Nero's boots pounded against the rain-slick cobblestones as he fled through the twisting alleys of the port town. The woman's voice still echoed in his ears—"Did you think you could hide forever?"
Who the hell was she?
He ducked behind a stack of crates, chest heaving, and risked a glance back. No sign of her yet. But he wasn't naive enough to think he'd lost her.
A gust of wind howled through the narrow streets, carrying the scent of salt and iron. The storm was getting closer.
Just like the one that brought me here.
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to think. Rylan's memories were fragmented, like shards of broken glass—useless unless he could piece them together. But one thing was clear: someone wanted him dead.
A distant horn blared, deep and foreboding.
Nero's blood ran cold.
He crept toward the mouth of the alley, peering out at the docks.
Three massive ships, their black sails emblazoned with a silver lightning bolt—the sigil of the Stormguard—had anchored at the harbor. Armored soldiers disembarked, their faces hidden behind reinforced helms, their weapons gleaming even in the storm's gloom.
They're searching for someone.
And then he saw her again.
The scarred woman stood at the docks, speaking with the Stormguard captain. Even from this distance, Nero could see the way the soldiers stiffened at her words, the way their hands tightened on their weapons.
She's one of them.
Or worse—she had their ear.
Nero swallowed hard. If they were here for him, he had no allies, no weapons, and no real understanding of the power simmering inside him.
But he did know one thing—he wasn't dying in some backwater alley. Not again.
He turned and ran deeper into the town, toward the only place that might offer answers—or at least a temporary hiding spot.
Rylan's memories flickered again, guiding him.
The old lighthouse.
Abandoned, half-crumbled, overlooking the sea. A place no one would think to look.
As he sprinted, the sky cracked open above him, rain falling in sheets. Lightning flashed, illuminating the silhouette of the Stormguard spreading through the streets like a tide.
And beneath his ribs, the storm inside him answered.