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Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 12: Through the Fire
Kael breathed in shallow gasps, his chest heaving as he strained to stay upright. The warrior beside him was a blur of motion, a whirlwind of death, slicing through the last of the assassins with precision akin to that of a seasoned predator. Bodies littered the alley, blood thick in the air, but Kael's mind was solely focused on one thing: survival.More would come. They always did.But this time, Kael wasn't waiting to die.He stumbled forward, forcing himself to stand upright, his sword still clutched in his bloody hand. His vision swam, but he gritted his teeth, blinking away the dizziness that threatened to pull him under. The warrior glanced at him, his expression unreadable as he wiped the blood from his blades, his movements so fluid they almost seemed inhuman.Stay on your feet, Kael," the warrior growled. "If you want to make it out alive, you need to move faster.Kael shot him a glare, but there was no time for a response. From the shadows ahead, more figures emerged, their
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 13: Ashes & Awakening
The first thing that Kael felt was pain.A low, searing pain pulsated from his sternum; his body groaned in dread as if he were melting into blackness.His ears buzzed, a dull, choking hum, the sound of everything else drowning out. Was he dead?No.The hurt was too genuine, too piercing.His heartbeat, though weak and steady, thumped against his skull like a drum of war, pulling him back from the edge of the void.Then came the cold.Something slick and wet was pressed against his skin, the unmistakable chill of stone underneath his back.He struggled to open his eyes, but the world swirled in reds and blacks.Torchlight flickered, casting the dancing shadows in shapes too grotesque for his frazzled mind.He attempted to shift, but a wave of pain washed over him, and a jagged gasp fell from his throat.He was alive but barely.A voice broke from the fog of his thoughts, low and laced with muted humor."You should be dead."Kael’s pulse spiked. He knew that voice.Knew it the way he k
Shadow Born Legacy chapter 14: Blood and Betrayal
Kael followed the strange woman through the winding tunnels, the cold night air spiky against his skin.His legs trembled, and his chest seared with every inhale, yet he forced himself to keep moving.He had no choice.She moved like a wraith silent, contained, each footstep in exactly the right place.The dagger Kael had begun with, the one she'd handed him earlier, still held fast by white-knuckled fingers.He didn't trust her.He couldn't.But she was his only way out.In the distance, a torch flared and sent quick slashes of light across the damp stone walls.Dirt, perspiration, and dried blood clung heavily in the air.Kael’s mind was spinning with questions, but his instincts told him that the smart thing to do was to shut up.He sought answers, but first he had to escape alive.Eventually, after an eternity, the woman stopped.Braced against the wall, head tilted just so to hear the unseen.So did Kael, holding his breath.Silence.Then a distant rustling of movement in front.
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 15: The Ashes of Brotherhood
Kael’s world was one of fire and blood.Agony pulsed from his side, the wound deep and searing, but he wouldn’t quit.He was panting as he ran, his legs felt like lead.The heat of the blasts licking behind him, smoke curling in his lungs.Selene ran alongside him, darting through the collapsing ruins as her body shifted in and out of his line of sight, everything a blur of speed and accuracy around them.The final echoing crash of the collapse of the archive chamber shook the ground and rain darkness and death of embers and rubble into the sky.Kael didn’t look back.Dain was gone. Mined under rock and flame.Yet as he fled the wreckage of Shadowborne Estate, doubt tinged the corners of his mind.Was it truly over? Had Dain the brother who had survived each of the impossible trials, each of the assassination attempts, each of the betrayals really died with such ease?No.Dain was a monster.And monsters did not die in darkness.They waited.They watched.They came back.Kael set his
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 15: The Ashes of Brotherhood (Extended)
