The night air carried the scent of wet stone and smoke as Kael and Elara moved deeper into Ebonreach. The city was quieter now, its raucous taverns fading behind them as they entered streets less welcoming to strangers. Lanterns hung crooked, their glass cracked, their flames fighting against the wind.
The Rival Mercenary was gone—or rather, out of sight. But Kael knew better than to believe he had retreated. The man was close. Watching. Waiting.
The cursed sword at Kael's side pulsed faintly, as though sensing the predator's patience. He circles like carrion crow… clip his wings, feed on his blood. Strike before you are struck.
Kael ignored the venomous whisper. His grip tightened on the hilt, but he did not draw. "He's still here," he muttered, eyes scanning the rooflines.
Elara's sharp green eyes followed his gaze. Her hand hovered near her satchel, fingers brushing the clasp of the leather-bound grimoire she carried. "How do you know?"
Kael's jaw flexed. "A hunter doesn't leave prey half-cornered. He's watching, waiting for the street to swallow us."
Elara tilted her head, her auburn hair catching the faint glow of a lantern. "You speak as if you know his mind."
"I do." His voice was low, rough with memory. "Because I've been him."
For a moment, silence pressed between them, broken only by the drip of water from a roof gutter. Elara studied him, curiosity shadowed by unease. "Then how do we stop him?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. His eyes caught movement ahead—something small, metallic glinting in the lamplight. He stepped forward and pulled it from the wooden wall of a stall.
A dagger. Not buried deep, just pinned loosely, the blade gleaming with fresh oil.
At its hilt, a strip of cloth hung—black, frayed, with a symbol daubed in crimson paint. A jagged eye, staring.
Kael's blood ran cold. This wasn't just a mark of pursuit. It was a signature.
Elara's breath hitched. "He left it on purpose."
"Yes." Kael's grip on the dagger tightened. "He wants us to know he's here. Wants us unsettled."
The cursed blade purred in his mind, eager. Mockery. Challenge. End him. Tear him apart.
Kael exhaled through his nose, trying to anchor himself. He turned the dagger in his hand before slipping it into his belt. Every step, every mark the mercenary left behind—it was a dance, one Kael knew all too well. The predator was circling, testing his prey's resolve.
But Kael was no stranger to the hunt.
They pressed on, through streets that narrowed into veins of stone and shadow. The further they walked, the more the city revealed its underbelly. The glamour of Ebonreach's central district was a lie; here, desperation clung to every doorway.
Children darted barefoot through alleys, their faces gaunt, eyes too old for their years. Drunken brawls spilled from doorsteps where men cursed their debts. A woman with hollow cheeks crooned lullabies to an empty cradle, her voice breaking like glass.
Elara's expression softened with pity, but Kael's remained carved from stone. This was not new to him. Cities rotted the same way everywhere—at the edges, where the crown's light never reached.
Still, Elara whispered, "It's worse than I imagined."
Kael glanced at her. Her cloak clung damp to her frame, the lamplight deepening the auburn of her hair, making the pale set of her face seem almost luminous. Yet behind her fragile appearance, he saw resolve. She had chosen to walk beside him, into danger and darkness alike, and there was no wavering in her stride.
"You'll see worse before this is done," Kael said quietly.
She shivered, but not from cold. "Then I'll face it. Just… don't shut me out when it comes."
Kael looked at her longer than he should have, the words sinking deeper than he expected. But he said nothing. Words were fragile shields against what hunted them.
They turned another corner, and Kael froze.
Pinned to the wooden post of an abandoned stall was another dagger. This one dripped red—not with paint, but blood. A smear dragged down the wood beneath it, fresh and wet.
Elara stepped closer, her hand flying to her mouth. "Is it—?"
"Animal," Kael cut in, his voice tight. "Goat, maybe. He's taunting us. Showing what's next."
The cursed sword's whispers coiled, slick and poisonous. He paints in blood, as you should. Tear his heart and wear his fear.
Kael's chest burned as he forced the voice back. His fingers trembled faintly before he steadied them against the hilt.
"He's drawing us somewhere," Kael muttered.
"Into a trap?"
"Yes."
Elara's green eyes met his, steady despite the tremor in her hands. "Then why keep following?"
Kael's lips curved into something between a grimace and a smirk. "Because if we turn back, we'll only find him waiting behind us."
The night deepened as they pressed on. The alleys twisted, familiar routes folding into strangers. Kael realized with a grim twist of his gut that they were being herded—not toward the heart of the city, but its outskirts, where Ebonreach's walls bled into wilderness.
And still, the marks appeared. A coin left in the center of the road, etched with the same crimson eye. A bootprint pressed deep into wet clay, too deliberate to be accidental. A strand of black thread caught on a nail.
Each was a message: I am near. I am watching. You cannot hide.
Elara's nerves frayed with each sign, but she hid it well. She asked questions, kept her voice calm, even when her fingers twitched against her satchel. "Why leave these signs? Why not just strike?"
Kael answered without hesitation. "Fear makes mistakes. The longer he stretches the string, the more likely we are to snap. He wants us worn thin before he moves."
"And you?" she pressed, eyes sharp. "Does it wear you thin?"
Kael's silence was answer enough.
They reached a narrow bridge of stone spanning a black canal. The water below stank of rot and waste, sluggish and dark. As they crossed, the wind shifted—and Kael caught it.
Breath.
Soft, controlled. Above them.
Kael snapped his head up. For the barest instant, a figure crouched on the roofline. Cloaked, faceless, a predator's silhouette against the stars. The Rival Mercenary.
Kael's hand shot to his sword. The blade screamed in his mind, a flood of hunger. Now! Strike! He is here—spill him across the stones!
But the mercenary did not attack. He simply crouched, watching, his presence heavier than any blade. Then, with a fluid grace, he slipped back, vanishing into the night.
Elara had seen it too. Her breath came fast, sharp. "Why didn't he—?"
"Because he's not ready," Kael growled, his pulse hammering. "Not yet."
They crossed the bridge in silence, the weight of the unseen gaze pressing harder with each step.
On the far side, Kael guided Elara into a narrow passage where the walls leaned close. He stopped abruptly, pressing his back to the damp stone, eyes narrowed.
"What is it?" Elara whispered.
Kael raised a finger to silence her. Then he pointed.
Carved into the wall at eye level was a fresh mark, etched deep and wet with crimson. The jagged eye again, but beneath it words scratched in hurried strokes:
"You bleed next."
Elara's face paled. "He wants you rattled."
Kael stared at the mark, the cursed sword burning against his side. Yes… and you want it too. To answer him. To cut him apart and end the game.
His breath came ragged. He shut his eyes, forcing the voice down, but his hand lingered too long on the hilt.
Elara's voice cut through the haze. "Kael. Look at me."
He opened his eyes. Her gaze was firm, sharp as her voice. "Don't give him what he wants. Don't give that sword what it wants either. You're not their puppet."
For the first time that night, Kael's grip eased. A flicker of something fragile crossed his chest—trust, maybe. Or the reminder that not every fight was fought with steel.
The Rival Mercenary's laugh echoed faintly from the rooftops, a sound low and chilling, carried on the night wind.
Kael looked up, jaw tight. "The game has started."
Elara's hand brushed his arm, steady despite her tremor. "Then we play it better."
Above them, unseen but near, the mercenary's shadow melted into the dark, leaving only the promise of blood yet to come.
*******
A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, just finished a math test and I got stuck in the last question for like 30mins ;-;