The forest was still, but Kael's instincts screamed.
He stood beside his dying fire, hand on the hilt of his blade, eyes scanning the tree line. Whoever had been there—whoever had watched him cross off another name—they were gone now. But the weight of that gaze still lingered.
Kael didn't sleep that night.
---
The Next Morning — Town of Red Hollow
Kael walked into town with his cloak drawn low, blood washed from his hands but not from his soul. Red Hollow was a place built on greed—brothels, trade posts, bounty boards. A place where killers didn't need to hide.
His next name lived here.
Selra Vint, an information broker and poisoner. She had laced the wine they were forced to drink that night. The wine Kael's son sipped before collapsing in his mother's arms.
Kael walked into her den.
It was quiet inside. Velvet drapes, perfume in the air. Too clean for the crimes she'd sold.
Selra was waiting.
"Kael Voss," she said, sipping tea. "I wondered when you'd reach me."
His jaw clenched. "You remember their names?"
She set the teacup down and smiled sadly. "I remember every family I've destroyed. It's how I stay alive."
Kael stepped forward, drawing a silver blade from his belt.
"I'm not here to remember."
---
But then—
A dagger flew through the window. Fast.
Kael dodged, barely. Selra screamed. Another figure leapt through the broken frame, cloaked in silver.
The one who watched him.
They clashed. Fast strikes. No wasted motion. Whoever this figure was, they were trained—deadly.
Kael parried, blade to blade. "Who sent you?"
The figure said nothing.
A low voice—mechanical, feminine—escaped from behind the mask:
"Your revenge is not yours alone anymore."
Smoke filled the room. When it cleared, Selra was gone.
So was the assassin.
Kael stood still, blood on his cheek, breathing heavy.
Someone had just saved Selra Vint.
And someone else… wanted to control his war.
---
That night
Kael carved a new line beneath his scroll of names.
Selra Vint – Escaped. Protected.
And beside it, another word:
Who?
To be continue...