Chapter 26
?──── Koen ? ────?
We have been walking silently for hours, only coming across a few weak wraiths. We were able to kill them quickly and keep moving.
The landscape has changed. Trees now loom above us, their twisted branches reaching into a starless sky. Pools of murky water shimmer between the roots, too still to be trusted.
My body screams with every step. My muscles are tight, skin still raw in places.
I need rest. Real rest. The kind that I haven’t had since before the nemorak .
But I can’t stop. Not until I see her again and can make sure she is okay.
She should be awake by the time I make it back.
Hopefully healed, if Dimitri has gotten her home in time.
The thought of her opening her eyes and only finding the vampire at her side makes me feel a sharp pain in my chest.
“Still with us, sunshine?” Lioran’s voice breaks the silence.
I grunt. A tired, noncommittal sound.
He chuckles. “Even grumpier than usual. Impressive.”
Asbel, walking a few steps ahead of us, doesn’t comment. He hasn’t said much since we left the temple. I wonder what he thinks of all this. The vampire. Serenya.
The quiet returns, broken by only the soft splash of boots through shallow water, the rustle of leaves, and the creak of old trees swaying above us.
By the time night has fully settled, we haven’t found any caves or ruins, just an overgrown patch of dense trees with enough cover to count as shelter. It isn’t much, but it’s something.
I lower myself onto a dry patch of ground beneath a tree, every joint protesting. My breath comes in small bursts, my limbs trembling with the effort of keeping me upright.
Still, I don’t let myself lie back. Not yet.
Just get through this . Just finish the trial.
I don’t mean to fall asleep. One second, I am staring into the dark, trying to trace patterns in the branches overhead. Next, I am jolting upright, heart pounding and limbs heavy with sleep.
I sit up and scan the trees. Moonlight barely reaches the forest floor. Everything looks like shadows and shapes.
I hear a faint whisper. My head snaps toward it. My hand instinctively goes to my sword.
“Lioran,” I whisper hoarsely. “Asbel. Wake up.”
Neither stir.
“Now.” I reach over and roughly nudge Lioran with the back of my hand.
Lioran groans and blinks up at me. “What—?”
Something screeches in the darkness. A dry, guttural rasp.
I shoot to my feet, sending sharp pains throughout my body. “Get up!” I hiss.
That does it. Asbel jerks awake. Lioran curses, scrambling to his feet just as the first wraith shoots out of the shadows, shrieking.
Steel rings out as my blade meets it mid-lunge, impact rattling down my arm. These aren’t like the ones we saw earlier or the ones Serenya and I fought. No. These are stronger. Faster.
“Behind you!” Asbel shouts, drawing his twin daggers.
I pivot just in time to block another strike. I move on instinct, teeth gritted, adrenaline forcing my aching limbs to work.
Another wraith dives for Lioran, who ducks and flings a glowing orb of fire at it. “Seriously, Koen. Do you just attract these things?!”
I don’t respond. I am too busy trying to keep my head on.
One wraith slips past my guard, claws raking across my shoulder. I grunt, twisting to avoid the full hit, then drive my blade straight through the creature’s chest. It wails, flickers, then explodes into ash. The others keep coming.
Asbel is fast, darting through the trees. Lioran curses as another wraith corners him, throwing up a barrier just in time.
I don’t feel tired anymore. I feel alive—or close to it. And focused. Every strike I make is for her. Every breath I steal back from death is for Serenya.
Ash and shadows choke the air as I drive my blade through the last of the five wraiths. I barely have time to catch my breath when I hear that sound again . The same whispering rasp, multiplied.
“...No,” I mutter as nine more wraiths emerge from the darkness. Towering, silent, their hollow eyes glimmering like distant stars.
“Oh come on,” Lioran gasps, stumbling back. “Where the hells are they coming from?!”
“They are drawn to magic,” Asbel says, stepping forward, blades in hand. “And we are shining like a beacon in this cursed land.”
All at once, the wraiths attack.
I meet the first with a roar, blade clashing hard against its curved claws.
The force rattles my arms, but I push back, driving my boot into the creature’s chest to force space between us.
To my left, Lioran spins a circle of fire, launching it outward like a wave, knocking three wraiths back.
One ducks under it and lunges, slamming him into the ground.
“Lioran!” I shout.
Before I can move, Asbel darts in, his daggers gleaming as he slashes clean through the wraith’s spine. It disintegrates in a swirl of darkness. Asbel grabs Lioran’s arm, yanking him up before he can get his breath.
