The Imperial System: Architect of an Empire

The eastern road narrowed after the ninth mile.

Past that point, Blackwood stopped pretending to be civilized.

The packed earth gave way to an older hunting trail threading between tall pines and exposed gray stone. Branches hung low enough to catch cloaks. Moss covered half-buried boulders. There were no farms here, no charcoal camps, no shepherd paths.

Only forest.

Sir Darius Valen rode at the front without speaking.

Iris Hollow had gone ahead nearly half an hour earlier.

Behind him came Damien Ravenmoor, Leon Ashford, Victor Ravenshade, Elias Thorn, Marcus Wintermere, and Julian Valcrest.

Seven Black Dragon soldiers with Darius.

Not an army.

Victor had learned quickly that Darius did not require one to make a march unpleasant.

His horse stepped over another root.

Sir Darius.

No answer.

Victor tried again.

Sir Darius.

What?

How much farther?

Darius glanced toward the sun.

You were present when Iris said twelve miles.

I meant from here.

Then ask the tracker when she returns.

Victor sighed.

Marcus rode beside him.

You asked that two miles ago.

I was hoping geography had improved.

Leon looked back.

Roads generally don’t become shorter because you complain.

Victor pointed at him.

That is exactly the sort of thing someone with preliminary endorsement would say.

Leon faced forward.

You’re still talking about that?

Until I pass.

So forever?

Victor stared at him.

Julian laughed.

Damien did not.

He was studying the terrain.

Darius noticed.

What do you see?

Damien immediately looked toward the trees.

Higher ground on the north side.

A shallow depression south.

The trail narrows ahead.

Anything else?

Damien hesitated.

Too quiet.

Darius nodded once.

Marcus looked around.

It is a forest.

Forests make noise.

Elias spoke from behind them.

Birds stopped three minutes ago.

Marcus turned.

You counted?

No.

Elias’s eyes stayed on the trees.

I noticed.

Victor looked between Elias and Damien.

I hate traveling with observant people.

Darius raised one hand.

Everyone stopped.

The joking disappeared.

There.

Barely visible between two pines, a branch moved.

Once.

Then again.

Iris emerged from the brush.

She did not approach along the trail.

Instead she circled toward them from the northern slope.

Darius waited until she reached him.

Report.

Structure is another half mile east, Sir.

Tracks?

Same.

Four entered.

Three left.

You confirmed?

Twice.

Any newer movement?

Iris shook her head.

No horses near the structure. They came on foot from farther southeast.

Not from the Blackwood road?

No, Sir.

Darius’s gaze shifted toward the southeast.

That direction eventually led beyond Blackwood’s settled lands toward provincial routes connecting to eastern trade roads.

Someone could enter Kael’s territory without ever passing the central settlement.

That would need correcting eventually.

Darius looked back at the six soldiers.

Dismount.

Victor frowned.

Here?

Horses announce themselves.

Everyone obeyed.

Darius turned toward Elias.

Take the horses two hundred paces west. Conceal them.

Yes, Sir.

Julian started following.

Darius stopped him.

You stay.

Julian looked surprised.

Darius pointed toward the slope.

Tell me why.

Julian scanned the trees.

For several seconds, nothing.

Then he saw it.

If Elias goes alone and something happens, we lose the horses and don’t know why.

Darius nodded.

Go.

Julian followed Elias.

Victor watched them leave.

Is every decision a test today?

Darius looked at him.

Every decision is a test every day.

Victor sighed.

Of course it is.

The structure was older than anything Iris had expected to find east of the settlement.

Most of it had sunk into the hillside.

At first glance it resembled a natural mound broken by scattered stones. Only when they reached the eastern face did the shape become obvious.

A rectangular entrance.

Two low pillars.

A collapsed roofline swallowed by roots.

No Imperial Dragon.

No noble crest.

No village marker.

Nothing announcing who had built it.

Iris crouched near the entrance.

Here.

Darius knelt beside her.

Four sets of footprints approached through the wet soil.

Three returned.

One of the departing prints dragged slightly on the left side.

Injured?

Iris nodded.

Probably.

Darius examined the fourth set.

Lighter stride.

Smaller boot.

Stopped here.

She pointed beside the doorway.

Then entered.

Never came back.

Victor stared into the dark opening.

Wonderful.

Marcus drew his sword.

Darius looked at him.

Put it away.

Marcus blinked.

Sir?

You don’t know what’s inside.

Exactly.

And if the passage is narrow, you’re going to stab Leon in the back before anything else reaches you.

