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Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 35: No Shadows Between Us
The temple was silent.Not the peaceful kind.The kind that stood heavy in the air like before a storm, thick with the press of unspoken words and unsheathed steel.Kael and Calia stood a sword’s length from one another, eyes locked, bodies coiled like snakes about to strike.Once, she was his closest ally.They once fought side by side.Now only one would walk away.Selene and Dain stood at the edge of the ruined temple, unseen tension thrumming in their veins.Selene shifted uneasily. “You really think we’re not running in? ”Dain's hand was upon the hilt of his sword. "Not yet."Selene exhaled sharply. “I hate assassin politics.”Kael tuned them out.Because Calia was in motion already.First BloodWithout hesitation she lunged, her blade cutting toward Kael’s throat.He darted to the left, the strike narrowly missing him.But Calia never overextended.Her second blade glinted. Kael barely parried in time, the impact jolting his arm.She pressed forward. Faster. Sharper.In his lif
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 36: The Hollow Reckoning
A bolt fired from the crossbow lanced Kael’s shoulder, pain pouring through his flesh.Something warm and sticky dribbled down his arm, going from there to the ruined stone beneath him.The Hollow Lord remained still but a few feet from him, his sword lowered at his side, his mask catching the flickering light from the torch.Kael was flanked by Selene and Dain, weapons drawn, panting from their battle with the Hollow Wraiths.The atmosphere was charged with tension.Kael exhaled, his posture shifting. The pain was nothing.He’d survived worse.And if this fucker thought he was going to die here, he was in for a very bloody disappointment.The voice of the Hollow Lord was deep and silky."You are wounded."Ignoring the bolt still stuck in him, Kael rolled his shoulder. “You sound disappointed.”A chuckle. "Not at all. This is simply… necessary."Selene tightened her grip on her daggers. “Do you always talk this much, or is that a Hollow Lord thing? ”The masked silhouette tilted his h
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 37: The Assassin’s Gambit
A City That Breathes DeathDuskfall was built for murderers.Before Kael, the city unfurled as a writhing vein of stone and shadow, gutters criss-crossing in and out like arteries through a cadaver.It stank of iron and damp rot, of blood shed in silence, of secrets bought with gold.Kael had spent her childhood in cities like this.But this time he wasn’t there to vanish.He was here to hunt.Dain cracked his knuckles and peered down the could-be streets. “Remind me why we’re not just burning this place down?”Theroy section, adjusting her dagger belt with a smirk. “Because we’re out of oil.”Kael didn’t react. He thought of one thing and one thing only.Ronan.His brother.A man who was meant to be dead.Now the Hollow Lords’ greatest weapon.And if Kael wanted to end this war, he had to find him first.Selene glanced at him. “You’ve been quiet.”Kael let out a breath, eyes like blades of silver glass very sharp. “We need to move.”For the longer they waited, the closer the Hollow L
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 38: The Shadow Gambit
A City Waiting to KillDuskfall had never been silent.And even in the dead of night, it breathed danger whispers in darkened alleys, blades drawn under flickering lanterns.And tonight, Kael stepped right into this.It was the Hollow Lords that made their move.Now, it was his turn.Smoke still wafted from the ruins of the watchtower behind them. Blood soaked Kael’s sleeve, mingling with the pain throbbing in his shoulder.WATCHING AS RONAN STOOD IN THE FENCE LIKE A MAN, before disappearing back into the dark.Mocking him.Daring him to strike first.Kael clenched his fists.Fine.He would.Selene cleaned off her daggers and stepped next to him. “So, fearless leader, where are we going next? ”Dain rolled his shoulders. “And if you say ‘another ambush,’ I swear to all the gods”Kael ignored them. His silver eyes glided over the crumbling rooftops ahead.The Hollow Lords were more than just assassins.They were engineers of power.And if they thought Kael was going to wait for them to
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 39: A Kingdom of Knives
