Chapter Four
Lucas
The underground cell reeked of damp stone and old blood. Stale air pressed against my skin, heavy and cold, clinging like rot. The runes carved into the walls pulsed faintly, their glow dim but steady, holding the darkness at bay.
And him.
Damien sat in the corner, half in shadow. He looked smaller than I remembered, though I knew better. The runes didn’t just bind his power—they drained it, starved it, until he was a hollow echo of what he used to be. But his eyes still burned, sharp and hungry, like they always had.
He smiled when I stepped closer. “You look tired, nephew.” His voice was smooth, but there was rot beneath it. I didn’t answer.
Damien pushed to his feet, slow and deliberate, letting the chains clink against the floor. They were silver-lined, laced with spells strong enough to hold him. Even so, I stayed out of reach.
“It’s been a year, Lucas.” He paced, restless, like a caged animal. “You’ve had your punishment. Your control. Your moral victory.” He stopped, turning to face me. “Now let me out.”
I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, keeping my expression flat. “No.”
His smile faded. “No?”
“No.”
The chains rattled as he yanked against them. “I haven’t fed in months! I haven’t even seen daylight—not that it matters down here.” He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the narrow cell. “What more do you want? I’ve been civil. Patient. Fair.”
“You don’t know what fair means.”
His eyes flashed. “And you do?”
I clenched my jaw but didn’t rise to the bait. That’s what he wanted. Always pushing. Always testing.
Damien’s voice softened, and then turned cold. “You’re weak, Lucas. You can’t even do what needs to be done.”
I stepped closer, and he stilled. “You think I won’t kill you?” I asked.
“No.” He grinned, sharp and hungry. “I know you won’t.”
The words sank in, heavier than I wanted to admit.
“You’re not like me,” Damien went on. “You don’t have the stomach for it. You’ll keep me here, locked away, pretending it’s enough. But it’s not. One day, something worse than me will come, and you’ll hesitate. And it’ll cost you.”
I stepped back before I did something I’d regret. “I don’t need to kill you,” I said. “I just need to keep you down here.”
He laughed—a hollow, brittle sound. “Until when?”
“Until you are not a threat any longer.”
“Then you may as well kill me now.”
I turned away. I didn’t want to see the hunger in his eyes. Or the truth.
“Lucas,” he called after me. “You can’t hold me forever.”
Then, I heard it. A scream. Sharp. Tearing through the stone like claws.
I turned away from Damien, running up the stairs. Another scream followed. It was closer this time. And then, a terrifying roar.
Shifters.
I didn’t think. I ran.
The iron door to the cell slammed shut behind me, Damien’s laughter echoing in the dark.
“Looks like your hesitation just caught up with you,” he called.
I didn’t stop. I cleared the last steps and burst into the corridor, boots slamming against the stone as I sprinted for the exit. My mind raced, but instincts took over.
Fight. Protect. Survive.
By the time I hit the surface, the night was alive with chaos.
Flames licked at the edges of the town. Shadows moved fast between the trees, snarling, shifting, tearing through anything in their path. Bodies lay scattered. Some were moving, some too still. The scent of blood coated the air.
“Annika!” I shouted.
I didn’t see her, but I felt her. It was that sharp pull in my chest, the bond that never let go. She was alive. She was fighting.
I pushed forward, cutting through the smoke.
A shifter lunged out of the shadows, a blur of fur and teeth. I sidestepped, slamming my fist into its ribs and hearing the crack of bone. It yelped, but I didn’t give it time to recover. My blade was out before it hit the ground, slicing through its throat.
Another shape loomed. I turned, but it was Kael. Blood streaked his face, and his blade dripped red.
“They’re after her,” he said, breathless. “They’re pushing toward the cottage!”
I didn’t wait for more. I ran.
Shifters came at us in waves. Some in half-human forms, some fully turned. There were wolves, bears, twisted beasts built for war. I cut through them, steel flashing, fangs bared. The night burned around me, and the ground shook beneath the weight of the fight.
But I didn’t stop.
I reached the house just as Annika stepped out onto the porch, her hair wild, her eyes blazing. She had a dagger in one hand and blood smeared across the other.
My warrior princess.
She saw me, and relief flashed in her eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by something sharper. Fiercer.
“Behind you!” she shouted.
I turned as claws raked the air where my head had been. I dodged, twisting, and drove my blade up into the shifter’s ribs. It snarled, hot breath on my face, but I shoved harder, cutting through flesh until it went limp.
Annika was already moving, slicing through another one before I reached her.
“We need to move!” I shouted.
I had no idea what happened… when… or how…
I was still fighting. Blades were flashing, blood slick on my hands. The air was filled with smoke and screams, but I barely heard them. My focus was on her. Always her.
