The arrow struck first.
It buried itself deep in the lion's shoulder, punching through muscle with a wet crack that echoed down the alley. The beast roared—not in pain alone, but in fury, the sound reverberating off stone walls and shaking loose dust from windowsills.
People screamed.
Some ran.
Some froze.
Kael didn't look back.
"Nyx—left roof!" he shouted.
Nyx was already moving.
She vanished into shadow, boots finding impossible purchase as she scaled the narrow wall, fingers catching ledges meant for birds and rainwater, not people. Her blades flashed briefly in lantern light before disappearing again.
The lion lunged.
Not at Kael.
At the crowd.
Borin reacted without thinking.
He slammed his hammer into the stone street, channeling just enough force to buckle the ground upward into a jagged ridge between the beast and the fleeing civilians. The earth responded reluctantly, groaning as it rose.
Pain lanced through Borin's arm. He grunted but didn't stop.
The lion crashed into the stone barrier, claws scraping sparks, momentum arrested just short of the open square where people scattered in panic.
Elyra lifted her staff, voice low and steady.
"Slow," she whispered—not a command, not a spell, but a plea wrapped in power.
The air thickened.
The lion's movements stuttered for half a heartbeat, like something resisting an invisible current.
That heartbeat saved lives.
Kael loosed again.
The second arrow struck the lion's flank, driving it sideways. The beast snarled and twisted, eyes snapping back to Kael with sudden, focused hatred.
It learned.
The lion turned fully toward him.
Nyx's voice rang out from above. "Kael—move!"
Too late.
The lion leapt.
Stone shattered beneath its weight as it cleared the barrier in a single bound, landing hard and charging straight for Kael, mane flaring, jaws wide.
Kael rolled aside just as claws slammed down where he'd stood, stone exploding into shards. He came up on one knee, drawing another arrow—but the lion was already pivoting, tail lashing, adapting frighteningly fast.
Borin stepped between them, hammer raised.
"Hey!" he roared.
The lion struck him like a living avalanche.
Borin was thrown backward, skidding across the street until he slammed into a wall hard enough to crack stone. His breath left him in a violent gasp.
"Borin!" Elyra shouted.
The lion stalked forward, teeth bared, savoring the moment.
Nyx dropped from above like a falling knife.
She landed on the lion's back, blades plunging into the thick mane at the base of its neck. The beast roared again, bucking violently, slamming itself against a wall to dislodge her.
Nyx held on, teeth clenched, arms screaming with strain.
"Get—its—eyes!" she yelled.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He drew, aimed, and loosed in one smooth motion.
The arrow punched into the lion's right eye.
The beast screamed—a sound so raw it sent shivers through everyone who heard it—and thrashed wildly, smashing stalls, walls, anything within reach.
Nyx was flung free, rolling hard across the stones.
Elyra ran to Borin's side, dropping to her knees.
"Borin—look at me," she said urgently.
Borin coughed, blood flecking his lips. "Still… here."
Elyra pressed her palm to his chest and whispered again, her voice trembling now.
"Hold."
The pain eased slightly. Not gone. Never gone. But enough.
Borin forced himself upright, leaning heavily on his hammer. "Didn't… hear no bell."
Nyx staggered to her feet nearby, blood trickling from a cut along her temple. She grinned fiercely. "You're buying the next round."
Kael didn't smile.
The lion had stopped thrashing.
It stood in the center of the ruined street, blood pouring from its eye socket, chest heaving. It should have fled.
It didn't.
Instead, it lowered its head.
The Mark flared.
Kael sucked in a sharp breath as a pressure rolled through him—images flickering behind his eyes: open plains, ancient hunts, beasts kneeling before something unseen.
The lion spoke.
Not with words.
With intent.
I KNOW YOU.
Kael staggered.
Nyx saw it immediately. "Kael!"
The lion took a step closer, ignoring Borin's raised hammer, ignoring Elyra's staff glowing faintly as she fought to keep the air thick.
YOU CARRY THE CHAIN.
Kael's hands shook on the bowstring.
"No," he whispered. "I carry a choice."
The lion snarled, anger and something like fear mixing in its gaze.
YOU WILL FAIL AS THEY DID.
Borin stepped forward, planting himself between Kael and the beast despite the pain tearing through his arm.
"Then you'll have to go through me," he growled.
Nyx limped to Kael's side, blades raised, stance low and ready. "You're not touching him."
Elyra stood behind them, staff planted, eyes blazing with quiet resolve. "You don't get to decide how this ends."
For the first time, the lion hesitated.
It looked at them—not as prey, not as obstacles—but as a unit.
Four heartbeats. One line.
Kael felt it then—something shifting between them. Not magic. Not power.
Trust.
He drew one last arrow.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The lion gathered itself, muscles coiling for a final charge.
"Now," Kael said.
Nyx moved first—blinding speed, blades flashing as she slashed across the lion's remaining eye, forcing its head aside.
Borin followed, roaring as he brought the hammer down with everything he had left, striking not the lion's skull—but the ground beneath its forelegs.
The stone collapsed.
The lion stumbled.
Elyra shouted a word that cost her dearly—she felt something tear loose inside her, another memory gone—but the air locked, pinning the beast in place for one precious second.
That second was enough.
Kael loosed.
The arrow flew true.
It pierced the lion's heart.
The beast shuddered once, a deep, rattling sound escaping its chest, then collapsed heavily onto the stone, the ground trembling with its final breath.
Silence fell.
No cheers.
No applause.
Just the sound of people breathing again.
Kael lowered the bow slowly, hands shaking now that the fight was over.
Nyx let out a shaky laugh and sat down hard on the street. "I really hate cats."
Borin dropped to one knee, leaning on his hammer, chest heaving. "That thing… thought."
Elyra sank down beside him, exhausted. "It remembered."
Kael stared at the lion's body.
It was already changing.
The wrongness drained away, leaving behind something closer to a normal beast—still massive, still terrifying, but no longer… aware.
Behind them, Brineholt began to stir.
Guards approached cautiously. Civilians peered out from hiding. Someone started to clap, then stopped, unsure if it was allowed.
Nyx glanced at Kael. "You alright?"
Kael nodded slowly. "I am now."
Borin managed a weak smile. "Guess we passed probation."
Elyra looked at them—really looked at them—and for a moment, the weight she carried eased.
"We didn't survive that alone," she said quietly. "We survived it together."
Kael met each of their eyes in turn.
"I won't promise we all make it through what's coming," he said. "But I promise this—no one gets left behind."
Nyx snorted. "Careful. That sounded heroic."
Kael allowed himself a small smile. "Don't get used to it."
In the distance, unseen by the crowd, a figure watched from a rooftop.
Renn Varn's smile was slow and thoughtful as he took in the ruined street and the dead lion.
"So," he murmured to himself, "that's what they look like when they stand together."
He turned away before anyone could spot him.
The hunt had only just begun.