“Still with us?” Asbel asks.
“Remind me to kiss you later,” Lioran pants.
Another wraith comes at us, and I slash through it, feeling the sickening pull of shadow magic in the air , so unlike the comfort of Serenya's shadows.
We fight like ghosts in the dark. Silent. Vicious. Relentless. At first, we are chaos. Then slowly, the rhythm comes.
Asbel circles high and fast, using his wind to make him faster. Lioran blasts flame, covering all others. I fight like a storm, every blow lethal, every move with purpose.
We begin to feel each other. Know when to move, when to cover, when to strike.
One wraith slips through our defenses and almost grabs Lioran, but I step into its path, sword flashing in a brutal arc. Another dives at Asbel from above, and Lioran flings a firebomb to intercept it mid-air.
Silence at last.
We stand here, panting, dripping in sweat and blood. The fire flickers weakly behind us. The battle has drained us, but adrenaline is still here, sizzling under my skin. No one sits yet. Not until we are sure.
Lioran drops to one knee, swearing breathlessly. “I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes, and it was disappointing. ”
I grunt. “You’re lucky you still have a life.”
Asbel wipes his blades on his cloak. “We need a plan. If those were some kind of scouts, more might come.”
“We are closest to your portal,” I say, turning to him. “Right?”
He nods. “Yes. Two days at most. One, if we move quickly.”
“Then we head there. Try to circle wide around the worst of the ruins.”
“No arguments here,” Lioran says, standing again with a groan. “But if we get jumped again, I’m going to be mad. Like, really mad. Don’t think I won’t write a strongly worded letter to whoever cursed this place.”
We gather near the fire briefly, weapons in hand, tension buzzing through our veins.
The dark closes in around us like a living thing. We stay awake, watching the night with wary eyes. When the first light of dawn touches the flooded trees in gold and gray, we rise and leave. Silent, grim, and ready to finish this trial.
We walk for a little over a day, with few breaks, bloodied and tired, but we are close now. So close that I can feel the faint tug of magic pulling toward the portal. An hour away, maybe less.
“Fouuund you.”
The sound of that voice makes me freeze mid-step. It was light and too cheery to be anything but wrong. Beside me, Lioran and Asbel stiffen.
A figure steps out from between two trees.
He almost looks normal. A youthful male face, symmetrical and unscarred, as though molded to be pleasant.
It is too still, though, too smooth. Unnaturally flawless.
Then there are the eyes—bottomless pits of black, not just dark but devouring, like staring into the void.
The mawless.
I feel the blood drain from my face.
The mawless smiles with a tilt of his head, like a curious child.
“The pretty princess destroyed my newest mask,” he said, voice laced with mock sorrow. “Snapped it right in half when she yanked you from my hands.”
His eyes flick over to me, a wide grin stretching across his face. “So I think it’s only fair that I take yours. Then I’ll hunt her down and take hers next.”
In a blur of movement, the mawless surges forward. His fingers slash through the air, catching both Lioran and Asbel before they can react.
Blood splashes the forest floor. Both men stagger, eyes wide in shock, but they don’t fall.
The mawless licks the blood from his fingers with a purr of satisfaction, and the moment his tongue touches the crimson, both Asbel and Lioran drop to their knees, eyes vacant, muscles locked.
“Ah, blood magic,” he sighs contentedly. “Old. Intimate. Deliciously unfair.”
I step forward instinctively, fury pulsing in my chest. “Let them go.”
His smile widens. “But the fun hasn’t even begun yet.”
He spreads his arms and twirls once in the clearing like a dancer. “You and me, human. One last dance before I wear your face.” His voice drops into a growl. “Let’s make it scream.”
He lunges.
I move just in time as claws slice through the air where my throat had been a breath before. I stumble back, unsheathing my blade, my body screaming in protest from exhaustion, wounds, and too little sleep. But I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
Lioran and Asbel are frozen behind me, still alive but trapped, the blood magic like invisible chains holding their bodies still. I have no help. No backup. It doesn’t matter. The mawless will not get in my way. This time, I don’t just fight to survive. I fight with purpose.
The first strike I throw isn’t clean, but it’s fast, fueled by instinct and fury.
He laughs and dances away, mockingly graceful. “You’re slower than last time,” he taunts. “Are you tired, goddess-blessed?”
I grit my teeth and keep going. I attack again, harder this time, faster. With less finesse, but more rage. My blade grazes his side, and black smoke hisses where it cuts.
The mawless grins even wider. “Ohhh, someone’s angry."
I am angry.