It was a world of fire and blood to Kael.Pain throbbed from his side, the wound deep and searing, but he wouldn’t stop.He couldn’t quit.He gasped for air as he ran, each footfall jarring through his broken body.His legs were heavy as lead, muscles throbbing with exertion, but the instinct to survive burned hotter than the flames licking at the Shadowborne Estate.The eruptions’ heat clawed at his back, licking at his flesh, thickening the air into smoke and cinders. Behind him, the great archive chamber an abyss of secrets and sins gave way with a final, thunderous crack.The mountain shuddered under the weight of history turned to ash.Selene tracked alongside him, a shimmer of motion, her frame flickering through the collapsing ruins.She was fast faster than him, even now, in this hell.The light of the flickering fire shadowed her face, sharp and merciless, like a knife sharpened by need.Kael didn’t look back.Dain was gone. Soil and flame cover your graves.And yet… doubt gn
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 16: The Revenant’s Gambit
Kael's blade: the cold steel felt heavier than it ought to.Blood loss, fatigue, and Dain’s presence sat heavily on him like an iron yoke.On the other side of the clearing, his brother stood with the easy confidence of someone who had already won.His armor, cracked and stained with dried gore, glimmered in the fractured moonlight.The assassins at his sides, silent wraiths dressed in shadowsteel, had formed a wall of killers, blades gleaming like fangs.Kael’s body was screaming at him to run.But there was nowhere to go.“Dain stepped forward, slow and deliberate. Predatory.“You look like hell, little brother.” His voice was velvet over a dagger’s edge.“Did you really think it would end like this? You could quickly burn the past and walk away unscathed? ”Kael didn’t answer.And he tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword.Dain sighed, pretending to be disappointed.“I thought you always were the naive one.” He gestured languidly to the ruins outside.“This fire, you thoug
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 17: The Hollow Blades
The air was heavy with the odor of frying flesh. Shadowborne Estate, once an invincible citadel, was now a mausoleum of cinder.Kael's fingers clenched around the hilt of his dagger as he stood among the carnage.His breath was coming in ragged gasps, his chest heaving from fatigue, but he dared not relax his guard.Beside him Dain sprawled against the stone wall, his tunic darkened with blood.His usual smirk was replaced by a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes.Selene knelt next to him, pressing a cloth against his wound.The Revenant Lords had passed like phantoms before, leaving behind only corpses and fear in their passage.But now something worse had come.Something darted at the treeline. Then another.Kael’s instincts screamed an alert, but before he could do anything, a blade zipped across the sky. He turned just in time the steel glided by his ribs instead of skewering him.A moment later, five figures appeared in the flickering firelight.They weren’t Revenants.These men were
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 18: Chains of the Sigil
A sliver of silver moon hung low in the ink-black sky.Ash choked the air above the remains of Shadowborne Estate, embers still crackling as the figures of Kael, Selene, and Dain vanished into the trees.The wounds were still fresh and their bodies ached, but they had no time for pain.The Hollow Blades were dead, but the real hunt had only just begun.They moved quietly, soft-footed over the sodden earth, sliding like phantoms between the contorted trees. A sanctuary lay ahead, hidden in the mountains where it melded into the peak, a crumbling watchtower an era ago, back when this was a Shadowborne hangout.Kael’s mind raced. The Black Sigil.That name held weight, spoken only in hushed warnings.If they wanted the Shadowborne exterminated, then this was more than just a bounty.This was a war.Dain groaned next to him, his bloodied hand against his side.His trademark cocky smirk was gone, replaced by grim determination.“How bad?” Kael asked under his breath.Dain scoffed. “It hurt
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Chapter 63: The Fires of Raven’s Hollow