A massive shape lunged at her, half man, half beast. Its arms were thick with muscle, its mouth full of teeth. She stabbed it, but another grabbed her from behind, twisting the dagger from her hand. She kicked, fought, but they overwhelmed her.
“No!”
I ran harder, slashing through anything in my path. Blood sprayed, hot and sharp, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.
Then one of them—a wolf, half-shifted—threw her over its shoulder like she weighed nothing.
“Annika!” My voice cracked, raw and savage.
Her eyes locked on mine. Wide. Terrified. Then the wolf turned, disappearing into the trees.
I was almost there. Just steps away. But something slammed into me. A bear, massive and snarling. Its claws tore into my shoulder, ripping flesh, and the pain hit like fire. I shoved it off, drove my blade into its throat, but it cost me seconds. Precious, impossible seconds.
When I looked up again, she was… gone.
The forest swallowed her whole.
I ran. Didn’t think. Didn’t feel. Just ran. My vision blurred, red at the edges, but I chased the scent of her blood, her fear, through the trees.
Shapes moved around me. The shifters were retreating, the shadows shifting, but I didn’t stop to fight. They were scattering. Vanishing. Taking her with them.
“Annika!” I roared, the sound ripping through the night. Birds scattered, and the forest stilled, like even the earth knew what I’d lost.
But she didn’t answer.
The scent faded. It was too faint.
I fell to my knees, fists digging into the dirt. Blood smeared my palms. Hers. Mine. It didn’t matter. My chest heaved, and I barely noticed the pain lacing my body.
I’d failed her.
Then, a hand landed on my shoulder, firm and steady.
I spun, fast and vicious, shoving Kael back before I even thought. “Don’t touch me!” My voice came out raw, sharp enough to cut.
Kael didn’t flinch. He staggered a step but didn’t raise his hands, didn’t fight. He just stood there, watching. Waiting.
I hated him for it.
The world still smelled like blood and smoke, and the trees whispered with the echoes of her screams. I couldn’t stand still. My pulse hammered in my ears, loud and punishing, drowning out reason.
“She’s gone,” I said, and the words burned. “They took her.”
“I know.”
I lunged at him before I could stop myself, grabbing his shirt and slamming him into the nearest tree. Bark cracked behind him, but he didn’t fight back. Just let me pin him there.
“Then why are you standing here?” My voice broke. “Why are you wasting time?”
“Because someone has to keep you from getting yourself killed.”
I shoved him again, but this time, he grabbed my wrist. “Stop.”
The command in his voice hit like ice water. I pulled back, but the fight bled out of me as fast as it had come. I let go, stepping back, my chest heaving.
“I need to go,” I said. The words spilled out before I could stop them. “I need to find her. Track them. Burn their whole damn camp to the ground if I have to.”
“No,” Kael’s voice was steady and calm, but it hit like a punch in the gut.
My head snapped up. “No?”
“There’s a better way.”
I laughed, but it was a bitter, broken sound. “A better way? They took her. They could be killing her right now by draining her blood or whatever other hellish machination they have in mind. And you think we have time for a better way?”
“I’ll go.”
The words stopped me cold.
Kael straightened, brushing dirt from his clothes. “I’ll infiltrate their ranks. Get inside. Find her.”
I stared at him. “You think they’ll just let you in?”
“They don’t know me.” He shrugged. “Not like they know you. And they’re looking for her. Not me.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, I’m not sitting here while you—”
“Yes, you are.” His voice cut through mine, sharp and final. “You’re staying here. With your people. If they come back—and they will come back—you’re the only one who can stop them.”
“I don’t give a damn about this town!” The words tore out of me before I could stop them, because they were only half true. My voice echoed through the trees, but I didn’t care. “The only person I wanted to protect is gone.”
Kael stepped closer, his eyes hard. “And what do you think will happen if you leave? If you let this place burn?”
I clenched my fists, but he didn’t stop.
“You’ll come back to nothing. No home. No safe haven. Nothing for her to return to when we get her back.”
“When?” My voice cracked. “You’re sure of that?”
“Yes.”
The word hung between us, heavy and certain. I wanted to tear it down, rip it apart, but part of me, some small, desperate part, clung to it.
Kael exhaled and stepped back, giving me space. “I’ll find her,” he said. “I swear it. But you need to hold the line here.”
I didn’t answer. Not right away. My nails bit into my palms, and my teeth ached with the effort to stay in control.
But finally, I nodded. Just once.
“Fine.” My voice was low, bitter. “But if you fail—”
“I won’t.”
I didn’t believe him. Not entirely. But I had no choice.
Kael turned without another word, disappearing into the shadows. I stood there, staring after him, feeling the weight of my decision settle like stone in my chest.
I hated this. Hated him. Hated myself more.
But most of all, I hated that I wasn’t chasing after her.