Cassian's POV
"DUCK!"
I dropped as Seraphine's glowing sword carved through the space where my head had been. The blade hit rock, exploding stone into deadly shrapnel.
"Keep moving!" Thalric roared, his hammer smashing aside soldiers like toys. "Don't stop!"
But there was nowhere to go. We were trapped in a dead-end canyon with fifty soldiers and the deadliest woman in the kingdom.
Eryndra's axe caught a soldier's blade, twisted, disarmed him. "We can't fight them all!"
"Got any better ideas?" I gasped, summoning Voidflame again. My hands shook with exhaustion. The purple fire flickered weakly.
Seraphine walked toward us slowly, confidently. "You've become stronger, Cassian. I'm almost impressed. But you're still just a frightened boy playing with powers you don't understand."
She thrust her hand forward. Holy light erupted from her palm, slamming into my Voidflame.
The two magics collided with a sound like thunder. I screamed as the force threw me backward into the rock wall. Stars exploded across my vision.
"Cassian!" Eryndra tried to reach me, but three soldiers blocked her path.
I struggled to my feet, tasting blood. Seraphine was right. I was weak. Untrained. I'd gotten lucky a few times, but luck always ran out.
"Last chance," Seraphine said. "Surrender. Tell me where you've hidden the evidence. I'll give you a clean death."
"Evidence?" I coughed. "You mean your letter? The one proving you're a genocidal liar?"
Her perfect face twisted with fury. "Where. Is. It?"
"Somewhere you'll never find it!" I had no idea where it actually was—Thalric had taken it for "safekeeping"—but she didn't need to know that.
Seraphine raised her sword. "Then you die slowly."
Before she could strike, the canyon wall behind us exploded.
Not from magic. From pure dwarf stubbornness.
Thalric's hammer had been chipping at a weak point in the rock while we fought. Now, tons of stone crashed down between us and the soldiers, creating a barrier.
"MOVE!" Thalric grabbed my collar and yanked me through the hole he'd made. Eryndra dove after us.
We tumbled down a steep slope on the other side, rolling and bouncing until we hit water. An underground river. Fast-moving and freezing.
"Hold yer breath!" Thalric shouted.
The current grabbed us and pulled us under. I couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't tell which way was up. The river dragged us through absolute darkness for what felt like forever.
My lungs screamed for air. Black spots danced in my vision. This was it. I'd survived Seraphine only to drown in the dark—
My head broke the surface. I gasped, choking and coughing.
"Swim for the bank!" Thalric was already hauling himself onto rocks. "Before the current takes ye again!"
I kicked weakly toward shore. Eryndra grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the water.
We collapsed on the rocky bank, all of us gasping like dying fish.
"Is everyone... alive?" I managed.
"Unfortunately yes," Thalric groaned. "Though I'm questioning that decision right about now."
"Did we... lose them?"
"For now. That river goes through ten miles of mountain. They'll have to circle around to track us." He sat up, wringing out his beard. "We've got maybe a day's head start. We need to use it."
"Use it how?" Eryndra asked. "We can't keep running forever. Sooner or later, she'll catch us."
"Not if we get ye somewhere safe. Somewhere even Seraphine can't reach." Thalric pointed upstream. "My forge is two days' hard march through these caves. It's hidden. Protected. We get there, we can regroup. Train the boy proper. Plan our next move."
"Your forge?" I said. "You have a forge in the middle of nowhere?"
"Not nowhere. Ironpeak Mountains. Sacred dwarf territory. Humans don't come here—we've got treaties older than yer kingdom." He stood, testing his hammer. "Come on. Daylight's wasting, and these caves don't get friendlier at night."
Two days of stumbling through darkness and eating cave moss later, we finally saw firelight.
Thalric's forge was carved into the mountain itself. Massive stone doors, covered in dwarf runes, stood open. Inside, I could hear the ring of hammer on anvil.
"Home sweet home," Thalric said proudly. "Welcome to Ironforge."
We stepped inside, and warmth hit me like a hug. A real forge, with roaring fires and walls lined with weapons and tools. It smelled like metal and smoke and safety.
"Thalric!" A younger dwarf emerged from the back, covered in soot. "Ye old goat! Where've ye been? The Council's been asking—" He stopped when he saw Eryndra and me. "Who're they?"
"Long story. Feed 'em first, questions later." Thalric pushed us toward a table. "Sit. Don't argue."
We sat. The younger dwarf—who introduced himself as Borin—brought us bread, cheese, and meat that wasn't half-rotten. Real food. I nearly cried.
