The night over the Kael estate was unnervingly still.Not the peaceful kind of still — but the kind that presses against your skin, like the air itself is holding its breath.
The victory celebration in the city had died hours ago. The lanterns had been snuffed out, the laughter replaced by silence, and yet… Karn could feel the heat of eyes that weren't there. Every damn step he took from the training yard to the main hall carried the weight of someone watching.
Not someone.Many.
He reached the upper floor, boots barely making a sound on the polished wood. Ahead, a tall set of double doors stood slightly ajar — faint golden light spilling through. The scent of spiced wine and old wood floated in the air.
Karn slowed. His senses — the ones only his mother knew about — flared like sharpened steel. He heard every breath, every scrape of a chair leg from inside.
Four voices. Four leaders.Four families.
"That boy isn't unawakened. Not possible.""If he's hiding his power, then he's dangerous.""Dangerous to you, maybe," another scoffed. "I say we push him harder. Make him crack. Then we'll see what spills out."
Karn's jaw clenched. Push me? Break me? You really think I'm the one who'll break?
He almost turned away, ready to vanish into the corridors — until a voice, cold and deliberate, cut through the others.
"If he's what I think he is… we kill him before he becomes unstoppable."
That did it.Something deep inside Karn shifted.
The air thickened — slow, heavy, suffocating. His shadow stretched unnaturally along the wall, pooling like black liquid beneath the council room door.
Inside, an elder froze mid-sentence."What… was that?"A second one looked around, face pale. "WTF— Did you feel that?!"
The lamps above them flickered violently. For the briefest moment, every corner of the room seemed darker, except for one faint, burning glow.
Karn's left eye.
A sun-shaped scar shimmered faintly in its depths, the golden flare so subtle you might think it was a trick of the light — if it didn't make your heart pound like you were prey being sized up by a predator.
Karn didn't step inside. He didn't speak.He just let the weight of his presence sink in, the unspoken I hear you. I see you. I am not afraid.
Then, just as suddenly, the pressure lifted. The light stabilized. The shadow slid back to where it belonged.
Karn turned and walked down the hallway, expression calm — almost bored. But inside, something was burning hotter than ever.
Let them whisper.Let them plan.Let them think they've cornered him.
Because tonight, they'd just learned the truth — they weren't the hunters.
They were the prey.