The darkness of the night sky was painted with orange and black streaks. Fire from the burning armory writhed in the wind, with thick clouds of smoke billowing into the sky. The blaze was not just a diversion.It was a message.And Veyna would hear it loud and clear.Kael stood at the forest's edge, observing as Blackreach was aflame. The pilfered satchel of gold and weapons lay at his feet. Saren and Cassian flanked him, both panting from the close escape.Cassian swiped the sweat from his forehead. "You know she's going to come after us for this."Kael did not remove his gaze from the fortress. "That's the point."Saren snorted. "Boy, I hope you know what you're doing, because you just kicked the hornet's nest. And Veyna isn't the forgiving type."Kael turned at last, his eyes cold. "She wasn't supposed to be."The wind screamed through the trees. The far-off shouting echoed from the fortress as soldiers rushed to stem the chaos. Veyna's army would heal.But not before Kael took his
Chapter 62: A Silent Hunt
The evening air was heavy with the smell of blood and smoke. Kael's own breath was rasping gasps as he rode into the forest darkness, the wound a steady, burning pain that reminded him all too vividly that he still lived. Cassian and Lord Saren rode ahead of him, their shadows mere blurs in the moonlight.The trees stretched tall around them, their twisted limbs casting eerie shadows. Every rustle of the leaves, every crack of a branch, sent Kael’s instincts into overdrive.They weren’t safe.Veyna wouldn’t let them escape so easily.Cassian slowed his horse, glancing back at Kael. "We need to stop. You’re bleeding too much."Kael clenched his jaw. "We keep moving. They’ll send more."Lord Saren spun around in his saddle. "You've made yourself the enemy of the most deadly woman in the kingdom, boy. That wound will kill you before she even gets the chance if you don't stop and clean it."Kael knew they were correct, but each second they lingered was another second Veyna's army closed i
Chapter 61 The Choice
The halls of the prison were quiet.Not the kind of quiet that followed peace, but the kind that preceded violence.Selene was still on the hard stone floor, not moving, breathing slowly and carefully, listening.Footsteps.Two guards, by the sound of their weight. Their path never varied. They went to the cell in the distance, had a brief whispered conversation, then walked by hers.Same routine. Same error.They didn't expect her to still be awake.The moment they were out of sight, she moved.Slowly, she slipped her hand into the gap between the bricks by the floor—a tiny, almost imperceptible slit she had discovered two nights before. Her fingers stroked parchment.A note.She drew it out, hands steady, and unfolded the little piece of paper.There were only four words written."Be ready. Three days."No signature. No indication of who had slipped it in.But she knew.Kael.Selene crumpled the paper, stuffing it into her sleeve.Three days.Then it would all burn.Kael's BargainK
Chapter 60: A Throne of Chains
The iron shackles dug into Kael's wrists.They marched him through the destroyed city like a trophy.Emberhold, the battlefield it had once been, was now a conquered city under the flag of House Vaelor.Smoke drifted up into the air, the smell of ash and blood hanging in the air.His people his soldiers were brought to their knees behind him, their swords taken from them, their heads bowed.Selene knelt between Calia and Dain, her face in shadow, her golden eyes blazing with something treacherous.Kael felt her glare burning his back.Her anger was heavier than his chains.But she didn't know.None of them did.This wasn't the end.This was the beginning.Veyna believed she had won. That she had shattered him.But Kael was not broken.He was waiting.Lord Cassian Drayke stood by Veyna's side as they approached the great hall of Emberhold's keep.Cassian was looking at him once more. Quiet. Pensive.Kael still didn't know where Cassian's allegiances lay.A man without a cause is more d
The Queen’s Bargain
The air was heavy with the smell of blood and smoke.Kael remained still, his sword at his feet, the dull ring of steel on stone still echoing in his mind. Veyna's dagger was still pressed to the young rebel's throat, her silver eyes laughing."You made the right decision," she whispered, her voice as smooth as silk.Kael's fists were clenched at his sides. He breathed steadily, but below, a storm consumed him. He had seen the smirks on her soldiers' mouths. He had felt the weight of each watching gaze. They believed they'd crushed him.They were mistaken."Let him go," Kael stated, his tone cutting.Veyna cocked her head to one side, pretending to be interested. "And what promise do I have that you will not begin butchering my men the second I do?"Kael drew a slow breath. "Your word."Veyna's laughter was light. "Your word? A traitor's word? I apologize if I am not consoled."Selene, hidden in the midst of the commotion, shifted. Kael saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, h
