The smoke was thicker than fog, crawling down Aiden's throat, filling his lungs with fire. He stumbled through the ruined streets, his bare feet scraping across broken tiles and hot embers. Holloway was no longer the village he knew. It was charred bones and silence, except for the groaning collapse of burning beams.
"Mom!" His voice tore out of him, ragged, panicked. "Kale!"
He turned the corner into the square — and froze.
The raiders were gone. Only destruction remained.
Bodies lay scattered like broken dolls. The well had collapsed, its stones blackened. The bakery was a gaping maw of flame, its wooden beams crackling as they gave way. And against the fountain, slumped in a pool of his own blood, sat Kale.
His sword lay upright in the dirt beside him, its blade blackened and bent. His arm — gone below the elbow. His leg — severed at the knee. He sat propped against the fountain's base, his face pale, sweat glistening on his brow. His chest rose and fell in ragged gasps, but when his eyes lifted to Aiden, he smiled.
"Aiden…" His voice was hoarse, weak, but steady. "You made it."
Aiden's heart lurched. "No… no, no, no!" He ran forward, falling to his knees beside him. His small hands reached, helpless, trying to push against wounds too vast, too final. "We'll fix you—we'll find someone—we'll—"
Kale chuckled, though blood flecked his lips. "Always so stubborn." He winced, but his hand lifted, trembling, to ruffle Aiden's hair like he always did. "Listen to me. You… you're going to keep running. You're going to live."
Aiden's vision blurred, hot tears flooding his eyes. He clutched Kale's tunic, shaking his head violently. "No! I won't! You're coming with me!"
Kale's smile widened, gentle, warm even in ruin. "I can't, Aiden. My road ends here. But yours… yours is just beginning." His hand fell heavy against the boy's shoulder. "You'll be the best swordsman in the world. I believe it. More than anyone, I believe it."
Aiden collapsed forward, his forehead pressing against Kale's chest, his sobs tearing out of him raw and desperate. "I love you, Kale! Please don't go! Please!"
Kale's bloodied arm wrapped weakly around him, pulling him close. "I love you too, little one. Don't you ever forget that." His breath rattled, then stilled. His hand slipped away.
Aiden clung to him, wailing, the sound lost beneath the roar of fire.
"Please Kale.. Kale.. Uncle!"
"no,no,no,no"
But then—another sound.
A cough. Weak. Pain-filled. From the bakery.
Aiden's head snapped up, his heart hammering. He scrambled to his feet, legs shaking, and sprinted through the flames. His skin seared with the heat, but he didn't care.
Inside, through smoke and firelight, he found her.
Serenya-his Mom.
She lay slumped against the wall, her apron torn and soaked through with blood. A sword pierced straight through her stomach, pinning her dress to the floorboards. Her green eyes fluttered open as he dropped to his knees before her.
"Mom!" Aiden cried, grabbing her hands. They were cold, trembling.
Her lips curved into the faintest smile, her voice barely a whisper. "Aiden… you're safe."
"No, no, I'm not! Not without you!" His tears poured freely, dripping onto her hands as he clutched them tight. "We can get you out, we can—"
Her hand lifted, trembling, brushing his cheek. Blood stained his skin where she touched. "It's too late, my little one." She coughed, red spilling from her lips, but she forced her eyes to stay on his. "But you… you will live. You must."
"No!" His voice cracked, high and broken. "I don't want to live without you!"
Her smile deepened, though tears spilled from the corners of her eyes. "I love you, Aiden. More than the world. More than my own life. And I will always be with you. Here." She pressed her bloodied hand to his chest, over his heart.
He shook his head, sobbing. "Please, don't leave me! Please!"
Her strength was fading, but she clutched his hand tight, forcing the words out.
"Listen. Go… far left, past the fields. Ashkar. Find… Elizabeth. Tell her… Selena sent you. Tell her… I'm sorry."
Aiden blinked through his tears.
The flames roared closer, beams groaning overhead.
Her hand pressed his cheek one last time. "Run, Aiden. Run and smile. Don't ever let the world take that from you."
Her eyes dimmed, her hand falling limp in his grasp.
"I-love you..."
Her smile lingered even as her breath stopped.
"Mom!" His scream tore from his chest, raw, broken, as he clutched her against him, sobbing until his throat was hoarse.
The ceiling cracked, flaming wood raining down around him. Smoke stung his eyes, choking his lungs. He pressed his forehead to hers, whispering through tears,
"I love you. I'll never forget."
Then, with the last of his strength, he tore himself away.
He ran.
Bare foot, covered in blood. Tears pouring uncontrollably.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"MOOOMMMMMMM"
He shouted as he ran.
"WHYYYYY".
The night stretched endlessly as Aiden ran.
Every step was agony — his feet cut open by stone and thorn, blood painting the earth behind him. His chest burned from smoke and tears, his throat raw from screaming. The sky was black, the moon a thin blade watching silently as the boy tore himself away from everything he had ever loved.
He ran until his legs buckled, then crawled, then forced himself up again. The world blurred with exhaustion, every sound muffled by the thunder of his heartbeat. The scent of smoke still clung to him, mingling with the iron tang of blood.
Sometimes he heard her voice — Serenya, whispering: Run, Aiden. Run and smile.
By the time the horizon lightened to gray, Ashkar's walls loomed in the distance. Tall stone gates, sharp towers silhouetted against dawn. The city of warriors. The city his mother had spoken of with her dying breath.
Aiden's vision swam. The gates wavered in and out of focus as if the world itself fought to keep him from reaching them. His bare feet left bloody prints in the dirt road. His small frame staggered, swayed.
Two guards stationed at the gates straightened, eyes narrowing.
"Gods above," one muttered, gripping his spear. "What in the hells—"
The boy stumbled into view, black hair plastered to his sweat-streaked face, his eyes wild and red from blood and tears. His tunic was torn, soaked with ash and scarlet. His knees gave out, and he collapsed into the dust just paces from the gate.
One guard rushed forward, kneeling. "Boy! Can you hear me?"
Aiden's lips moved, dry and cracked. No words came at first. His chest heaved, and his ember-red eyes flickered open, weak but burning. He clutched at the man's arm with trembling fingers, smearing it with blood.
"Selena…" His voice rasped, broken. "Sorry…"
The guards exchanged a look, alarm tightening their features.
"Elizabeth," Aiden croaked, barely louder than a whisper. "Elizabeth…"
Then his body went limp. His hand slid from the guard's arm, falling into the dirt. His eyes rolled shut as darkness claimed him.
The guards lifted him quickly, carrying his broken frame toward the gates. One muttered, "Fetch the mistress. Now."
And the gates of Ashkar closed behind him, sealing the fate of the boy who had lost everything, yet carried a name and a promise that would change the world.