"Easy, lad," Thalric warned. "Ye'll make yerself sick if ye eat too fast."
I didn't care. I ate until my stomach hurt, and it was glorious.
After we'd eaten, Thalric examined my shoulder wound. "Infection's better, but ye still need rest. And we need to talk about yer magic."
"I can't control it," I admitted. "It just... explodes."
"Because of the suppression runes. They've been draining yer magic since ye were a babe, and now that they're broken, yer power's wild. Unstable." He pointed to a back room. "Shirt off. Let me see 'em properly."
In the privacy of the back room, I removed my torn shirt. The marks on my back—which I'd always thought were birthmarks—covered my skin in intricate patterns.
Thalric traced them with rough fingers, muttering in dwarf language. "These are master-work. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. These runes don't just suppress magic—they redirect it. Channel it somewhere else."
"Where?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" He looked at me seriously. "Boy, who were yer parents? And I mean truly. Not the story ye were told."
"My father is Lord Aldric Thornwell. My mother was a maid who died giving birth to me. That's what everyone says."
"And ye believed them?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because these runes were placed by a blood relative. Someone with intimate knowledge of yer family magic." Thalric's expression was grim. "These aren't random marks, lad. They're a seal. Someone in yer family wanted to keep ye weak. Keep ye controllable."
My stomach churned. "Aldric."
"Probably. But why? Why brand a bastard child with suppression runes? What would be the point unless—" Thalric's eyes widened. "Unless ye weren't supposed to be a bastard at all."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying someone lied to ye, boy. Yer whole life is built on lies." He grabbed my shoulders. "Think. Does anything about yer childhood make sense? Why keep a bastard at the manor? Why not send ye away? Why torture ye daily instead of just... getting rid of ye?"
I thought about it. Really thought about it. Aldric's cold hatred. Roderic's constant cruelty. The way servants whispered when I passed. The way I was kept close but treated like garbage.
"He was keeping me prisoner," I whispered. "In plain sight. Making sure everyone knew I was worthless so no one would question..."
"Question what?"
"Question why the rightful heir was being treated like a servant."
The words hung in the air like thunder.
Thalric nodded slowly. "Aye. That's what I think too. Ye're not a bastard, Cassian Thornwell. Ye're the legitimate son. The true heir. And someone—probably Aldric—stole yer birthright."
The room spun. "That's... that's insane."
"Is it? Who benefited from ye being declared a bastard? Who became lord when yer father died? Who's been keeping ye weak and beaten down yer whole life?"
Aldric. The answer was always Aldric.
"My father," I said. "Or... uncle? I don't even know what to call him anymore."
"Call him what he is: a murderer and a thief." Thalric's voice was steel. "He killed the real Lord Thornwell—yer actual father. Took the duchy. Branded ye with these runes to suppress yer magic so ye couldn't fight back. And told everyone ye were a bastard so no one would believe ye if ye ever learned the truth."
Twenty-one years of humiliation suddenly made horrible sense.
"I'm not nothing," I whispered. "I'm the real duke."
"Aye. And that changes everything." Thalric smiled grimly. "Which is why we need to remove these runes and awaken yer true power. Because when Aldric finds out ye know the truth, he'll send everything he has to kill ye."
"How do we remove them?"
"Carefully. These runes are tied to yer life force. Remove 'em wrong, and ye die. Remove 'em right, and ye become one of the most dangerous magic users alive." He pulled out a wickedly sharp knife. "This is going to hurt. A lot. Ye sure ye want to do this?"
I thought about Lord Aldric. About Roderic. About everyone who'd made me feel worthless.
About Seraphine hunting me. About Eryndra's dead brother. About this whole war built on lies.
"Do it," I said. "I'm done being weak."
Thalric raised the knife. "Hold still. If ye move, I might accidentally kill ye."
"Very reassuring."
He pressed the blade against my skin—
The door burst open.
Eryndra stood there, her face white with terror. "They're here. Seraphine's army. They found us."
"That's impossible!" Thalric snarled. "No one knows this location!"
"Someone does." Eryndra pointed outside. "Because there's five hundred soldiers surrounding the forge. And Seraphine is with them."
We ran to the main doors. Through the gap, I could see them—an entire army. Banners flying. Siege equipment being set up.
And at the front, mounted on a white horse, was Seraphine. Even from here, I could see her smile.
She'd followed us through mountains, through underground rivers, through impossible terrain.
She'd found us.
And this time, there was nowhere left to run.