Kael's POV
We ran.
My boots pounded against the forest floor. Branches whipped my face. My ribs screamed with every breath but I didn't slow down.
Behind us, I could hear shouts. Torches. The Tower guards were hunting us.
I'd just thrown away everything. My career. My reputation with the Council. Five years of work building trust as a hunter.
All gone. For a girl I'd known less than a day.
But something felt very wrong about this whole case. The convenient evidence. The perfect timing. The masked figure who could control Sera like a puppet.
This wasn't just about catching a killer. This was something bigger. Darker.
Sera stumbled beside me. I grabbed her arm and kept her upright.
"I can't... I can't run anymore," she gasped.
"Just a little farther. We need more distance."
We pushed through thick undergrowth. My lungs burned. Sera was breathing in ragged gasps.
Finally, I spotted a massive tree with a trunk wide enough to hide us both. I pulled Sera behind it and we collapsed against the rough bark.
My heart hammered so hard I thought it would burst. Sweat poured down my face despite the cold night air.
Sera was shaking. Not from running. From fear.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her whole body trembled like a leaf in the wind. "I attacked them. I tried to kill Master Aldric. I tried to kill you." Her voice broke. "What's happening to me?"
"You weren't in control. That masked person did something to you."
"But what if it happens again? What if next time I can't fight it? What if I really do kill someone?"
I didn't have an answer. Through our blood bond, I could feel her terror. Her shame. Her overwhelming sense of being completely lost.
"We'll figure it out," I said. It sounded hollow even to my own ears.
Voices echoed through the trees. Close. Too close.
"They went this way! I saw footprints!"
"Spread out! Check behind every tree!"
I pressed my finger to my lips. Sera nodded and clamped her hand over her mouth to quiet her breathing.
Torchlight flickered between the trees. I could see shadows moving. Five guards. Maybe six.
"The hunter's good at hiding," one guard said. "This could take all night."
"Master Aldric wants them found. We don't go back without them."
The torches moved closer. I held my breath. Sera pressed herself flat against the tree trunk.
A guard walked past us. So close I could have reached out and touched him. His torch cast dancing shadows.
He stopped. Turned. Looked right at our tree.
My hand moved to my sword hilt.
Then another guard called out. "Over here! I found broken branches!"
The first guard ran toward the voice. The torchlight moved away.
I waited until I couldn't hear them anymore. "We need to keep moving. They'll circle back."
Sera nodded. She was still shaking but she pushed herself to her feet.
We moved deeper into the forest. I kept us off any clear paths. We walked through thick brush and around massive tree trunks. Every sound made me jump. Every shadow could be a guard.
After maybe twenty minutes, the sounds of the search party faded behind us.
But I heard something else now.
Whispers.
Quiet. Distant. Words I couldn't quite make out. They seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Sera grabbed my arm. "Do you hear that?"
"Yeah. Stay close."
The whispers got louder as we walked. Not threatening. Just... wrong. Like hearing voices in a language that shouldn't exist.
"What is that?" Sera whispered.
"I don't know. But we should find shelter. You need to rest."
We pushed through a thick wall of bushes and stopped.
Ahead stood an old wooden shed. It was small and falling apart. Moss covered the walls. The roof sagged in the middle.
But through cracks in the walls, I could see light. Flickering. Like candles.
Someone was inside.
"We should go around," Sera said quietly.
I was about to agree when I heard voices. Not whispers this time. Real voices. Coming from the shed.
Something made me want to get closer. To listen.
I pulled Sera down behind a thick bush about fifteen feet from the shed. We crouched low.
Through gaps in the wood, I could see two figures inside. They wore black robes with hoods pulled up. Just like the masked figure who'd attacked Sera.
My stomach clenched. These were not random travelers.
"Can you hear what they're saying?" Sera breathed in my ear.
I strained to listen. The voices were muffled but I caught words here and there.
"...the ritual..."
"...three more deaths..."
"...Veil will collapse..."
Ice ran through my veins. The Veil. That was what kept shadow creatures out of our world. What Veil Keepers spent their lives protecting.
I leaned closer, trying to hear better.
