He’s on his feet in a heartbeat — no, faster than a heartbeat — positioning himself between Alenya and Kaia with a snarl that doesn’t sound human. His corruption flickers around his hands, then stutters, then blazes into something else entirely.
Light.
Pure, golden light.
Something has shifted. I’d almost forgotten, in the chaos of last night — the bond purified. The corruption broke. And now Darian is burning with the power he was always supposed to have.
Alenya’s eyes widen for just a fraction of a second.
Then her composure snaps back into place.
“Oh, that’sadorable.” She tilts her head, studying him like a specimen. “You actually think you’re a threat now. How precious.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Torric’s voice is a growl. Fire coils up his arms.
“Language.” Alenya tsks. “And here I thought the Berserker twins were supposed to be the civilized ones. Relatively speaking.”
Finn is awake now too, chaos sparking around him as he scrambles upright. Malrik is already on his feet, shadows writhing, expression carved from stone.
And Kieran—
Kieran hasn’t moved.
He’s still holding Kaia, who’s only just stirring, blinking awake with confusion clouding her violet eyes. His gold gaze is fixed on Alenya with an intensity that could level mountains.
“You should not be here,” he says. Quiet. Absolute. Ancient.
“And yet.” Alenya spreads her hands. “Here I am.”
“How did you find us?” Malrik’s voice is controlled, but I can hear the edge underneath. “We weren’t followed.”
Alenya’s smile sharpens. She glances toward the back of the cave — toward the unconscious form of Callum, still strapped to the makeshift sled Torric’s been dragging up the mountain.
“Kieran’s love for his people has always been his weakness.” Her voice drips with false sympathy. “So loyal. So devoted. Sopredictable.” She looks back at Kieran, something cruel in her eyes. “His little tracking spell led us right to you. Every step of the way.”
Kieran goes very, very still.
I feel it through the bond — not from him directly, but from Kaia. The shock. The realization. The horrible understanding that Callum wasn’t just broken.
He was bait.
“You used him,” Kaia whispers. She’s fully awake now, pulling herself upright, shadows bristling around her like hackles rising. “You broke him and then youusedhim to find us.”
“I didn’t break him.” Alenya examines her nails. “That was Alekir’s work. I simply… repurposed what remained.”
Mouse growls from Kaia’s chest — low and dangerous and ancient.
Bob materializes between Kaia and Alenya at Darian’s feet, edges razor-sharp. Patricia’s notebook flares to life, documenting everything with furious intensity.
“You’re going to regret coming here,” Finn says. His voice is light, but there’s nothing light in his eyes. “There’s six of us and one of you.”
“Seven,” Kaia corrects quietly. “Seven of us.”
Something flickers across Alenya’s expression. Fear? No — anticipation.
“Seven,” she repeats. “Yes. That’s rather the point, isn’t it?”
She lets her gaze drift across us. Taking inventory. Takingaim.
