Ashveil stood over a map of the seven continents.
His advisors waited.
"He's crossed into Nai," the intelligence officer reported. "Two days ago. Traveling with the princess."
Ashveil's jaw tightened.
"Send word to King Darien immediately. Include the sketch. Tell him the target is witch-born and extremely dangerous."
"And the other continents, Your Majesty?"
Ashveil considered.
"Solmar. Their navy can blockade the coasts. Send them the same intelligence."
"Kharzul?"
"They'll want a piece of this. Inform Emperor Kharzun. He loves a good hunt."
"Veridian? Vaelcrest? Terramis?"
"Veridian won't care unless he enters their forests. Vaelcrest needs to know. And Terramis..." Ashveil waved dismissively. "They'll record it all and do nothing."
He looked at the map.
At Nai.
"Focus on Darien. If anyone knows how to corner a rat, it's him."
LOCATION
KINGDOM OF VAELCREST
THREE DAYS LATER
The throne room was dark.
Deliberately so.
Shadows clung to the corners despite the afternoon sun outside.
King Kael Vaelcrest sat on his throne.
Perfectly still.Fingers steepled.
Eyes closed.
A soldier entered.Knelt.
Waited.
"Speak."
The voice was soft.Pleasant.
"My lord, urgent message from King Ashveil of Ashveil."
Vaelcrest's eyes opened.
Dark.
"Read it."
The soldier unrolled the scroll.
Cleared his throat.
"To His Majesty King Lucian Vaelcrest—"
"Skip the formalities."
"Yes, my lord." The soldier scanned down. "Princess Nana has been... kidnapped by a witch-born criminal known as 'Ghost.' They have crossed into the Kingdom of Nai. King Ashveil requests assistance in—"
"Stop."
The soldier fell silent.
Vaelcrest stood.Slowly.
Shadows in the room seemed to move with him.
"Kidnapped," he repeated. "My betrothed. Taken by a witch-born."
He walked down the steps from his throne.
Each footfall echoed.
"How long ago?"
"Five days, my lord."
"Five. Days."
Vaelcrest stopped in front of the soldier.
Looked down at him.
"And Ashveil is only now informing me?"
The soldier didn't answer.
He Couldn't.Vaelcrest smiled.
"He hoped to handle it quietly. Didn't want me to know his daughter was stolen from under his nose."
He turned away.Walked to the window.
Shadows gathered around his feet like loyal dogs.
"Tell me about this 'Ghost.'"
The soldier hesitated.
"White hair. Golden eyes. Ice manipulation. Destroyed the town of Miravel. Killed a Tenebris single-handedly. Carved a canyon through—"
"Powerful, then." Vaelcrest's tone was conversational. "Interesting."
He looked at his reflection in the dark glass.
"And Nana is with him. Willingly? Or captive?"
"Reports are... unclear, my lord."
"Unclear." Vaelcrest's smile widened. "How diplomatic."
He turned back to the soldier.
"Tell me—if you kidnapped someone, would you let them wander freely? Talk back? Make choices?"
The soldier shook his head quickly.
"Exactly. So either she's his prisoner..." Vaelcrest's eyes narrowed. "...or she's choosing to stay."
His hand clenched.
Shadows erupted from his palm—writhing, alive, hungry.
"Either way, she's mine the contract was signed. The dowry paid. She belongs to Vaelcrest."
He released the shadows.
They dissipated reluctantly.
"Prepare my personal guard. We leave for Nai at dawn."
"How many soldiers, my lord?"
"All of them."
The soldier's eyes widened.
"My lord, that's—that's three hundred elite—"
"I said all of them."
Vaelcrest's voice remained soft.
But the shadows in the room pulsed.
Reacting to his anger.
"I want my wife back. At any cost."
The soldier bowed.
"She's not yet your wife, my lord—"
"Wrong thing to say".
Shadows lashed out.
Wrapped around the soldier's throat.
Lifted him off the ground.
Vaelcrest walked closer.Still smiling.
"She. Is. Mine."
The shadows tightened.
"The moment that contract was signed, she became my property. The wedding is a formality."
He released the soldier.
The man collapsed, gasping.
"Now get out. And send word to Ashveil—tell him I'm coming to Nai personally."
The soldier scrambled to his feet.
Fled.
Vaelcrest turned back to the window.
Looked out at his kingdom.
"Five days," he murmured. "Five days she's been with him."
