The alley swallowed them whole.
Serenyx stumbled on uneven cobblestones, Lytheris yanking her by the wrist so hard her bones protested. The laughter and screams from the market square bled into echoes behind them, replaced by the pounding rhythm of boots against stone. The soldiers were closing in.
Her hood was gone. Her braid had unraveled completely, strands of black hair plastering against her face with sweat. And worse, the golden flame still shimmered faintly against her palm, refusing to die. She clenched her fist, forcing it shut, but the warmth pulsed like a heartbeat, visible even through her skin.
"Stop glowing!" she hissed under her breath, shaking her hand as though it were a stubborn lantern wick.
"Less commentary, more running!" Lytheris snapped, dragging her left into a narrower passage that smelled of sour wine and damp laundry.
Barrels rolled as they shoved through, chickens scattered, and a woman shouted curses from a balcony as Serenyx nearly tripped over her laundry basket. Serenyx managed a sheepish wave, because yes, manners mattered even when one was being hunted, but Lytheris yanked her faster.
Bootsteps thundered closer. The serpentine insignia of the Shadow Sect flashed at the alley's mouth.
"They're splitting!" Lytheris shouted. His sharp eyes darted left, right, and skyward in the space of a heartbeat. "We'll be cut off if we don't..."
"Up," Serenyx blurted, already spotting the crisscross of wooden beams above.
Lytheris groaned. "You can't be serious."
But she was already climbing.
Her boots slammed against a barrel, then a jutting window frame. With a grunt, Serenyx hauled herself onto the slanted rooftop. Her palms scraped, her knees barked in protest, but the higher air hit her lungs like freedom.
Lytheris followed, muttering dire threats about what he'd do to her if they lived. He was faster, more graceful, his movements sharp with discipline.
The soldiers weren't far behind. One tried to grab Serenyx's ankle as she scrambled higher, but she kicked back hard, connecting with his helmet. He reeled, cursing, and she scrambled the last few feet onto the tiles.
For a heartbeat, she allowed herself a grin. "Ha! Too slow..."
The tile shifted beneath her boot. She yelped as it slid free, clattering into the alley below and nearly braining a soldier.
"Serenyx!" Lytheris barked, catching her arm before she slipped too. "For once in your life, shut up and focus!"
She clung to him, panting, and nodded quickly. The glow in her hand had finally dimmed, leaving only the pounding of her heart to betray her. Together they ran across the rooftops, tiles shifting beneath their weight, the city sprawling out before them in dizzying patterns of stone and smoke.
But even up here, there was no safety.
A sharp whistle cut through the air. From below, archers in black-and-silver aimed up, their crossbows locking onto the fugitives.
Serenyx's grin died. "Lytheris?"
"I see them." His jaw tightened. "We jump. Now."
Before she could argue, he yanked her hand again and hurled them both off the roof.
The world tilted sideways.
For a terrifying second, Serenyx thought Lytheris had lost his mind. The ground was three stories below, and her scream tore through the alley like a struck chord.
Then...splash.
They landed hard in a cart piled high with cabbage. Leaves exploded around them, rolling off in every direction. Serenyx flailed, coughing through the smell of wilted greens. Lytheris groaned beside her, one arm shielding his ribs.
"Well," Serenyx said between coughs, "at least we'll die… with extra fiber."
Lytheris shoved a cabbage at her face. "Move."
She wriggled free just as bolts whistled down, thunking into the cart. The cabbages did not survive. Serenyx yelped, diving behind the wreckage.
The Shadow Sect soldiers surged into the alley, crossbows ready. But the fall had bought them seconds. Lytheris grabbed Serenyx's arm again and pulled her into a side passage, narrower still, barely wide enough for two.
"Do you ever feel like life is just a cabbage cart waiting to collapse?" Serenyx puffed as they ran.
"Do you ever feel like you talk too much when we're about to be murdered?" Lytheris shot back.
"Frequently."
They burst into another street, this one quieter, a row of shuttered shops and rain barrels. Serenyx skidded to a stop. Something was wrong. The whispers in the sky had sharpened, buzzing against her ears like wasps.
"Lytheris…" she murmured.
He heard it too. His hand slid to the hilt of his sword.
And then, they stepped out of the shadows.
Not just soldiers. These men moved differently, with lethal calm. Their armor gleamed darker, etched with crimson runes. Their masks covered their faces, only their eyes visible, eyes that glowed faintly like embers.
Elite Shadow Sect.
Serenyx's stomach plummeted. "Oh, wonderful. As if the regular nightmare squad wasn't enough."
The masked leader lifted a hand. The air thickened, heavy as if the alley itself bowed to his will. A coil of shadow rose from his palm, writhing like a serpent.
Lytheris shoved Serenyx behind him. "Run."
But she didn't move. The whispers were screaming now, filling her head, flooding her chest until she thought she'd burst. Her hands trembled, heat building beneath her skin, begging to ignite.
Not here. Not again. Everyone will see...
The masked man's shadow-serpent lashed forward.
Lytheris swung his blade, severing it mid-strike. But another rose instantly, darting for Serenyx's throat. She gasped, stumbling back.
The fire inside her broke free.
Flame erupted, not from her hand this time, but her entire body. Golden-white light surged in a halo, blinding in the narrow street. The serpent disintegrated. The barrels lining the alley burst apart. The shops' shutters slammed open from the force.
When the light dimmed, Serenyx stood panting, her eyes glowing faintly like twin suns.
The masked men had frozen mid-step. Even Lytheris was staring at her, sword half-raised, his mouth parted in disbelief.
Serenyx swallowed, throat dry. "So… uh… still think we can talk our way out?"
No one answered.
The silence didn't last.
The elite soldiers recovered, shadows writhing thicker around their arms. They weren't afraid. If anything, they looked…hungry.
One of them hissed in a voice like gravel. "The Phoenix Vessel."
The words made Serenyx's skin crawl.
Lytheris's grip tightened on her arm. "We're leaving. Now."
He slashed a path forward, blade sparking against shadow. Serenyx followed, her steps clumsy but fueled by panic. The fire still licked her skin, not fully extinguished. Every time she tried to smother it, the whispers flared sharper, urging: More. Burn. Fly.
They fought through the alley, chaos erupting in every corner. Shadow coils snapped, blades clashed, fire flared. Villagers screamed and fled.
And then, just as Serenyx thought they'd carved a path to freedom...
He appeared.
The cold-eyed stranger from the square. Mounted now, his black stallion stepping into the chaos like it was born from it. Soldiers parted instantly, their lines falling into disciplined formation around him.
Kaelthorn.
Serenyx froze mid-stride. Their eyes locked again, hers wild with fire, his sharp as steel.
He dismounted slowly, never breaking her gaze. His hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword, though he didn't draw it.
"Enough," he commanded, voice steady, low, carrying authority like a blade.
The Shadow Sect stilled. Even the masked elites hesitated.
Lytheris dragged Serenyx behind him, but Kaelthorn's gaze tracked her like a hawk.
"You run like prey," he said, his words cutting through the night air. "But you burn like a storm. Which are you?"
Serenyx's mouth went dry. For once, she had no witty retort. Only the fire in her chest, roaring, whispering, urging: Answer him.