigid. "She's a monster. Just like you."
Kael stepped closer, the earth beneath him darkening as tendrils of shadow spread like cracks in the soil. "Then perhaps she belongs with me more than she ever did with you."
The bandits shifted nervously, weapons half-raised. The soldiers adjusted grips on their spears, uncertainty creeping into their eyes as Kael's presence pressed down on them like a storm.
The wolfkin hunter snarled. Farmers huddled together at the far edge of the clearing, watching, waiting.
It was a standoff.
Kael's hand hovered above his blade, his fire flickering faintly along his knuckles. His voice dropped to a growl. "Leave her. Walk away now, and I will allow you to live."
The bandit captain barked a laugh, but there was no humor in it. "Bold words for a freak hiding in the woods. You think one man can stop us all?"
Kael's crimson gaze burned brighter. "One man already has."
The shadows at his feet flared outward, dark tendrils lashing across the field like living chains, the air shimmering with heat as embers crackled to life around him.
The ogre groaned weakly, rolling onto her side. Her eyes never left him.
The clearing held its breath.
The tension was about to snap.