Adrian rode hard through the pines, three knights at his flank. The forest groaned with wind, but his mind was louder, filled with dread. Beltran was dead. Assassinated. No one had said the word, but he knew.
"Four of us, we move now," he'd ordered at first light. "No messages. No tracks. Just distance."
They left the outpost at a gallop. He trusted no one now.. not even the rest of the garrison.
What Adrian didn't know was that Zee had already marked him. Had watched the torches leave camp. Had followed every hoofbeat since dawn.
By dusk, Sevi drifted close to the trail, veiled by illusion. One knight broke off to investigate the shape ahead, a cloaked figure swaying beneath the trees.
That was all Torren needed.
The strike was clean. A flash of steel, a gasp, and one knight would not return.
By the time Adrian realized they were being hunted, it was too late.
"We return to the garrison," Adrian said through gritted teeth. "Push forward and we die out here."
It would take them a full day to reach it, but the road was guarded, and the woods were too still. His nerves burned with holy fire. They would make it. They had to.
They didn't.
Before the towers of the garrison even broke the horizon, shadows stepped from the brush.
Zee, Sevi, and Torren.
Weapons drawn. Faces calm.
Adrian halted. His warhorse stamped the ground, sensing something wrong.
"You don't have to do this," Adrian said, raising a gauntlet. "You're not part of this kingdom. I can offer you coin, amnesty."
Zee didn't speak. Only stepped forward.
Torren readied his stance. Sevi adjusted her grip, favoring her left side, still sore from Beltran's hold.
Adrian's voice dropped to a growl. "So be it."
Then the forest exploded into steel and fury.
Steel clashed like thunder.
Adrian's blade flared with sacred light as he charged, driving straight toward Zee. The paladin fought with weight and precision, every blow guided by discipline and deep-rooted faith. This wasn't panic, it was purpose.
Zee met the first strike with a sidestep, sparks flying as steel bit into stone where his shoulder had been. He countered with a low slash that Adrian deflected with a bark of effort, shoving him back.
To the side, one of Adrian's knights rushed Torren. The assassin danced back, narrowly avoiding a wide sweep, then ducked and delivered two sharp strikes to the knight's ribs. Armor caught most of it, but pain slowed him.
The third knight surged toward Sevi, who deflected the first blow with her short blade, then took a heavy cut to her shoulder. She stumbled, hissing, blood streaking her arm.
"Sevi!" Zee started.
"I'm fine," she spat. "Keep going."
Zee refocused. Adrian was relentless now, fury behind every swing. Flames licked the edges of his blade, not arcane, but radiant. Holy. Symbolic. Each strike a sermon.
"You think this will stop the Marshal?" Adrian growled between blows. "You kill us, and you only wake the beast!"
Zee didn't answer. He ducked under a glowing swing, kicked Adrian back, then spun toward Sevi, her opponent had overextended. Zee closed the gap and drove his blade into the knight's back.
The man gasped, dropped his weapon, and fell.
One down.
Torren, locked with his own opponent, caught the knight's wrist mid-swing, twisted, and drove a hidden blade under the armguard. The knight gurgled and slumped, bleeding into the dirt.
Two down.
That left Adrian.
He saw the tide turning and roared, calling on the fire of his faith. His sword flared and he charged again, straight at Sevi.
Zee intercepted, catching the blow on crossed blades, feet skidding through dirt. He growled, muscles straining.
"You don't know what you're starting," Adrian hissed.
"I know what I'm ending."
Zee twisted, locked Adrian's sword down, and smashed his pommel into the knight's helm. Adrian reeled.
Sevi, panting and bleeding, circled behind him and swept his legs with one last burst of strength.
Adrian crashed to the ground.
Zee stood over him, weapon poised.
Adrian's voice was hoarse now. "Go on, then. Kill me in the dark. Like a coward."
Zee didn't speak. He tied the knight's hands, hoisted him onto his own horse, and slapped the animal's side.
The horse galloped away, back toward the garrison. Back toward witnesses.
They would find Adrian tied to the saddle. Dead.
And they'd know.