Jade

  The air was thick with tension as we stood in the unfamiliar, shadowed forest. My senses were on high alert, and the unease gnawing at me only deepened when I caught the movement from the corner of my eye. The trees seemed to stir, and then—out of nowhere—a figure leaped from the darkness.

  It was a Jax.

  A grotesque hybrid of wolf and shark, its eyes gleaming with primal hunger, it lunged at us with terrifying speed. Its jagged, serrated teeth bared as it snarled, and the moment it hit the ground, the sound was bone-chilling. The thing was monstrous—its body a twisted combination of sleek shark skin and vicious, wolf-like legs.

  Before I could react, Emberes was already on the move. He swung his sword in a fluid motion, and the Jax barely had time to register the strike before it crumpled to the ground in a heap. But there were more.

  Two more Jax appeared from the shadows, their growls reverberating in the thick air.

  I didn't hesitate. My hands crackled with magic as I summoned an arc of energy that streaked across the forest, hitting one of the creatures square in the chest. It yelped in pain but kept charging toward me. I didn't give it a chance to recover. I twisted the energy in the air, pulling it tight around its neck like a noose, and in one swift motion, I squeezed—crushing its throat. It dropped, motionless.

  Emberes had already engaged the third one, his blade flashing with precise strikes, a blur of steel and focus. The creature never stood a chance. With a powerful swing, Emberes severed its head from its shoulders, and it fell to the forest floor with a thud.

  The forest went silent again. But the stillness only added to the tension. We'd been ambushed by these creatures, and there had to be more lurking just beyond our vision.

  I looked to the others. Thornton and Hue were still trying to recover from the intense battle at the arena. Their bodies were healing, but they were far from ready to fight again. We needed to stay sharp.

  "Where are we?" I asked, my voice low but firm. "Why are we here? This isn't Canu Village."

  Hue took a slow step forward, his expression conflicted. "We were sent here by the King. He wouldn't—"

  "No." I cut him off, frustration bubbling to the surface. "I overheard some whispers while you two were still in a coma. Some said we shouldn't trust the King completely. There are things going on in the kingdom that... don't make sense."

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Hue's eyes hardened. "My father would never betray us. He sent us here for a reason, and I trust him. Maybe Haley made a mistake with the portal. She's still learning the magic, right?"

  I shook my head. "It's not just about the portal, Hue. It's about the King. He's not the man you think he is."

  "I don't care what you heard," Hue retorted, his voice rising. "You're wrong about him. He's done nothing but support us."

  Before I could respond, Thornton's voice cut through the tension like a knife. "Enough, both of you." He stood with his back straight, still weakened but steady. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to focus on where we are, why we're here, and how we're going to get to Canu Village."

  Hue glared at me for a moment longer before looking down, silent. I held his gaze for a beat, but then I turned away. Thornton was right. We couldn't afford to waste time arguing. Not now.

  Emberes, who had been quietly watching us, finally spoke up. "We're not far from Canu Village. See those mountains to the north?" He pointed toward the distant peaks that loomed in the horizon, their jagged forms sharp against the fading light of the day. "That's where we need to head. We're about two days' walk from there."

  I nodded, feeling the weight of his words. We couldn't go back now. We had to keep moving forward, and answers would come as we walked. The questions about why we'd been sent to this wrong place would have to wait.

  The sound of a woman screaming broke through the stillness, sharp and full of terror. It cut through the trees and reached us like a warning.

  We turned, instinctively moving toward the noise. As we approached, the scream became more frantic. A woman appeared, stumbling through the underbrush, her eyes wide with panic.

  "Please!" she gasped, clutching at her chest. "Help me! You have to help! My village—there are people coming to take it over! They're coming to destroy everything. Please, help!"

  I felt my pulse quicken. A village under threat? We couldn't ignore this.

  "What's going on?" Emberes asked, his tone stern but kind. "Who's coming for your village?"

  The woman looked over her shoulder, her eyes wild with fear. "They came from the south. They call themselves the Fiam Clan. They left Belfour Kingdom after the PURE, but they've come back. They're planning to take our village by force, and we have no way to defend ourselves!"

  My heart sank as the name registered. The Fiam Clan. They were a dangerous faction, one that had parted ways with the kingdom years ago, but they had always harbored a resentment toward the Belfour royal family. The fact that they were here, and planning to take over a village, was not a coincidence.

  Hue's face went pale as he realized the implications. "The Fiam Clan..." he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. "They left the Belfour Kingdom the day of the PURE."

  I could see the recognition in his eyes. It wasn't just a coincidence. This was no accident.

  "We have to stop them," I said, my voice firm. "We can't let them take this village."

  We rushed toward the village, the woman leading the way. But as we neared, the eerie silence that hung in the air was unsettling. Something felt wrong.

  Then, just as we reached the edge of the village, we saw them. Figures emerging from the trees, moving with the precision of soldiers. The Fiam Clan had arrived.

  And in their midst, a figure I recognized.

  Oz.

  The same man from the forest. The same one who had attacked us.

  He was back—and he was leading them.