Kael's POV
"PIP!" I scream as he falls.
Arrows whistle past my head. Jonas dives behind a tree, dragging me with him. The forest explodes with movement—huge shadows rushing through the darkness, war cries in a language I barely recognize.
Orcs.
"We have to get Pip!" I start to move, but Jonas yanks me back.
"You'll get an arrow through your skull!" He peers around the tree. "There's at least a dozen of them!"
The rebel spy isn't so lucky. An arrow catches him in the throat. He drops without a sound.
Pip is crawling toward us, blood streaming from his shoulder, whimpering in pain. An orc warrior—massive, green-skinned, wielding an axe bigger than my torso—steps over him.
Something inside me snaps.
I grab the spy's dropped sword and charge.
"KAEL, NO!" Jonas shouts.
The orc sees me coming and swings. I barely duck under the axe. The wind from it ruffles my hair. I slash wildly, not knowing what I'm doing, just desperate and terrified.
My blade catches the orc's leg. He roars and backhands me. I fly six feet and hit a tree hard enough to see stars.
The orc raises his axe for the kill.
Then Jonas is there, stabbing upward with a stolen knife. The orc stumbles. I scramble forward and drive my sword through his chest.
He looks surprised. His amber eyes meet mine for one heartbeat.
Then he falls, and I'm standing over the first person I've ever killed.
He's young. Maybe nineteen. Same age as me. There's a bone charm around his neck—probably from his family.
I killed someone's son. Someone's brother.
"Kael, MOVE!" Jonas grabs me.
More orcs are coming. We run, dragging Pip between us. Arrows chase us through the trees. My lungs are burning. My hands are shaking so badly I almost drop my sword.
We crash through undergrowth and suddenly the ground disappears.
We're falling—again—down a rocky slope into a ravine. We hit bottom in a heap of bruised limbs and groans.
"Everyone alive?" Jonas gasps.
"Barely," Pip whimpers. The arrow is still in his shoulder, blood soaking his shirt.
I check myself. Cuts, bruises, but nothing major. Above us, orc voices echo. They're searching.
"In here!" I spot a gap in the ravine wall—a cave entrance, half-hidden by vines.
We crawl inside just as torches appear above. The cave is shallow but dark enough to hide us. We press against the back wall, hardly daring to breathe.
Orc voices get closer. Footsteps crunch on stone.
"...tracks end here..."
"...must have fallen..."
"...search below at dawn..."
They're speaking the common tongue—roughly, but understandable. Father taught me that orcs speak three languages. Smart people don't fight if they can talk.
But right now they want us dead.
After forever, the voices fade. We wait another hour in silence before Jonas dares to whisper:
"We need to move. Pip's losing blood."
I examine Pip's wound by moonlight filtering through the vines. The arrow went through muscle, not bone. Lucky. But it needs to come out soon.
"I can do it," Pip says through gritted teeth. "Just... need both of you to hold me down so I don't scream."
We do. Pip bites down on his belt as I snap the arrow shaft and pull it through. He passes out from the pain. Jonas tears strips from his shirt to bandage the wound.
"He needs real medicine," Jonas says. "A healer. Something more than field dressing."
"The mine is another hour from here," I say. "We get Father's evidence, then head back to Fort Bloodstone. Commander Lyria can help."
"If we make it back." Jonas wipes blood from his knife—the orc's blood. His hands are shaking too. "This is insane, Kael. We're three escaped prisoners being hunted by both sides of a war. What are we even doing?"
"Trying to stop innocent people from dying," I say quietly. "That orc I killed—he was young. Scared. Just like us."
"He would have killed you."
"Maybe. Or maybe he was just defending his people from invaders." I meet Jonas's eyes. "What if Father was right? What if the orcs aren't the enemy?"
Before Jonas can answer, Pip groans awake. "Did you... get the arrow?"
"You're going to be fine," I lie.
Pip tries to smile. "You're terrible at lying." Then his eyes focus past me, toward the back of the cave. "Wait. There's light back there."
I turn. He's right. A faint glow comes from deeper in the cave—not moonlight. Something else.
"Stay here," I tell them. "I'll check it out."
"Alone? Are you stupid?" Jonas stands. "We go together or not at all."
So we creep deeper into the cave, supporting Pip between us. The tunnel slopes downward, getting narrower. The light grows brighter—blue-green, like foxfire or magic.
