Kaelen stood frozen for a moment, his hand gripped firmly around Aelric's. The wind stirred again, carrying with it the scent of ash and something older, something that gnawed at the edges of Kaelen's thoughts. He couldn't shake the feeling that the moment he'd touched Aelric's hand, something in the world had changed — a thread snapped, and the future twisted a little differently.
Aelric's smile faded, and he gave Kaelen a knowing look, as if he'd seen this reaction before. "Not used to trust, are you?"
Kaelen withdrew his hand, wiping the chill that had suddenly crawled up his arm. "Trust isn't a luxury I can afford." He glanced at the distant sky, now darkening with storm clouds. "And you? You've got your own secrets."
Aelric chuckled, the sound rough like gravel. "Oh, I've got plenty. But we're not here to swap them. You've got the Ember. And I've got the road. I'm thinking we'll both be a little better off if we share them."
Kaelen scowled. The boy was too casual for someone who had just nearly gotten him killed — or for someone who might have been sent to do so. But the tension in his chest hadn't eased, and the weight of the Ember felt heavier now than ever.
"Where are we going?" Kaelen asked, finally sheathing his sword. He wasn't sure he even trusted himself to hold it right now.
"The mountains will swallow you whole," Aelric said. "And that circle of pillars? Bad news, all of it. We'll head east. There's a place where answers tend to come with a price. But it's a price I can afford. You?"
Kaelen looked at him, suspicion burning in his gaze. "And why do you want answers?"
Aelric shrugged, nonchalant. "The same reason anyone does. To keep breathing. The Ember's a curse, and you're too close to it. You don't get to hold that thing without attracting all kinds of trouble. I'm just here for the ride… and maybe the payout."
"You're a mercenary."
"Aye, that's the title," Aelric said with a grin that was almost self-deprecating. "But there's more to me than gold. You'll see."
Kaelen frowned, the words "more to me than gold" ringing with something almost too close to sincerity, something Kaelen wasn't sure he was ready for. His instincts screamed at him to walk away, to turn his back and face whatever lay ahead alone. But there was no way to deny the pull of the Ember, no way to ignore the words that had been spoken by the figure in the circle.
"You said I'm marked," Kaelen said after a long pause. "Marked by what?"
Aelric turned toward the mountains, his gaze distant as if considering whether to answer. "Let's just say there's more to this world than you or I can see. Some things… are older than even the kingdoms. And they remember bloodlines. Old bloodlines."
"What does that mean?"
"Means you're not the first to carry the Ember. And you won't be the last," Aelric said, his voice lowering. "But the last one? He burned everything."
Kaelen swallowed. "Why?"
Aelric's eyes flashed with something dark, something fleeting. "The power in that thing... it's not meant to be controlled. Not by anyone. Not even the gods. The last heir tried to wield it, and he set fire to the world. You can't make something like the Ember your weapon. It will make you its servant."
Kaelen didn't reply at first. The words rattled in his chest, making his thoughts spin faster than he could process them. He wanted to argue, to reject the notion that the Ember could control him. But deep inside, a gnawing fear told him that Aelric might be right. The Ember had already started changing him — in ways he couldn't understand.
They walked in silence for a time, the only sound the crunch of frost beneath their boots and the wind howling across the valley. The air felt charged, heavy with the unknown.
"Why are you helping me?" Kaelen asked, his voice rough. "You're paid to kill me. Why haven't you?"
Aelric stopped walking, looking back at him with a sharp gaze. "You're right. I was paid. But I'm not your enemy, Kaelen. Not yet, at least. I was supposed to end you before you could reach your potential. But I don't believe in killing a man before he's had a chance to figure out what he is." He tilted his head, his dark eyes serious for the first time. "Besides, I've got a score to settle with King Maevor too. And someone carrying the Ember might just be the key to bringing him down."
Kaelen considered this, his eyes narrowing as the storm clouds gathered overhead. There was too much to unravel, too many unanswered questions, and yet, standing there with Aelric, he realized something. He might not trust this mercenary, but he had no choice.
"You've got a score to settle with Maevor?" Kaelen asked, his voice laced with incredulity. "Why? What did he do to you?"
Aelric's face hardened, the easygoing attitude slipping for a moment, revealing something deeper. "He killed my family. I was just a boy, but they were part of a group that stood against him. Rebels, freedom fighters… whatever you want to call them. He wiped them out like they were nothing. My family… my sister… they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Kaelen opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat. He didn't know what to say. His mind raced, and for a brief, terrible moment, he imagined his own family, the life they'd shared, gone in an instant. The idea was unfathomable.
"I'm sorry," Kaelen finally managed. "I didn't know."
Aelric nodded, a shadow passing over his features. "Not many do. Maevor's good at making people disappear. But he won't be able to hide forever. And when he finally falls, I want to be there to see it."
Kaelen felt the weight of Aelric's words. He wasn't just after gold or answers. He was after revenge — and there was something both frightening and tragic in that.
"Fine," Kaelen said after a long pause. "We travel together. For now."
Aelric grinned again, though this time it was tempered with something deeper, something more familiar — the flicker of shared understanding between two men who had both lost far too much. "For now. But trust me, Kaelen. You're not the only one who's been marked. We'll find the answers. But if we're going to survive what's coming, you'd better learn to trust me."
Kaelen said nothing, but something flickered inside him — a recognition that there were far more dangers on this road than just the creature in the valley, or the king who hunted him. And somehow, he wasn't sure whether Aelric was the ally he'd been searching for… or just another piece in a game much older than either of them.
They continued their journey, the land around them becoming more hostile with every passing mile. The wind howled through the trees, carrying with it a sense of unease, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
"Where are we really going?" Kaelen asked after a while. "You said east, but what's there?"
Aelric looked at him sideways, his expression unreadable. "There's a place, old and forgotten, where answers are buried beneath the stone. A place where even the king's spies won't dare to tread. But it's not a place for the faint of heart."
Kaelen felt a chill run down his spine. "What kind of place?"
"One where the past still lingers," Aelric said quietly. "Where the first embers were lit."
They kept walking, the journey ahead stretching long and uncertain. But now, more than ever, Kaelen knew that this road, dark and twisted as it was, would be the one to shape his future. The Ember pulsed against his chest again, its heat a reminder that the world was changing. And with every step, it pulled him closer to a destiny he couldn't escape.
As the sky darkened further, the storm clouds gathering like a gathering army, Kaelen glanced at Aelric, who was already several paces ahead.
"You know," Kaelen muttered, "I never imagined this would be how my day went."
Aelric threw a glance over his shoulder, his grin widening. "Welcome to the world of the marked, Kaelen. It's a hell of a ride."
And so, together, they walked into the unknown, both of them bound by the weight of the Ember and the mysteries that surrounded it.