The Price of FireThe Black Spire still burned.Smoke traced a path up into the sky, writhing through the rooftops of Duskfall like the breath of a dying god. The flames had consumed it all the Hollow Lords’ hidden ledgers, their stores of weapons, their well-built secrets.But not Ronan.Kael wiped blood from his lips, breathing fast and thin. His ribs ached when Ronan’s blade broke skin, the crater shallow but seething. A reminder he hadn’t managed to stop this.Dain leaned on the stone parapet, watching the spreading fire. “Well. That was fun.”Selene sheathed her daggers. “Not the word I’d use.”Kael exhaled slowly. The Hollow Lords had hoped he would be careless.But they did not imagine he would incinerate their stronghold.Still, something felt wrong.Too easy.Too.A loud crash broke the night.A horn.Low. Echoing.Kael’s stomach tightened.Selene frowned. “That’s not a city watch signal.”Dain’s hand drifted to his sword. “No. That’s a war call.”Kael’s pulse quickened.The
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 40: The Gallows Massacre
A City Waiting for BloodIt never stopped being a city of shadows; Duskfall had always been.But tonight it was a war city.Because the Gallows Market was founded under bloody conditions, arrows flew in the thick smoke-filled air. Steel rang in the darkness, and men howled as the blades bit, and torches fell to smash against the cobblestone streets, igniting the stalls.Kael traveled like a wraith, weaving through the fracas as mercenaries circled in from every direction.Elias Greaves had laid the trap perfectly.Now Kael had to break it.He parried an incoming sword, turned, and drove his blade into the attacker’s ribs.The man folded, but two more took his place.Kael’s silver gaze poured over the battlefield.He didn’t have to win this one.He just had to survive.Because Selene and Dain were on their way.And then they did Duskfall would burn.Elias’ Deadly GameElias Greaves observed from above the market, one hand casually resting on the hilt of his dagger.He wasn’t fighting.
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 41: The Executioners’ War
The Gallows Market was ablaze.Flames leapt from the shattered stalls, sparkling over puddles of blood and smashed weapons. Instead of the dying cries of mercenaries, the hollow measured footsteps of the Hollow Lords’ Executioners.They glided like wraiths, a dozen masked murderers in ebony plate, blade glimmering with liquid night.And at their center, caught between Kael and the only exit.Ronan.Kael bared his teeth, squeezing his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His ribs screamed, his wounds burned like the fires of hell, but none of it mattered.Because this was a fight they could not avoid.Selene already stood by him, spinning daggers in her fingers. “Well, this is a disaster.”Dain cracked his neck. “Could be worse.”Selene shot him a sharp look. “How?”Dain smirked. “There could be 13 of them.”Kael kept his eyes on Ronan. But there was something unreadable that gleamed in his brother’s silver eyes.The Executioners had been on your tail. Waiting.For the orde
Shadow Born Legacy Chapter 42: A Deal with a Ghost
Kael didn’t trust Calia Vale.He had trusted her once.Anyway, it was back when they were only weapons, when they had fought side by side in the Shadowborne Estate.When she had been a friend of his.But that person had been dead for years.Now she was something else.A Hollow Assassin. A servant of the Lords he’d sworn to annihilate.And yet, here she was, guiding them directly into their fortress.Kael shifted his hand on his sword. The fight at the Gallows Market had left his ribs aching, and the smoke had become part and parcel of his clothes.Selene paced next to him, taut, hands hovering over her daggers.Dain walked beside them, rolling his shoulders. “Doesn’t this still seem like a trap? ”Calia smirked. “It is.”Selene exhaled sharply. “Great. Love that.”Kael tuned them out, watching the streets of the city become narrower and darker.And that they were headed into the Hollow Lords’ true domain.And with each step, he knew—they weren’t getting out of this place without blood.
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Chapter 64: A Blade at Their Throat
The journey to the Ironwood Mountains was harsh.Cold winds buffeted the rebel company as they ascended icy paths. The forest grew sparse as the height increased, and the sun hid behind bruise-colored clouds. There was no song of birds. No calls of animals. Only the crunch of boots on frozen earth and the far-off howl of something worse than wolves.Kael strode at the lead, jaw clenched, cloak blowing out behind him. Selene stayed close on his left, breath misting in white, eyes searching the line of trees for signs of life.The rear of their group consisted of the survivors of Raven's Hollow, trudging in somber silence. The loss of their village rested heavy on them like a second skin.But they weren't alone.Reinforcements had come two days earlier: three dozen of the Freeholds' finest, led by Commander Tarek, his left eye an empty socket.They'd heard whispers of Emberhold's defeat and came looking for the only man they thought might be able to strike back.Kael.And now, they came
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