Jade

  The portal flared open once again, but this time, no magic crackled in the air. No immediate surge of violence or destruction. Two more figures stepped through, their dark robes billowing with the same menacing aura. Unlike the first knights, these were different—each one radiated an intensity of mana so oppressive that it felt like a physical weight pressing down on me. The air itself seemed to grow colder, and the village seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the next move.

  The villagers huddled together, clearly afraid of what was coming. I couldn't blame them. The last time the portal opened, it had unleashed chaos. And now, these two figures stood before us, their eyes locked onto the unconscious forms of Haley and Oz.

  One of the knights spoke first, his voice deep, with an authority that made my skin crawl.

  "We've come for the mage," he said, his gaze piercing the group. His eyes never wavered from Haley's tied-up form. "And the one who was drained of mana—Oz."

  I stepped forward instinctively, standing between them and the captives. "What do you want with them?" I demanded, trying to sound confident despite the heavy mana pressuring me from all sides. My hand hovered near my bow, but I knew there wasn't much hope of using it in this moment. I needed information, not an empty fight.

  The other knight, his expression unreadable behind his mask, answered with a low growl. "We have our orders. The mage and the one known as Oz must come with us. Deny us, and this village—along with everyone in it—will be destroyed."

  The weight of his words sunk into me like a stone. The threat was clear, but what could we do? The knights' power was unmistakable, and even if we fought back, the cost would be too high for the village. I looked at Hue and Emberes, both of whom were steely-eyed and tense. They knew the situation as well as I did.

  "What if we refuse?" Emberes asked, his voice calm, but I could hear the edge in it. He wasn't afraid, but he was wary.

  The first knight didn't respond with words, but his hand twitched toward the hilt of his weapon, his mana spiking dangerously. I knew it was a threat.

  "We can't risk it," I muttered, lowering my bow. "We have to let them go with the knights."

  Hue, who had been silent, stepped forward. His voice was laced with anger, but it held an air of finality. "We'll give them both. But I have a plan," he said, his gaze locking onto the two knights, and then the group. "We're going to the Canu Village tonight. The elders need to know what's happening, and we can't afford to wait any longer."

  I frowned, sensing there was more he wasn't saying. "What's the plan, Hue?"

  His eyes darkened, and he glanced toward Oz, still slumped on the ground, his mana drained. "Once we return from our original objective, I'm going to break Oz out of Belfour Prison. I don't think the King will have him killed. Oz is too valuable to him as leverage. He'll keep him alive, at least for now."

  I swallowed hard, my mind racing. The idea of breaking into Belfour Prison—a place where people went to disappear—was enough to make my skin crawl. But I trusted Hue, and if he said it was possible, then I had to believe him.

  "Let's focus on tonight, then," I said, my voice a little steadier than I felt. "We'll tell the elders everything. But after that, we need to come up with a real plan. I won't let the King have his way with Oz."

  Thornton, who had been quiet until now, nodded his agreement. "We'll do what we can to protect him. We can't let the King get away with this."

  The knights stood silently, watching us, awaiting our compliance. Their presence was suffocating, but we had no choice but to let them take Haley and Oz. The group moved to secure both of them, taking care to place mana binders around Haley's wrists to prevent any future use of her magic.

  As we prepared to leave, I glanced toward the Fiam clan. Jans, who had been fighting with the group earlier, now approached us, his eyes filled with something I didn't expect to see—regret.

  "I've had a change of heart," he said, his voice gruff but sincere. "We've caused enough harm here, and I can't stand by while this village continues to suffer. We'll protect Lye from now on. I swear it."

  I met his gaze, and for the first time, I saw something other than a warrior's callousness in him. He meant it. His words were backed by a genuine desire to make things right.

  I nodded, grateful for his unexpected resolve. "Thank you," I said quietly. "That means more than you know."

  The Fiam clan began to pack up, preparing to leave for the Crea Kingdom, while we focused on gathering our things and taking care of the village's immediate needs. We helped rebuild what we could, patched up the villagers' homes, and tended to our minor injuries, though the weight of everything hung heavily in the air.

  As the moon rose, casting its pale light over the village of Lye, we prepared to leave. The villagers had returned to their homes, still shaken, but grateful. They knew they were no longer alone.

  "I'll never forget what you did for us," the elderly woman said to me as I passed by, her voice soft with gratitude. "This village will remember your names."

  I nodded, my heart heavy with the knowledge that it wouldn't be enough. The village was safe—for now—but I couldn't shake the feeling that the storm was far from over.

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  The group gathered at the edge of the village, ready to set off for Canu. Hue's plan was set, and there was no turning back. We had a long road ahead, but tonight, we would travel.

  The path was uncertain, but one thing was clear: we were in this together, and we would find a way to stop whatever was coming next.

  I turned toward the dark road ahead, the weight of what had happened sinking in, but my resolve was unwavering. There was no more running. It was time to face the future.

  The others were already moving, their footsteps light but heavy with the knowledge of what we had left behind in Lye. There was no going back now.

  "Let's go," Hue said quietly, his voice carrying the same determination I had seen in him since we first met. He was always calm, always calculating, but there was something darker in his eyes now. I had seen it before, but it was different this time. He wasn't just angry; he was... broken.

  Thornton and I fell into step beside him, the familiar rhythm of our group once again falling into place. Emberes walked a few paces ahead, his long strides eating up the distance between us. He always kept a few steps ahead when things felt uncertain. Maybe he was trying to outrun his own thoughts, too.

