The forest was too quiet.
Even the wind held its breath.
Kael stood alone at the edge of the camp, staring at the silver mist curling through the trees. The scent of pine and soil mixed with something… wrong.
A sour trace.
Rot.
He clenched his jaw. The dreams were becoming more frequent, more violent. His cousin's voice haunted his every sleep—whispers of death, of lies, of betrayal.
But he didn't expect betrayal to come so soon.
---
Earlier That Day – Shadowhold Training Grounds
Sylah stood at the center of the glade, blades drawn, sweat beading on her brow as she sparred with Lina under the rising sun.
Kael watched with narrowed eyes. Lina had grown stronger, faster—more controlled. Her reflexes sharpened with every clash.
"I taught you that move," Sylah grinned, barely parrying Lina's strike.
"And I perfected it," Lina snapped back.
The two laughed.
But Kael wasn't smiling.
Something was gnawing at him. A scent that didn't belong. An energy too familiar—Crimson blood, but buried, hidden beneath layers of protective magic.
And it was close.
---
Moonfall Ritual – That Night
At the center of camp, Kael stood over a burning bowl filled with silver-dusted herbs, calling upon the Moonborn Flame, an ancient rite of purification and revelation.
Twelve of his warriors stood in a circle. Moonlight spilled between the trees.
He raised his hand, speaking the words carved into the Fang of Varok.
> "By the blood of Varok. By the howl of truth. By fire, reveal the traitor among us."
The flame shot high.
One by one, his warriors stepped forward, allowing the smoke to touch their skin.
Nothing.
Until Vorn, one of the twin warlocks, screamed.
His arm ignited—red flames. Not silver.
Kael's eyes flared. "Crimson fire."
Elric—Vorn's twin—stumbled forward. "No! There's been a mistake!"
But Vorn's face twisted. His illusion shattered.
Beneath his skin, tattoos in Crimson script glowed, marking him as a Bloodmarked—a branded traitor, sworn to the Crimson Council, embedded deep within the rebellion.
Kael moved like lightning.
One slash of the Fang of Varok severed Vorn's weapon hand.
Blood sprayed. Vorn dropped to his knees.
"P-please… I didn't have a choice…"
Kael's voice was cold steel. "You made one."
"I had a brother!" he shouted. "They said they'd kill Elric if I didn't feed them intel. I never told them everything—I swear—"
Elric cried out. "You lied to me?! All this time?"
Vorn sobbed. "I protected you!"
Sylah raised her blade.
"Then die with honor."
Kael didn't flinch.
He drove the Fang through Vorn's heart.
---
Aftermath – Fractures
The camp reeled.
One of their own, a founding member of the new Moonborn cause, had been a spy. Though Vorn hadn't betrayed their location, he had relayed strategies, names, weaknesses.
Now, blood stained the ritual circle.
And trust was fractured.
Some warriors demanded stricter measures. Others wanted vengeance.
Elric vanished into the forest, broken.
Sylah argued with Kael. "You should've interrogated him more. We could've known if there were others!"
Kael's voice rose. "He betrayed us. Mercy only costs more blood later."
"You're becoming too much like the old Alphas."
Kael turned to her, eyes flashing silver. "And that's the only reason we're still alive."
---
That Night – A New Scar
Kael sat alone at the river's edge, the Fang laid across his knees, dripping with Vorn's blood.
Lina approached, her expression unreadable.
"You did the right thing," she said softly.
"Then why does it feel like I'm rotting from the inside?" Kael replied.
"You carry too much," she said. "You're trying to be leader, warrior, judge. It's killing you."
"I can't afford to be weak."
"You're not," she said, placing a hand on his. "But you're not alone, either."
For a moment, they sat in silence, the sounds of water washing over the night.
And then, Kael whispered:
> "There's more."
Lina tensed. "What do you mean?"
Kael looked at her.
"The dreams… they're not just dreams. She's connected to me. That girl. The cousin. She's inside my head. She's trying to turn me against everyone."
Lina gritted her teeth. "Then we kill her before she gets the chance."
Kael shook his head. "You don't understand. There's something deeper. Something in my blood… she shares it. Like we were born of the same fire—but shaped by different hands."
---
In the Shadows – The Cousin's Lair
The cousin stood before a pool of black blood, watching Kael's vision from afar—her magic stretching through shadow and blood.
"He's beginning to see it," she murmured. "The truth buried in his blood."
Rhaziel stepped behind her. "Then we move now?"
She smiled.
"No. We let his guilt consume him first."
She touched the pool—Kael's face rippled in the blood.
> "You'll kill them all, Kael. Just like your father."