The wind changed after sunset.
It carried more ash.
Kai stood at the edge of the ridge, staring toward the northern range where the fragment had been thrown. The glow was faint now, hidden behind layers of volcanic stone, but he could still feel it.
Not close.
Not far.
Waiting.
Behind him, Renn was pacing.
"I don't like this," Renn muttered. "He could have kept it. He didn't. That means he wants something."
Theo nodded slowly. "He repositioned it deeper. That maze is unstable. Old tunnels. Old guardian sites."
Aria tightened her cloak. "So he wants everyone fighting inside a death trap."
Bouncy gave a small wobble of agreement.
Zephyr circled above, then landed on Kai's shoulder.
Kai exhaled. "We don't rush tonight. We rest. We watch who moves first."
Below the ridge, faint lights flickered.
Jax's group had set camp. The Veyra caravan had not retreated either. Three separate camps now ringed the outer caldera.
Three sides.
One fragment.
And somewhere in the dark, the masked man was gone.
Or watching.
Kai turned away from the cliff. "Two on watch at all times. No fires."
Renn smirked faintly. "Finally. Something simple."
They settled into position as night deepened.
But none of them truly slept.
Scene Shift
Far from the Crimson Peaks, beyond three mountain ranges and a stretch of dry plains, the Capital Spire pierced the night sky.
Inside the upper observatory chamber, a circle of scholars stood around a floating crystal map of the western territories.
Lines of light pulsed across it.
One of them blinked.
A red flare sparked briefly over the Crimson Peaks.
Then shifted.
A middle aged man in deep blue robes frowned.
"It moved."
Across from him, a woman with silver hair and sharp eyes folded her hands behind her back.
"That is the third time a fragment has relocated unexpectedly in the past year," she said calmly.
Another scholar swallowed. "Should we inform the council?"
The silver haired woman shook her head. "Not yet."
Her gaze lingered on the flickering red dot.
"Someone is testing the board."
She turned toward the window, where the eclipse calendar hung etched in glass.
Eleven days.
"Send a quiet message to House Harlan," she said. "And double the watchers in the northern sectors."
"And the boy?" the robed man asked.
She paused only briefly.
"Observe him."
Scene Shift
Back in the Crimson Peaks, something moved beneath the volcanic maze.
Deep underground, in tunnels untouched by surface travelers, a faint crimson light flickered against ancient stone carvings.
The fragment had not landed randomly.
It had lodged itself inside a collapsed chamber.
The walls were marked with old symbols.
Older than Veyra.
Older than the Academy.
Older than recorded fragment history.
The crimson light pulsed once.
The carvings answered.
Stone shifted slowly.
Something long dormant stirred.
Back to Kai
Midnight.
Theo nudged Kai awake quietly.
"Movement," he whispered.
Kai rose without a word.
Below their ridge, figures were moving.
Not Jax.
Not the Veyra caravan.
These cloaks were darker. Smaller group. Five silhouettes climbing the northern path.
They were heading toward the relocated fragment.
"Scouts," Renn muttered.
Aria narrowed her eyes. "Or bait."
Kai watched carefully.
The five figures moved with discipline. No wasted motion. They were not arguing. Not rushing.
One of them stopped and pressed something to the ground.
A faint green glow spread briefly across the stone.
Theo inhaled sharply. "Locator array."
"They already know the coordinates," Aria said quietly.
Which meant the masked man was not alone.
Kai made a decision.
"We shadow them. No engagement unless necessary."
Renn grinned. "Necessary is flexible."
They moved.
Bouncy flattened to reduce noise. Zephyr flew high and silent.
The volcanic maze entrance yawned ahead, a dark tunnel split into three paths.
The five cloaked scouts entered the middle tunnel.
Kai signaled for left.
They slipped into a parallel passage, keeping distance.
The air inside was hot and dry. The walls shimmered faintly red from distant magma veins.
They moved deeper.
Then
A scream echoed from the middle tunnel.
Sharp. Cut off.
Renn stiffened. "That wasn't one of ours."
The ground trembled.
Something heavy moved ahead.
Kai motioned forward carefully.
They reached a narrow split in the rock that gave partial view into the middle passage.
What they saw made Aria suck in a breath.
The five scouts were not alone anymore.
Something massive blocked their path.
Not molten. Not elemental.
Stone and bone intertwined.
A creature shaped like a hound, but twice the size of a carriage, ribs visible beneath cracked stone armor. Its eyes glowed faint crimson.
Not violet. Crimson.
It was not attacking wildly. It was hunting.
One scout tried to run. The hound moved faster.
Silence followed.
Theo whispered, "That is not Veyra summoning."
"No," Kai said softly.
The fragment had changed something.
Or awakened something.
The remaining scouts retreated fast, abandoning formation and fleeing back toward the entrance.
The stone hound did not pursue them.
It turned. Slowly.
Its crimson eyes lifted toward the left tunnel.
Toward Kai.
It had sensed them.
Bouncy trembled faintly, but not in fear.
Recognition.
The hound took one step forward.
The ground cracked under its weight.
Renn drew Fang quietly. "We fighting or running?"
Kai kept his eyes on the creature.
It did not roar.It did not charge. It watched. Waiting.
Like it was measuring them.
Then, from deeper within the maze, another sound echoed.
Not a growl. Not movement.
A single metallic chime.Clear.
Deliberate. The hound's head tilted.It stepped backward. Retreated into the darkness.
Leaving only cracked stone and silence.
Aria exhaled slowly. "That was not random."
Theo shook his head. "No. That was guarding."
Kai stared into the dark tunnel.
The fragment was deeper.
And whatever lived here now was not fully under anyone's control.
Behind them, footsteps echoed.
Not the fleeing scouts. Not Jax.
Slow. Steady.
Coming from the entrance they had used.
Renn turned sharply.
Five new figures stood at the tunnel mouth.
Different cloaks.
Different insignia.
A crescent mark stitched in silver.
One of them stepped forward and lowered her hood.
Young.
Confident. Eyes sharp.
"Good," she said calmly. "You found it first."
Kai did not lower his guard. "Who are you?"
She smiled slightly.
"House Velryn."
Theo went pale.
"They are not supposed to be here," he whispered.
The girl's smile widened.
"We are wherever the fragments are."
Behind her, more silhouettes appeared in the tunnel entrance.
Not five.
Not ten.
More.
The volcanic maze had just gained another faction.
And somewhere deeper within it, the crimson light pulsed again.
Stronger.
Closer.
The hunt had officially begun.