One of the robed figures spoke more clearly now. "The girl is the perfect scapegoat. Everyone believes she's killing the students. No one suspects the truth."
The other figure laughed. "Master Aldric is so focused on catching her, he's blind to what's really happening right under his nose."
Sera's fingers dug into my arm. I could feel her shock through our bond.
"When is the next sacrifice?" the first figure asked.
"Tomorrow night. During the new moon. The ritual requires five deaths total. We have two already. Three more and the Veil tears open."
"And the Tower?"
"Will be too weak to stop us. We've killed their best students. Drained their magic. Soon they won't have enough power to maintain the barrier."
My mind raced. Sera wasn't killing anyone. These people were. They were murdering students and framing her. All as part of some plan to destroy the Veil.
"What about the hunter?" the second figure said. "Kael Thorne. He's smart. What if he figures it out?"
"He won't. He hates magic users. He'll be too busy chasing the girl to see the bigger picture."
Wrong. I already saw it. And I was going to stop them.
But first I needed to know who they were.
"The master will be pleased with our progress," the first figure continued. "Soon the Void Queen will rise. Soon this world will burn. And we will be rewarded beyond measure."
The Void Queen. I'd heard that name before. Master Aldric mentioned it. Some ancient evil that was sealed away.
"Should we check on the Tower?" the second figure asked. "Make sure the fires are spreading?"
"No. Let them burn. Let them scramble. The more chaos, the better."
They started moving toward the door.
I grabbed Sera and pulled her deeper into the bushes. We pressed ourselves flat against the cold ground.
The door creaked open. The two robed figures stepped outside.
One of them pulled back their hood slightly. I couldn't see the face clearly in the dim light. But I heard the voice clearly now.
And I recognized it.
It was someone from the Tower. Someone I'd met today. Someone who should have been fighting against dark magic, not serving it.
My blood turned to ice.
"We should head back before dawn," the figure said. "Can't let them suspect we were gone."
"Agreed. The next sacrifice is already chosen. A boy named Devon. He has strong magic. Perfect for the ritual."
Devon. I didn't know who that was. But he was going to die tomorrow night unless we stopped this.
The two figures started walking into the forest. Away from us.
We needed to follow them. Find out who they were. Get proof.
I started to move.
A twig snapped under my knee.
The sound echoed like a gunshot in the quiet forest.
Both robed figures froze.
"What was that?" one hissed.
They turned slowly. Their hoods shadowed their faces but I could feel them looking right at us.
"Someone's here," the second figure said. "Someone's been listening."
Sera's hand found mine. She was terrified. So was I.
The figures raised their hands. Magic crackled in their palms. Not blue like normal Veil Keeper magic. Black. Dark. Corrupted.
"Come out," one commanded. "We know you're there."
I didn't move. Didn't breathe.
One of the figures gestured. Magic shot out like a whip and tore through the bushes. The branches exploded. Leaves rained down.
We were exposed.
The two robed figures stared at us. Even with their hoods up, I could see the shock on their shadowed faces.
"Well, well," one said slowly. "The hunter and the girl. How very unfortunate."
"For you," the other added. They both stepped closer. Magic gathered in their hands, growing brighter. Stronger.
I stood and drew my sword. It felt small and useless against magic. But it was all I had.
Sera stood beside me. Her hands started to glow with that black energy. She didn't know how to control it. But she was ready to fight anyway.
The robed figures laughed.
"You can't stop us," one said. "We serve power beyond your understanding. We serve the Void Queen herself."
"And soon," the other continued, "she will rise. The Veil will fall. And everyone you've ever known will die screaming."
They raised their hands together. The magic in their palms swirled and combined. Growing. Building.
This was it. They were going to kill us. Right here. Right now.
Through our bond, I felt Sera's determination. Even facing death, she wasn't giving up.
Neither was I.
"Together?" I asked quietly.
"Together," she answered.
The robed figures released their magic.
And one of them pulled back their hood completely.
The face underneath made my heart stop.
Because I knew this person. Trusted this person.
And now I understood just how deep this conspiracy really went.
"Surprised, Kael?" they said with a smile that didn't reach their eyes. "You should be."
The magic hit us like a tidal wave of darkness.