The desert night pressed down on them like a heavy cloak. The heat of the day had fled, leaving only cold wind that whipped grit against their skin. They had camped in the shelter of a broken dune wall, firelight flickering against jagged stone.
Kabir Chauhan sat apart from the others, his back against the sand, arms crossed. His dune wolves sprawled beside him like silent sentinels, eyes glowing faintly in the fire's reflection. The sand panther curled close at his feet, its tail twitching lazily. Above them, the horned vulture circled once before settling onto a stone perch.
Shanaya tossed a glance his way, lips curling in disdain. "Does he always travel with a zoo?"
Kabir didn't even blink. "Better company than people."
Leela stirred the pot of water heating over the fire, her eyes flicking between them. "You appeared out of nowhere, saved us, and now you sit there like you own the desert. Why?"
Kabir's grin was slow, feral. "Because power is drawn to power. Beasts go where the storm calls. And the storm…" His gaze cut sharply to Neel. "…is him."
Neel stiffened. Sparks snapped against his fingers before he clenched them shut. "Stop talking like I'm bait."
"You're worse than bait," Kabir said. "You're a beacon. Every beast in the dunes will smell you, hunt you. The strong ones will bow. The stronger ones will test you. And the strongest…" He leaned forward, eyes glinting. "…will try to break you."
Shanaya scoffed, flames flickering across her palm. "Cute story. But we don't need lectures from a desert hermit."
Kabir's grin widened. "Hermit? Child, I've tamed things that would tear you apart before you even raised a flame. You think your fire makes you strong? You've never faced the wild when it decides you don't belong."
Shanaya bristled, but Leela touched her arm, shaking her head. "Don't. He's not wrong."
Silence stretched. The fire popped. The wolves didn't move, but Neel swore their eyes were on him.
Kabir finally stood, brushing sand from his robes. "Enough talk. If the storm boy wants to survive, he'll need to prove he can stand. And not just against people."
He whistled, sharp and low.
The sand shifted.
Neel's storm reacted instantly, sparking along his arms. Shapes slithered out from the shadows of the dunes — not massive beasts, but smaller ones. A pack of dune jackals, their bodies lean, ribs sharp beneath their hides, eyes glowing faintly amber. Behind them crawled sand lizards, scales blending into the desert, tongues flicking as they tasted the air.
Shanaya shot to her feet. "Are you insane? We just fought Scorpidrakes!"
"They won't kill you," Kabir said calmly. "Not unless you falter. Think of it as… practice."
Neel's fists clenched. The storm inside him surged, begging to be unleashed. But he remembered Leela's voice in the ruins, her desperate plea not to kill corrupted beasts.
He swallowed hard. "I'm not going to do this for your amusement."
Kabir's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Then do it for survival. Because out here, amusement and survival are the same thing."
The jackals circled, low growls vibrating through the sand. The lizards fanned out, tails whipping, jaws snapping. The pack moved like they had trained together — sharp, efficient.
Leela stepped forward, raising her staff. "We'll fight with him."
Kabir held out a hand, stopping her. His voice was iron. "No. This is his trial. Interfere, and you fail him."
The whisper slid into Neel's mind, delighted. "Yes. Alone. Always alone. Show them what you are when there is nothing left to hide behind."
Shanaya muttered under her breath, flames crawling across her fingers, but she didn't step in. Her eyes burned, fixed on Neel.
Leela's hand trembled on her staff, her face torn with conflict.
And Neel — caught between the whisper and Kabir's grin, between mercy and rage — felt the storm clawing higher.
The first jackal lunged.
–––
The first jackal lunged, its ribs sharp beneath its skin, teeth bared. Neel raised his arm instinctively, sparks flaring across his palm. The beast yelped mid-air, lightning snapping it aside. It hit the sand rolling, but already another took its place.
The pack moved in rhythm — one snapping at his legs, another darting from behind. Neel spun, storm crackling, blasting arcs into the night. His lightning scorched sand into glass, forcing the beasts back.
But for every one that staggered, another surged forward. The jackals weren't just fighting — they were testing him, pressing him, probing for weakness.
Above the chaos, Kabir's voice carried. "You strike like a hammer. But even a hammer breaks if it never learns control."
Neel grit his teeth, sparks spilling uncontrolled. "I didn't ask for your lesson!"
The whisper hissed with laughter. "Yes. Tear them apart. Don't hold back. Break them until they kneel, until he kneels."
A sand lizard slid under the fight, tail whipping at his legs. Neel stumbled, sparks flying wide. The jackal that had been waiting struck instantly, clamping its jaws around his shoulder. Pain seared white-hot.
"Neel!" Leela cried, stepping forward.
Kabir's hand shot out, stopping her. His tone was sharp, unyielding. "If he can't survive this, then he dies. And better he dies now, before the wild finds him."
Shanaya cursed, fire flaring in her hands. "You sick bastard—"
"Stay your fire, girl," Kabir growled, his wolves rising to enforce his command. "This is his fight."
–––
Neel roared, the storm bursting from him in raw fury. Lightning flared across his body, blasting the jackal off him. His shoulder burned, blood mixing with sparks. His vision blurred, but the storm felt alive, clawing, begging to be free.
The pack circled tighter. Their growls echoed in his skull until it was impossible to tell beast from whisper.
Leela's voice cut through the noise. "Neel, you don't have to kill them! Just hold them back—show them you're stronger without losing yourself!"
But Shanaya's voice came just as sharp, just as desperate. "Stop holding back! They'll rip you apart if you don't burn them down!"
The two voices crashed inside him. And under it all, the serpent whispered, smooth and certain. "Burn. Kill. Rule. That is what you are."
The storm cracked open.
Lightning poured outward in jagged arcs, searing the sand. Three jackals dropped instantly, convulsing, their bodies twitching before they fell still. The lizards scattered, hissing, but Neel's power lashed after them, wild and merciless. The air stank of ozone and blood.
When the light faded, four beasts lay dead, their bodies charred. The survivors slunk back into the dunes, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark before they vanished.
Silence fell heavy.
–––
Neel dropped to his knees, chest heaving, sparks crawling across his skin uncontrolled. He stared at his hands, at the faint scorch-marks across his palms. His stomach turned.
"I didn't mean to," he whispered, voice raw. "I didn't—"
Shanaya approached slowly, her flames dim. "You survived. That's all that matters."
Leela shook her head, tears glinting in her eyes. "No. It matters how he survives."
Kabir stepped forward then, his wolves padding beside him. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes gleamed with something like satisfaction.
"Barely acceptable," he said at last. "You broke faster than I hoped. But you didn't die, and you didn't lose entirely to the whisper. That makes you… interesting."
Neel raised his head, storm still sparking faintly. "Interesting?"
Kabir crouched, his grin feral. "The wild doesn't care about your pain. Or your guilt. Only whether you're strong enough to keep walking. You want to live? You want to keep those chains from snapping? Then learn." He stood, whistling sharply. The wolves relaxed, sitting back on their haunches.
Shanaya glared. "You tortured him like he's one of your animals."
Kabir chuckled. "Better he learns with jackals than when the desert sends something that won't stop." He turned back toward the dunes, his vulture circling above. "I'll travel with you for now. The storm's worth watching. But don't mistake me for a friend."
–––
The fire cracked. The desert wind howled.
Neel sat trembling, blood drying on his shoulder, the serpent's whisper still lingering like smoke.
"Yes. Better. You grow. Soon the chains will not hold. Soon you will not need them. Soon… you will be mine."
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to drown it out.
And across from him, Kabir's grin widened, like a man who had just found the most dangerous weapon in the world — and couldn't wait to see it explode.
–––