Marcus reluctantly sheathed it.

Darius drew his own blade only two inches.

Enough to free it from the scabbard.

Not enough to carry exposed steel into darkness.

Damien watched closely.

Darius noticed that too.

You first.

Damien looked toward the doorway.

Me?

You want to become a knight.

Damien tightened his grip on his spear.

Yes, Sir.

Then lead.

Darius stepped aside.

It was a small thing.

But everyone noticed.

Damien looked into the ruin.

Iris.

She moved beside him.

What do you see?

Main passage descends. Stone floor. Dust disturbed.

Any traps?

Not from here.

Damien looked toward Leon.

Second.

Then Victor.

Third.

Marcus after him.

Elias and Julian were still returning from the horses.

Damien pointed toward the entrance.

We wait for them.

Victor looked surprised.

We can fit six.

We’re eight.

Victor opened his mouth.

Damien continued.

We entered together. We leave together.

Darius said nothing.

But he did not overrule him.

Ten minutes later Elias and Julian returned.

Only then did Damien lead them inside.

The ruin smelled of wet stone and old earth.

Iris moved ahead by several paces.

Damien followed.

Leon came next with his shield raised.

Darius deliberately stayed farther back.

Victor noticed.

He leaned toward Marcus.

He’s making Damien command.

Marcus whispered back.

You needed the explanation?

Darius’s voice came from behind them.

If either of you wishes to continue your conversation, speak loudly enough for everyone.

Both men became silent.

They descended.

The passage was not large.

It had been built for people, not giants.

The ceiling stayed only a few feet above Darius’s head.

Faint markings ran along the walls.

Not letters.

Lines.

Channels.

Iris stopped.

This matches the ones near the western cave.

Damien crouched near the wall.

Not exactly.

Iris looked at him.

How?

He pointed.

Western channels were cut deeper.

These are narrower.

Darius moved closer.

Good.

Victor stared at the groove.

I was going to say that.

Nobody looked at him.

They continued.

Twenty paces farther, the air changed.

Cold.

Marcus rubbed his forearm.

Anyone else feel that?

Leon nodded.

Not normal cold.

Darius could feel it too.

Not Ice.

Not the sharp stillness around Kael’s magic.

This cold carried dampness and a faint metallic taste.

He stopped.

Aura.

The soldiers reinforced themselves.

Not all equally.

Leon produced a steady layer around his arms and chest.

Damien concentrated most of his Aura along his spear arm.

Marcus released too much at first.

Dust moved around his boots.

Darius looked at him.

Reduce it.

Marcus did.

Victor’s Aura flickered once before settling.

Julian’s was weakest.

Elias barely showed any externally at all.

Darius noted everything.

No candle was needed here.

Real danger made better instruction.

Damien looked back.

Sir?

Continue.

Damien nodded.

They found the blood first.

Iris raised a fist.

Everyone stopped.

Three dark stains marked the floor.

Old enough to have dried.

Not old enough to belong to whoever built the ruin.

Iris touched the edge with a gloved finger.

Human.

Victor stared.

You can tell from looking?

No.

She smelled it.

Victor’s face changed.

You smelled—

Iris looked at him.

Tracker.

He stopped asking questions.

The blood trail went deeper.

Then they found a broken lantern.

A leather satchel.

And one boot.

Marcus stared at it.

That’s never good.

Darius looked toward Iris.

How many tracks now?

She studied the floor.

Four came this far.

Then chaos.

Hard to separate.

She pointed.

One person ran back.

Another followed while dragging a leg.

Third one...

She moved toward the wall.

Wait.

Her fingers traced the dust.

Third climbed over the first two.

Victor frowned.

And the fourth?

Iris looked deeper into the ruin.

Continued forward.

Alone.

Darius’s expression tightened.

Voluntarily?

Can’t tell.

Damien looked toward the blood.

If three fled, why would one continue?

Victor answered.

Because people are stupid.

Darius looked at him.

Sometimes.

Victor blinked.

That sounded almost like agreement.

Do not become encouraged.

There it was.

The first chamber had been emptied recently.

That was obvious even without Iris.

Rectangular impressions marked the dust where objects had once rested.

Shelves had been torn from one wall.

A stone pedestal stood bare in the center.

Tavian would have hated the sight.

Darius did.

Not because of scholarship.

Because whoever had entered knew what they were looking for.

This was not random looting.

Elias knelt near the pedestal.

Tool marks.

Darius approached.

Fresh?

