Chapter 170: Shadows in the Heart
The heart of the ocean kingdom bustled with life. Narrow streets wound like rivers through markets that smelled of salt and spice. Fishermen hauled in nets slick with silver-scaled catch, shouting prices over the crash of waves. Merchants bartered from stalls laden with fabrics dyed in seafoam greens and deep blues, their voices mixing into a chorus of commerce.
Kael, Lyria, and Fenrik walked among them, the trio drawing eyes wherever they went. Some looked at Kael with curiosity, others with quiet unease. Whispers followed in their wake—"the demon boy," "dragon-blood," "Hollow's warlord." Kael ignored them. He'd grown used to the weight of other people's fears.
They paused at a fisherman's stall, where an older man displayed crabs nearly the size of shields. Fenrik leaned in, grinning. "Could feed half the Hollow with one of those beasts."
The fisherman chuckled, though his eyes flicked nervously to Kael. "Aye, strong enough to crack bone if you're not careful. They thrive in the deep waters, dangerous as they are plentiful."
Lyria reached out, brushing her fingers against the edge of a crab's shell. She smiled politely, but Kael noticed her ears twitch, her attention half-elsewhere. Her instincts rarely failed her.
That was when Kael caught the whisper. Two young men leaning against a wall, their voices low but sharp.
"…tonight. The king pays for his mistake. Bringing that demon into our gates…"
"…a knife in the dark will fix it. Him and the outsiders both."
Kael's eyes narrowed, chaos stirring faintly in his blood.
He turned, voice low. "Lyria. Fenrik. We have a problem."
They followed his gaze. The men vanished into the crowd before either could react, slipping like shadows.
Fenrik's jaw clenched. "Assassins?"
"Looks like it." Kael's tone was flat. "And their target is the king. Let's move."
The palace halls, normally alive with the hum of attendants and guards, felt unnervingly still when the trio returned. The scent of incense hung heavy in the air. Kael's instincts screamed.
The attack came in silence.
Shadows peeled away from the corners of the hall—cloaked figures wielding curved daggers glinting with poison sheen. Steel rang out as Fenrik intercepted the first strike, his axe swinging wide, cleaving through cloth and bone. Lyria spun, her twin blades catching the second assassin mid-thrust, sparks scattering like stars.
But they kept coming. More shadows, slipping past guards who fell choking, throats cut before they could shout.
"Protect the king!" Kael roared, chaos flaring in his veins.
The throne chamber doors burst inward. Thalren stood, sword drawn, his council scrambling around him. Assassins poured in, blades like teeth in the dark.
The clash was chaos itself. Fenrik fought like a storm, his axe carving arcs of blood and steel, but he faltered under three blades at once. A cut tore across his side, and he staggered, barely holding his weapon.
Lyria danced with desperate grace, her movements fast as flame. Yet even she was overwhelmed—a dagger slipping past her guard, cutting deep into her shoulder. She cried out, falling to one knee, blood dark against her pale tunic.
"Lyria!" Kael's chest ignited.
The assassin who struck her turned, cold eyes locking with Kael's. This one was different—his presence sharper, his movements smoother. A master among killers.
He lunged.
Kael met him head-on. The assassin was fast, impossibly fast, his strikes whistling like vipers, his blade cutting for Kael's throat. Kael blocked with sheer force, his arm blazing with chaos fire, but even he felt the sting of steel nicking his skin.
The assassin smirked. "Demon boy bleeds after all."
That was the final spark.
Kael's chaos flared outward, black and crimson fire spilling across the chamber. His aura roared like a beast unchained, forcing even the assassin to stagger.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Kael growled, his voice layered with something more than human.
The assassin darted in, blade flashing for Fenrik's neck—only to meet Kael's hand, wreathed in chaos flame. Kael caught the strike mid-swing, steel melting under his grip. The assassin's eyes widened.
Then Kael unleashed.
A torrent of chaos surged from his palm, swallowing the assassin whole. His scream was short-lived, cut off as his body disintegrated into ash, leaving nothing but a scorched mark on the marble floor.
Silence followed. The remaining assassins froze, fear breaking them. Some tried to flee, but the king's guards rallied, cutting them down before they could escape.
Kael stood over the ash, his chest heaving, chaos flickering around him like a living storm. He turned to Lyria, who was slumped but conscious, clutching her wound. Fenrik groaned, bloodied but alive, his axe still in hand.
Relief flooded Kael's chest. He had nearly lost them both.
The council chamber that night was grim. Kael sat across from King Thalren and his shaken council.
One advisor's voice shook with rage. "This is treachery from within. Someone orchestrated this attack. The assassins could not have breached the palace without help."
Another slammed a fist onto the table. "They targeted the king, and these outsiders—because he invited them here. It proves what we feared!"
Kael's voice cut sharp across the table. "It proves only that you have a traitor in your midst. Don't mistake my presence as the cause of your rot. Whoever planned this would have struck regardless of my being here."
The chamber bristled, but Kael didn't flinch. His gaze swept across the room, unwavering. "Find your traitor. Root them out. Until then, I'll not risk my people by staying within your walls. My visit ends here."
Thalren raised a hand, silencing the uproar. His voice was heavy with restrained fury. "Kael is right. We delay all talks until this is resolved. But mark me—this alliance is not broken. Only tested. When this matter is settled, we will revisit it."
His eyes met Kael's, and for a moment, there was mutual respect. Leaders bound by the weight of survival.
Kael inclined his head. "Then we'll wait for your word, King Thalren."
The meeting adjourned, but the shadows of betrayal lingered long after.