Chapter 58: Dawn of Reckoning
It was a cold night.Kael sat by the fire alone, honing his blade in slow, careful strokes. The ring of steel on stone rang out in the stillness.The rebels who had managed to escape from the fall of Emberhold were resting or attending to their injuries.Dain sat closer by, arms folded, gazing into the fire, as Calia murmured orders to the injured.Selene hadn't said much since their flight. But Kael sensed her regarding him. Waiting.ThenFootsteps came.One of their scouts, a young woman named Ryn, emerged at the edge of the camp, her face white. "Kael. A rider arrived."Kael's hand on his sword tightened. "Where from?"Ryn hesitated. "Emberhold."The camp came alive. Selene stood at once, her golden eyes blazing. "House Vaelor?"Ryn swallowed. "They delivered a message for you."Kael rose. The whole camp felt the gravity of the words as Ryn handed Kael a sealed document, the red wax stamping an all-too-familiar sigil.The sigil of House Vaelor.Kael ripped it open.Kael,I have you
Chapter 57: The Betrayer’s Gambit
Smoke filled the air. Emberhold burned.The seemingly impenetrable fortress was now reduced to rubble, its great walls battered by the uprising's attack. Screams and the ring of steel echoed off the streets. The firelit shadows stretched and danced, transmuting warriors into phantasms of battle.Kael navigated through the carnage like a storm. His sword was smeared with blood, his breathing hot and steady. He wasn't fighting to stay alive.He was fighting to win.Across the courtyard, Selene vaulted over a broken cart, her twin daggers flashing like fangs. She landed on an enemy officer, her blade sinking into his throat before he could even scream."Status?" Kael barked as she joined him, her face smeared with soot and sweat."Dain and Calia are securing the lower barracks." Selene wiped her blade clean on a fallen soldier’s cloak. "We’ve taken the outer walls, but"A faraway blast interrupted her.From the eastern tower, a black flag unfurled.Not Emberhold's colors.Not rebellion co
Chapter 56: The Blade That Devours
Pain.Not the kind that seared.Not the kind that poured like blood.This pain was profound. Chilling. Eternal.Like something had plunged into his soul and attempted to rip him asunder.Kael's hands clasped the hilt of the Blade of Oblivion.And the world splintered.Kael was not in the ruins.Not in the forest.He was nowhere.A chasm stretched in all directions, infinite and black.And before himA figure sat on a throne of cracked obsidian.Not human.Not divine.Something between.The voice thundered like a storm."You are not worthy."Kael gasped. "Then kill me."The figure laughed."You cannot be killed, Shadowborne.""That is your curse."Kael's heart rate decreased.Because secretly, he already knew that.And that was why the architects feared him.The throne room shook.The figure stood up, stepping down towards Kael.It was tall. Cloaked. Unseen.And in its handA sword exactly like the one Kael now clutched."You have taken a sword not for mortals."The being lifted its sw
Chapter 55: A World Unraveling
The night had been too silent.The Purgeborn had vanished, and its absence didn't feel natural.Kael cleaned his sword, his heart still racing.For the first time in his life, he had battled something that wasn't supposed to be battled.And emerged victorious.But that victory tasted bitter.Because now he had more questions than answers.Behind him, Selene still gazed at Calia.Dain rubbed his temples, grumbling, "I think I hate magic now."Kael's silver eyes landed on Calia."Start talking."Calia breathed.Then, finally, she said something."You believe the Blackthorn Company is your arch-nemesis," she told him.Her voice was barely above a whisper."But it's not."Selene rolled her eyes. "Then who is?"Calia's hands clenched into fists."The ones who created the Blackthorn Company."Dain's face grew harder. "You mean Sarai?"Calia shook her head."No."She raised her eyes.Her golden eyes flared."I mean the ones who created us all."The words sat suspended in the air like a curse.