Then the tunnel opens into a chamber, and I freeze.
Someone is already here.
An orc woman lies half-buried under collapsed rock, her leg trapped. She's massive—taller than any human I've seen—with emerald green skin and fierce amber eyes. Twin tusks jut from her lower jaw, decorated with silver rings. Her long black hair is matted with blood.
She sees us and snarls, grabbing for a weapon. Her hand closes on a broken sword.
"Wait!" I raise my empty hands. "We're not going to hurt you!"
She laughs—bitter and broken. "You already attacked my scouting party. Killed my warriors. Now you come to finish me?"
"That was self-defense!" I step closer despite Jonas hissing warnings. "You ambushed us!"
"YOU invaded OUR territory!" She tries to pull herself free and screams in pain. Her leg is badly crushed. "Your kind burns our villages. Murders our children. And you call it self-defense?"
I remember the young orc I killed. His surprised eyes.
"I didn't want to fight," I say quietly. "I didn't want any of this."
She studies me with those predator eyes. "Then why are you here, human boy?"
"Because my father discovered the truth about this war. That it's built on lies. That the Sanctum is framing your people for raids you never committed." The words pour out. "He tried to expose them. They executed him. Now they're trying to kill me before I can finish his work."
The orc woman goes very still. "Your father... Lord Evan Thornhaven?"
My blood turns cold. "How do you know that name?"
"Because he saved my brother's life six months ago. Warned him that humans were planning false-flag attacks to start a war." Her voice cracks. "My brother was Chief Urgoth Bloodforge. I'm his daughter—Draeka."
The world tilts.
This is the orc chieftain's daughter. The one Father traded with. The one who knows the truth.
"You're real," I breathe. "Father's letters mentioned you. Said the Bloodforge clan was peaceful."
"We were." Draeka's eyes fill with rage and grief. "Until your Sanctum murdered thirty of my people and made it look like we attacked first. Then when we defended ourselves, they called it proof of orc savagery." She spits blood. "Your father tried to stop it. He died for trying. And now his son comes to finish me in a cave. How poetic."
"I'm not here to kill you," I say desperately. "I'm here to find evidence my father hid. Proof that the Sanctum orchestrated everything. If I can get it back to the right people—"
"They'll ignore it." Draeka laughs bitterly. "Your kind wants this war. They want our lands. The Ashlands sit on Aetherium deposits worth more than gold. That's what this is really about."
Aetherium. The magical crystal Father mentioned in his notes.
"Help me find the proof," I beg. "Please. Together we can expose the conspiracy."
"I'm trapped under a ton of rock," Draeka says flatly. "I'll be dead in a few hours. You'll be dead even sooner when my warriors find you. So forgive me if I don't share your optimism."
Jonas steps forward. "We could free you. Help you escape."
"Why would you do that?" Draeka's eyes narrow with suspicion.
"Because Kael's right." Jonas meets her gaze. "This war is wrong. And maybe if we save you, it proves humans aren't all monsters. Maybe it's a start."
Pip nods weakly. "I'm a healer. I can treat your leg once we get you out."
Draeka stares at us like we're insane. "You're escaped prisoners. Hunted by your own people. And you want to save an orc?"
"Yes," I say simply.
She's silent for a long moment. Then: "The rock is too heavy for humans to lift."
"Then tell us how," I say.
Draeka considers. Finally, she points to a support beam—part of an old mine shaft. "If you break that, the whole section might shift. Either it'll free me or bury me completely. Fifty-fifty odds."
"I've survived worse odds today," I mutter.
Jonas and I find loose rocks to use as hammers. We pound at the beam while Pip keeps watch. It takes forever. My arms scream. Sweat pours down my face.
The beam cracks. Groans. Collapses.
The cave ceiling shifts with a sound like thunder. Rock falls. Dust blinds us.
When it clears, Draeka is free—but the entrance tunnel has collapsed behind us.
We're trapped.
Draeka pulls herself upright, her leg clearly broken but functional enough to stand. She's even more terrifying at full height—six and a half feet of pure warrior.
"So," she says. "We saved each other. How touching." She limps toward the back of the cave. "Now we need to find another way out before my warriors dig through and find you standing over their chieftain's injured daughter. They won't ask questions first."
"Where does that tunnel lead?" I point to a dark passage at the rear.
Draeka's expression turns strange. "The old Thornhaven mine. Your father's lands. He hid something here—wouldn't tell me what. Said if anything happened to him, his son would come."