  It had been a week or so since Thornton and I had seen the Canu Village. We had been caught up in the PURE competition and everything that had happened before it. We were both eager to be back, to see the familiar faces of the villagers, to get a moment of peace before the storm. But that moment felt like it was slipping further and further from our grasp.

  The walk should've taken two days, but we didn't stop. We didn't rest. We had all agreed that time was something we no longer had. We pushed ourselves to go faster, to get to Canu Village as soon as possible. Every step felt like it was weighted with something far heavier than exhaustion.

  As we walked, we spoke in hushed tones, our voices muted against the quiet of the night.

  "Do you really think Hue's plan will work?" I asked, glancing sideways at Thornton, who had been quiet for a while. He ran a hand through his hair, clearly deep in thought.

  "It has to," he said. "We don't have another choice. The only other option is leaving Oz behind, and that's not something any of us can live with." His voice was rough, but there was something in his eyes—a determination, like he was willing to face whatever came next.

  I nodded, but my mind kept drifting back to the last thing we had seen. The way Haley had fought, how brutal and violent she had been. I didn't think I'd ever forget the way she had smiled at us, like she enjoyed the chaos, the destruction.

  "Haley..." I murmured, my voice trailing off. "She was ruthless. It was like she was enjoying it—like she was relishing the pain she caused. I can't understand why she's doing this. What happened to her?"

  Hue's voice broke through the silence. "She's the king's secret weapon, that's what she is. I didn't want to believe it, but I think she's been sent to bury whatever secrets the kingdom is hiding. She doesn't care who gets hurt. She only cares about fulfilling her mission. The rest of us? We're just obstacles."

  The anger in his voice was unmistakable, but there was something else there, too. A sadness. A sense of betrayal. I could see it on his face, in the tightness of his jaw.

  "I can't believe I ever called them family," Hue continued, his words heavy. "They've been lying to us this whole time. Using us for their own purposes. And now..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

  "None of this makes sense," Thornton said, his voice softer now. "Why would the king do this? Why would he send someone like Haley?"

  I shook my head, my thoughts swirling. "Maybe she's the only way to keep the secrets buried. Maybe she's the king's way of controlling everything. If she's gone rogue, then he loses his leverage. And that's a problem for him."

  The weight of those words lingered in the air as we kept walking. The night was quiet, eerily so, and the chill in the air had deepened. The shadows seemed to stretch longer, the trees more twisted than they had been earlier. It was as if the land itself was holding its breath.

  And then we smelled it.

  Smoke.

  I couldn't place it at first, but then it hit me—the scent of burning wood and ash. My stomach clenched, and I quickened my pace, the others following suit. As we drew closer to the Canu Village, the smoke grew thicker, the smell more intense. The village was in sight now—just over the hill—but something was wrong. It didn't look like it did before. The outline of the buildings was blurred, the landscape dotted with shadows.

  We crested the hill and froze.

  The Canu Village was gone. Reduced to ashes. Blackened structures stood as charred skeletons in the night, remnants of what had once been a thriving home. The smoke billowed from what remained of the center of the village, rising into the air like some horrific specter.

  I couldn't speak. My heart pounded in my chest, the realization of what we were seeing sinking in like a stone in my stomach. The Canu Village was burned to the ground.

  "No..." Emberes muttered, his voice a hoarse whisper as he stared at the devastation.

  Hue's eyes narrowed, and he turned to face us, his expression unreadable. "This wasn't the knights. This was something else."

  Thornton shook his head, disbelief clouding his features. "Who would do this? Why? Why now?"

  Hue's voice grew low, tinged with caution. "We need to move carefully. The king has eyes everywhere. His army of animals—they can relay messages faster than any messenger. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been keeping track of us. That's probably how the knights knew to come and save Haley from becoming our captive. They're always watching." His jaw clenched, and he glanced around as if expecting an attack at any moment. "The king's reach is far. We can't afford to make any noise here."

  There was a chilling weight to his words, and it settled deep in my chest. I had seen what the king was capable of, but hearing it laid out like that was unsettling. I looked at the burning remains of the village again, the sense of dread rising.

  Suddenly, my thoughts fractured, memories flickering in my mind, memories that felt almost foreign, like they belonged to someone else. A child's laughter, the crackling of fire, a sudden rush of heat on the skin... Then the sound of screams, my own voice lost among the chaos, the smell of smoke filling my nose. A face—familiar, but blurred—staring back at me as I was dragged away from the flames.

  I stumbled slightly, disoriented. Thornton noticed, and his hand shot out to steady me.

  "Jade, you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.

  I nodded quickly, shaking the images from my mind. They came and went so fast, too fast to grasp. But I couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that they were connected to the burning village ahead of us. The fire... the village... it was all too familiar. It felt like it was happening again.

  "I'm fine," I said, forcing my voice to steady. "Just... just a flash of something. It's nothing."

  Thornton gave me a searching look but didn't press further. We couldn't afford distractions right now.

  Hue motioned toward the village again. "We need to keep moving. And we need to stay alert. There's no telling who—or what—is still watching us."

  I swallowed hard, the memory still lingering in the back of my mind. But Hue was right. We couldn't afford to stop now. The path ahead was unclear, and we didn't have time to mourn what we had lost. There was still too much at stake.

  We kept walking, the sense of unease growing as we approached the ashes of the Canu Village.