Kael emerged from the Forbidden Wing covered in blood.
The rain had stopped. Dawn was coming.
Voss Hall still had lights in the windows. The party probably hadn't ended.
"So what's your plan?" Soulrender asked in his head. "Walk up and challenge Julian? That's stupid."
"Got a better idea?"
"You need real warriors. Those three assassins were nothing. Barely trained. You need to absorb actual strength."
"Where—"
A horn blast cut him off.
Torches at the main gate. A lot of them.
"Julian noticed," Soulrender said.
Armed men poured through. House guards in armor. Twenty at least.
Leading them was Marcus Stone.
Captain of the Guard. His father's most trusted man. Twenty years with the family.
Now taking Julian's orders.
"KAEL VOSS!" Marcus's voice boomed. "Surrender for murder!"
"They attacked me first."
"Doesn't matter," Soulrender whispered. "They're here to kill you."
The guards spread out. Professional. These weren't thugs.
Marcus stepped forward. Big man with gray in his beard. He'd taught Kael to ride. Taught him the sword.
Now he looked at Kael like a stranger.
"Put down the weapon, boy."
"No."
"Your father wouldn't want this."
"My father's dead. You serve his killer now."
Marcus's face hardened. "Last chance."
"Come take it."
Marcus's expression flickered with pain. Then it became a soldier's mask. He drew his sword. Beautiful steel with the Voss crest. Kael's father had given it to him.
"Take him," Marcus ordered. "Alive if you can."
The guards moved in.
First spear thrust. Kael sidestepped. Soulrender cut through the wooden shaft. The guard stumbled. Kael kicked him down.
Two more from the right. He blocked, parried. Steel rang against the black blade.
Too many of them.
A spear slammed into his back. He staggered. A shield bashed his ribs. Pain exploded.
They were coordinating. Trained fighters. He was stronger but outnumbered.
A sword pommel caught his jaw. Blood filled his mouth.
"Stop playing," Soulrender hissed. "USE me."
"How?"
"Let me in. Let us merge."
A guard grabbed his sword arm. Another seized the other. They forced him down.
Marcus walked over, sword raised. He looked sad.
"I'm sorry, boy. But you killed three men. Took up that cursed blade." He shook his head. "Your father feared this would happen."
Marcus raised his sword for the kill.
Time slowed.
Kael saw the blade coming. Saw his reflection—dirty, bloody, beaten.
Weak.
Like his father.
NO.
Something snapped inside him.
Red light exploded everywhere.
Power surged through Kael like a wave. Soulrender wasn't just a weapon anymore. It was part of him.
The guards holding him flew backward.
Kael stood. Red light poured off him. Shadows coiled around his arms.
Marcus's sword came down.
Kael caught it. With his bare hand.
The blade stopped inches from his face, gripped between his fingers. Marcus's eyes went wide.
"Impossible. You're just—"
"Not anymore."
Kael's voice sounded different. Deeper.
He yanked the sword away and tossed it aside. Then drove Soulrender through Marcus's chest.
Marcus gasped. Blood bubbled from his mouth.
And Kael felt the sword drinking. Not just life. Something more.
Marcus's strength flowed into him. His skills. His experience. Twenty years of training and battles. All of it pouring through the blade.
It felt incredible.
This was different from the assassins. Marcus was a real warrior. His power wasn't just physical. It was knowledge. Understanding. Experience.
And Kael was taking it all.
Marcus's eyes went dim. He fell backward.
The captain of House Voss died in the courtyard.
Kael should feel something.
He felt alive.
"YES!" Soulrender roared. "MORE!"
The guards stared, pale with fear.
"What are you?" one whispered.
Kael looked down. Red light pulsed under his skin. Shadows moved like living things around him.
"A monster. Julian made me one."
He moved.
Faster than before. Stronger. The sword was his will now.
He cut through the guards. They fought back. They were brave.
They died anyway.
One after another. Each kill made him faster. Stronger. He could feel himself changing with every soul.
This was the power the sword promised.
And it only cost...
Something flickered. A memory. Some old man's face. Selling something. What was it?
Who was that?
"Don't worry," Soulrender said gently. "Small price. You won't miss it."
The last guard fell.
Kael stood surrounded by twenty-one bodies.
Rain washed blood across the stones.
"Good start," Soulrender said. "You match veteran soldiers now. Not enough for Julian yet. He has stronger guards. But enough to survive. Enough to run."
"I'm not running."
"Don't be stupid. You're not ready."
Kael looked up at Voss Hall. Lights blazed. Julian was in there.
His rage wanted to charge in now.
But he was in control. Not the rage.
"Fine. I'll run. Get stronger." He looked at his reflection in the blade. "Then I'll come back. And I'll make him pay."
"Smart boy."
Kael walked toward the gate, stepping over corpses.
They'd find Marcus soon. They'd know what he'd done.
Good.
Let them fear. Let Julian wonder when he'd return.
He passed through into the city. Dawn was breaking.
Kael Voss, the weak boy, was dead.
He didn't know what he was now. Warrior, killer, monster.
Maybe all three.
But Julian had made one mistake.
He'd left Kael alive.
That mistake would cost him everything.
The sword whispered promises.
And Kael listened.
* * *
END OF CHAPTER 3