The horns sounded behind us.
Not one.
Three.
Sharp. Commanding.
Imperial riders.
"They've found us," Seraphine said.
I tightened my grip on the reins.
"Hold on."
We broke through the trees at full speed.
Branches lashed at our faces. Mud sprayed beneath the hooves. Behind us, armored riders crashed through the undergrowth, their shouts echoing through the forest.
"They won't stop," Seraphine said.
"They don't need to," I replied. "They just need to slow us down."
An arrow tore past my shoulder.
Another struck the trunk beside us.
I swerved hard.
The forest thinned ahead.
Too open.
Bad terrain.
"Cliff path!" Seraphine shouted, pointing toward a narrow trail cutting into the rock.
I turned without hesitation.
The trail was barely wide enough for one horse. Stone fell away on one side into a mist-filled drop.
The riders behind us hesitated.
Only for a moment.
Then they followed.
"Faster," she whispered.
Our horse stumbled.
My heart stopped.
I leaned forward, urging it on.
One wrong step and we would vanish into the fog below.
An imperial rider gained on us.
Too close.
I twisted in the saddle, drew my dagger, and hurled it.
The blade struck his shoulder.
He lost control.
Man and horse tumbled into the mist.
The rest pulled back.
Not fear.
Calculation.
They would find another way.
"They'll circle around," I said. "Cut us off at the valley."
Seraphine nodded.
"We need to disappear."
We burst out of the pass and into broken land.
The world changed.
No trees.
No roads.
Only cracked earth, ruined stone, and blackened towers half-swallowed by time.
The Ashlands.
Where the empire's laws ended.
Where the unwanted survived.
We slowed only when the land swallowed the trail completely.
I guided the horse into the shadow of a collapsed fortress.
"Here," Seraphine said. "They won't track us easily in this terrain."
We dismounted.
My legs shook.
Not from fear.
From everything catching up at once.
She leaned heavily against the stone.
I reached for her.
"Easy," I said.
She nodded, breathing carefully.
The Ashlands were silent.
No birds.
No banners.
No empire.
Only wind moving through broken walls.
"This place…" she murmured. "They say criminals rule here."
"And people the empire wanted to erase," I said.
Footsteps echoed from deeper inside the ruins.
My hand went to my sword.
Figures emerged from the shadows.
Three men.
One woman.
Weapons loose in their hands.
Not soldiers.
Survivors.
The woman stepped forward.
Short hair. Sharp eyes. A scar across her cheek.
"You're far from the capital, prince," she said.
My heart stilled.
"You know who I am."
"Everyone does now," she replied. "The empire's favorite traitor."
Seraphine straightened.
"And you are?"
The woman smirked.
"Lira. Former border commander. Executed for refusing to burn a village."
One of the men beside her spoke.
"Name's Joren. They hanged my brother for hiding refugees."
Another nodded.
"They took my city."
I looked at them.
Not criminals.
Not outcasts.
People who had already lost everything.
"What do you want?" Seraphine asked.
Lira studied me.
"I want to know," she said, "if the stories are true."
"Which stories?" I asked.
"That you killed the Regent's agent. That you chose war over exile. That you stood against the throne… for her."
Her eyes flicked to Seraphine.
I didn't deny it.
Lira exhaled slowly.
"Then maybe you're not just another noble playing hero."
She stepped closer.
"Because out here, we don't follow crowns," she said. "We follow causes."
I met her gaze.
"Then listen to mine," I said. "The empire is built on blood. On lies. On sacrifices it never admits to making."
I thought of the execution platform.
Of the ambush.
Of Seraphine bleeding in my arms.
"They tried to erase me," I said. "And when that failed, they tried to erase her."
My voice hardened.
"I will not disappear. I will not kneel. And I will not stop until the throne that ordered this is brought down."
Silence followed.
Then Lira smiled.
Not mockingly.
With something like hope.
"Welcome to the Ashlands," she said. "Where rebellions are born."
They led us deeper into the ruins, into a hidden chamber carved beneath the stone.
Torches flickered along the walls.
A refuge.
Safe. For now.
Seraphine sat carefully on a low cot.
Her face was pale again.
The adrenaline was gone.
I knelt in front of her.
"You pushed too hard," I said.
She gave a faint smile.
"I didn't want to slow you down."
I shook my head.
"You are not something I carry behind me."
I gently took her hand.
"You are the reason I keep moving."
Her fingers tightened around mine.
"Kael…"
The world outside felt far away.
No empire.
No pursuit.
Just us.
"I don't know what comes next," I said quietly. "I don't know if we win. Or how much we'll lose before this ends."
She met my eyes.
"But you're not alone anymore."
"No," I said.
"I'm not."
She leaned her forehead against mine.
For the first time since everything fell apart…
There was no urgency.
No blood.
No shouting.
Only breath.
Only warmth.
Only the quiet knowledge that whatever came next…
We would face it together.