My heart pounds. "The second evidence location. It's here."
"Then we'd better find it fast." Draeka starts limping down the passage. "Because I hear digging. My people will break through in minutes. And when they do, they'll kill you on sight—even if I order them not to."
Jonas helps Pip to his feet. We follow Draeka deeper into the darkness.
The tunnel opens into an old mining chamber. And there, carved into the wall, is my family's crest.
Below it, hidden in a carved niche, is a leather case.
I grab it with shaking hands and pull out documents. Maps. Letters. A journal in Father's handwriting.
"Evidence," I breathe. "Proof of everything."
Behind us, the sound of digging gets louder. Voices shout in orcish.
"We're out of time," Draeka says grimly. "There's a ventilation shaft that leads to the surface, but it's steep. With my leg and your friend's shoulder—"
Explosions rock the cave. Not digging.
Bombs.
"What—" I start.
Draeka's face goes pale. "No. They wouldn't. Not with me inside—"
The wall explodes inward.
But it's not orcs who burst through.
It's Sanctum soldiers, led by Brother Aldric himself, his white robes somehow spotless despite the carnage.
"Kael Thornhaven," he says pleasantly. "Still alive. How inconvenient." His eyes land on Draeka. "And Chief Urgoth's daughter. This day gets better and better."
He raises his hand. Twenty soldiers level crossbows at us.
"Did you really think I'd let you reach the evidence?" Aldric smiles. "I've been tracking you since you left the fort. Waited until you found it for me." He gestures. "Kill them all. Make it look like they died fighting each other."
The soldiers advance.
Draeka growls, raising her broken sword despite her injured leg.
Jonas positions himself in front of Pip.
I clutch Father's evidence case, knowing we're about to die.
Then someone drops from the ventilation shaft above, landing between us and the soldiers.
Commander Lyria Stormwind, covered in blood and fury, raises her sword.
"Brother Aldric," she says coldly. "You're under arrest for war crimes, conspiracy to commit genocide, and treason against the Principality."
Aldric laughs. "On whose authority?"
"Mine." Another figure drops from the shaft—a woman in elegant robes with pointed ears. Sylvara the elf from the outline. "And the Council of Races. We've been investigating you for months, Aldric. Lord Evan's evidence gave us the final pieces."
More figures drop down—dwarves, humans in rebel gray, even two orcs.
The rebellion. They're all here.
Aldric's smile vanishes. "You have no idea what you're interfering with. The Aetherium beneath the Ashlands could reshape our world—"
"Could reshape YOUR power," Lyria corrects. "And you're willing to slaughter thousands for it."
Aldric's face twists with rage. "KILL THEM ALL!"
His soldiers attack.
The cave explodes into chaos—rebels fighting Sanctum soldiers, steel clashing, people screaming.
Draeka grabs my arm. "The shaft! Now!"
We run for the ventilation shaft as battle rages around us. Jonas throws Pip up first, then climbs after. I'm about to follow when an arrow punches through my side.
I fall, gasping. The evidence case slips from my fingers.
Aldric stands over me, bow in hand. "You should have died with your father, boy."
He notches another arrow, aiming for my heart.
Draeka roars and tackles him despite her broken leg. They crash into the wall.
"KAEL!" Lyria appears, grabbing me. "Can you climb?"
"The evidence—" I gasp, blood soaking my shirt.
"I have it!" She shows me the case. "NOW CLIMB!"
She practically throws me into the shaft. I climb through pain and darkness, following Jonas and Pip toward moonlight above.
We emerge into the forest. Rebels pull us away from the shaft as more people climb out. Lyria. Sylvara. Draeka, barely conscious.
But not Aldric. He's still below, screaming orders.
"Seal it!" Sylvara shouts.
Dwarves trigger charges. The ventilation shaft collapses with a roar, burying Aldric and his soldiers in the mine.
Silence falls.
I lie on my back, an arrow in my side, staring at stars.
"Is it over?" Pip whispers.
"Not even close," Lyria says grimly. "Aldric's just the beginning. The conspiracy goes deeper than one man."
Draeka crawls over to me. Our eyes meet—human and orc, supposed enemies, both bleeding for the same cause.
"Your father," she says quietly, "would be proud."
Then darkness takes me, and I don't know if I'll ever wake up.
But at least this time, I'm not dying alone.