His smile became something worse
"I wonder if she thinks I've forgotten her. That I'll simply let her go."
Shadows curled around his fingers.
Playful.
Eager.
"I'll find you, Nana. And when I do..."
He clenched his fist.
The shadows screamed.
"...I'll make sure you never even think of leaving again."
He looked at the wanted poster on his desk.
The sketch of "Ghost."
"And you, boy..."
His smile widened.
"..I'll make him last long enough for you to understand the cost of disobedience."
He turned to his guard captain, who'd been standing silently in the corner.
"Send a message ahead to Nai. Tell King Darien that Vaelcrest is joining the hunt."
"And the witch-born, my lord? What should we—"
"Capture him alive if possible." Vaelcrest's tone was pleasant again. "I want Nana to watch what happens when someone takes what's mine."
The captain bowed and left.
Vaelcrest returned to his throne.
Sat.
Shadows swirling around him like a cloak.
"Run as far as you like, Ghost."
His eyes glowed in the darkness.
"You can't hide from the dark."
LOCATION
KINGDOM OF NAI
ROYAL CASTLE OF DARION
The war room smelled faintly of ink and steel.
Maps covered the table.
Trade routes. Naval charts. Mountain passes. Smuggling paths. Refugee corridors.
Every possible way into Nai.
And every way out.
King Darien stood at the head of the table.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Hair cut short like a soldier's, not a monarch's. No crown. No ornaments.
Just a dark military coat and a sword at his side.
He read the report in silence.
White hair. Golden eyes. Witch-born. Destroyed Miravel. Carved a canyon.
Traveling with Princess Nana.
He set the parchment down.
"Distance from Miravel to our western port?"
A general answered immediately. "Approximately one hundred and thirty leagues, Your Majesty."
"Assuming no mounted transport?"
"Four days on foot. Three if sustained pace."
Darien nodded once.
"Coastal sightings?"
"None."
"Good."
He walked to the map.
Placed one finger on Nai's western border.
"If I were him… I would avoid cities."
His finger moved.
"Not the trade roads. Too visible."
Shifted.
"Not the mountain passes. Too narrow."
It stopped over a thin stretch of green between two rivers.
"The Greenwood Spine."
One advisor frowned. "That forest is dense, Your Majesty. Even scouts avoid—"
"He killed a Tenebris alone."
Darien's tone did not rise.
"Dense forests will not deter him."
Silence.
Darien tapped the table once.
"Deploy the 3rd Ranger Division along the Spine's eastern exit. Quietly. No banners."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Shut down all western ports. Inspect every vessel. Anyone matching this description—detain immediately."
"And if he resists?"
Darien looked up.
His eyes were pale grey.
"Remove his limbs."
The general did not flinch.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Darien picked up the sketch of "Ghost."
Studied it.
"A boy."
No emotion in the word.
"Powerful. Reckless. Traveling with a foreign princess."
He placed the sketch flat on the table.
"Not reckless," he corrected himself. "Cornered."
He turned to another officer.
"What do we know of Ashveil's motivations?"
"He labeled the boy witch-born and dangerous. Requested containment."
"Containment," Darien repeated softly.
A thin smile appeared.
"If Ashveil truly wanted him dead, he would have sent assassins."
The advisors exchanged glances.
Darien folded his hands behind his back.
"Ashveil wants plausible deniability."
He looked at the map again.
"He wants me to do it."
"Very well."
He turned toward the massive window overlooking Nai's capital. The city below was quiet.
"Prepare the Inquisitors."
The room shifted.
Even the generals straightened.
"My lord," one advisor ventured carefully, "The Inquisitors are… excessive."
Darien did not turn around.
"This boy destroyed a town and survived. He is not a bandit."
He finally looked back at them.
"If he is witch-born, he will not surrender."
His gaze hardened just slightly.
"And if he is not…"
A pause.
"Then we will test him."
Silence thickened.
A captain spoke up. "And Princess Nana?"
Darien's eyes moved to him.
"If she is captive, we extract her."
"And if she is not?"
The question lingered in the air.Darien considered it.
Then:
"Then she has chosen poorly."
He walked back to the table.
Picked up a small wooden piece from a carved war-game board resting beside the maps.
A wolf.
He placed it on the western border.
"Begin the hunt."
Outside, the castle bells rang once.
Low.
And across Nai's forests, soldiers began to move.
Quietly.
Efficiently.Like a net tightening.