Kael pulled Lira to her feet, though both of them were shaking from the fight with the Voricar. The mountain path was silent again, the beast's remains fading into ash on the cold ground.
But Kael felt it.
A presence.
No—several.
Not hunters.
Not beasts.
Something far worse.
Lira grasped his arm. "Kael… what's coming?"
Kael's voice lowered into a growl. "Assassins. The Emperor's elite."
Lira paled. "The ones who hunted you before?"
He shook his head.
"These aren't hunters. These are killers trained from birth to destroy anything that threatens the Emperor's rule."
Lira's fingers tightened around his hand. "Can you fight them?"
Kael didn't answer.
And that silence spoke louder than anything.
He was still weak from the ritual.
The shadow-light blast had drained both of them.
And Lira's pendant was barely glowing.
Branches snapped somewhere in the trees.
A dark blur landed on the rocks above them—silent, sharp, and deadly. Another dropped behind them. Then a third. Five. Seven.
All wearing armor woven with shadow-thread, their faces hidden behind bone-white masks shaped like grinning skulls.
Kael pulled Lira behind him just as the assassins unsheathed blades forged from black steel. The metal hummed with dark magic.
One assassin stepped forward, voice flat and emotionless:
"Kael Umbrix. You were ordered to die years ago. Your escape was… inconvenient. Your bond with the Lightbearer is unacceptable."
Lira's breath shook. "They want to kill us both."
Kael's eyes narrowed, crimson deepening. "They can try."
Another assassin spoke, tilting their head toward Lira.
"The girl is valuable. The Emperor wants her alive."
A pause.
"You, however… are not required."
The world tightened around Kael.
Shadows flared around him in a violent surge.
"Touch her and I'll rip all of you apart."
The assassins raised their blades in perfect unison, not the slightest flicker of fear in their movements.
"Take the girl. Cut down the boy."
Lira pulled on Kael's sleeve. "Kael—we can't fight all of them."
"We don't run," he said.
"We'll die," she whispered.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped forward—and staggered. His legs trembled hard enough to nearly give out. The bond drained him again, pulling at his core, tugging at his strength.
Lira's eyes widened. "Kael!"
An assassin shot forward, faster than lightning.
Kael barely blocked the strike with his arm, the black blade slicing across his skin. Dark blood spilled.
Lira gasped and clutched her own arm at the same spot—the bond transferring the pain.
Kael snarled, shoving the assassin back.
Two more rushed in from the sides.
Kael spun, lashing out with what shadow he could summon. It wasn't enough. One blade grazed his ribs. The other carved across his thigh.
Lira cried out and dropped to her knees, the shared pain overwhelming her.
Kael froze.
Her pain hit him harder than the wounds.
He clenched his fists. The shadows flared—but only faintly.
Three assassins advanced toward Lira.
Kael moved instinctively, stepping between them, teeth bared.
"Stay away from her."
But his shadows flickered and died out again.
One assassin raised his blade—
Lira threw her hand up.
The pendant flashed, just once.
A burst of silver light shot out, throwing the assassin backward into the rocks.
Kael stared.
"Lira… you used your magic."
She looked dizzy, breathless. "Not enough… I need more time…"
"You don't have it," Kael said.
The assassins closed in again.
Kael grabbed Lira's hand, squeezing it desperately.
"I'll draw them away. When I move, run."
Lira shook her head violently. "No. If you go alone—they'll kill you."
"They'll kill you first," Kael said. "You're what they want."
Her eyes filled with tears. "Kael… I'm not leaving you."
He stepped closer. So close their foreheads nearly touched.
His voice softened to a whisper.
"You can't die because of me."
The assassins spread out, circling.
Kael's shadow flared again—small, unstable, but full of fury.
He pulled Lira behind him, preparing to shield her with his own body.
Then—
Something strange happened.
Lira gasped.
The pendant blazed bright—brighter than ever before. Not silver.
But silver mixed with black.
Shadow-light.
The same power that destroyed the Voricar.
Except now…
It was coming from her.
Kael stared in shock. "Lira…?"
Her hands glowed, trembling, as swirling black patterns spread faintly under her skin—matching the marks on Kael's arms.
The assassins froze.
"What… is she?" one whispered.
Lira swallowed, looking at her hands in fear and awe.
"I don't know…"
Kael stepped in front of her protectively.
But this time—
She stepped beside him.
Her voice shook, but didn't back down.
"Whatever this bond is… it made us both stronger."
Kael's breath caught.
Lira raised her glowing hand.
"Let them come."
Kael met her eyes.
For the first time, he saw not weakness.
Not fear.
Not fragility.
But strength.
His strength, mingling with hers.
He nodded once.
The assassins charged.
Shadow and light rose together.
And the mountain turned into a battlefield.