Within days.

Elias pointed toward the edge.

Metal pry bar.

Damien studied the room.

So the three who left took something.

Or someone before them did.

Darius looked toward Iris.

Tracks only show this group?

Recent tracks, yes.

Older ground is too disturbed.

Victor walked toward an empty shelf.

Maybe they were adventurers.

Galahad’s people wouldn’t come this far without registering the mission.

Mercenaries then.

Possible.

Marcus looked toward Darius.

Imperial?

Darius’s answer came immediately.

Don’t guess uniforms onto men you haven’t seen.

Marcus nodded.

Yes, Sir.

Darius stepped toward the next corridor.

The blood continued.

So did the fourth set of footprints.

Barely.

They heard breathing before they found him.

Not words.

Not movement.

Just one ragged inhale from the darkness.

Damien stopped.

Leon raised his shield.

Victor’s hand went to his sword.

Darius said nothing.

Damien whispered.

Iris?

She shook her head.

One person.

Possibly.

Damien looked toward Elias.

Left wall.

Elias moved.

Victor, right.

Victor obeyed.

Leon center.

Marcus and Julian rear.

It wasn’t perfect.

But it was quick.

Darius remained behind them.

Damien advanced.

The corridor opened into a round chamber.

A man sat against the far wall.

Alive.

Barely.

He looked somewhere in his thirties.

Travel-stained brown coat.

No armor.

One trouser leg was soaked dark with blood.

His left hand clutched a short knife.

His right arm hung uselessly.

When Leon’s shield entered the chamber, the man tried to raise the blade.

Stay back.

His voice cracked.

Damien stopped.

Black Dragon.

The man’s eyes moved toward the dragon insignia on Damien’s armor.

Confusion replaced fear.

Black... Dragon?

Lord Kael’s soldiers.

The knife lowered slightly.

Darius entered the chamber.

The man’s attention snapped toward him.

Then recognition hit.

His face changed completely.

Sir Darius Valen.

Victor glanced sideways at Leon.

People really do that everywhere.

Leon elbowed him.

The injured man tried to stand.

He failed.

Darius approached slowly.

Name.

The man’s breathing was shallow.

Corvin Lask.

Occupation.

Relic surveyor.

For whom?

Corvin looked away.

Darius stopped three paces from him.

I will ask once more.

Corvin swallowed.

Independent contract.

That is who paid you?

No.

Then answer the question.

Corvin’s grip tightened around the knife.

Darius’s voice never changed.

You are bleeding inside my lord’s territory, inside an illegal excavation, while three companions fled and left you behind.

He crouched.

You are not negotiating from strength.

Corvin stared at him.

Victor muttered under his breath.

There it is.

Darius did not look back.

Corvin finally released the knife.

It fell against the stone.

A broker in Aurelia.

Name.

Merrick Sol.

Darius recognized nothing.

That did not mean the name was false.

What were you hired to find?

Corvin hesitated.

Damien stepped closer.

Corvin looked at him.

Darius spoke.

Look at me.

Corvin did.

What were you hired to find?

The surveyor’s voice dropped.

Old roads.

Darius frowned.

Roads?

Not roads like yours.

Corvin swallowed.

Mana roads. Buried lines. Ancient channels.

Everyone in the chamber became still.

Darius’s face did not change.

How did your employer know they existed?

I don’t know.

You took the contract without asking?

The money was good.

Victor quietly said.

Mercenaries with chalk.

Darius ignored him.

Corvin continued.

We were given a map. Not complete. Just suspected sites.

How many?

Corvin’s eyes flicked toward the chamber entrance.

I don’t know.

How many marked sites?

Seven.

Where?

Across the western and central provinces.

Blackwood?

Two.

Darius felt the implications settle.

The western cave.

This ruin.

Someone outside Blackwood knew both existed.

Before Kael did.

What happened here?

Corvin’s face tightened.

We found the chamber below.

Something was already awake.

Darius looked toward the deeper passage.

What?

I don’t know.

It wasn’t alive.

That wording mattered.

Corvin continued.

It came through the wall.

Like smoke, but heavier. Purple.

Marcus looked toward Darius.

The same contamination.

Darius raised one finger.

Marcus became silent.

Corvin’s breath shuddered.

Jorek touched the pedestal.

The whole room lit.

Then Senn started screaming.

Our lantern shattered.

We ran.

You didn’t.

Corvin looked toward the floor.

I couldn’t.

Your tracks continued deeper.

The man became quiet.

Darius waited.

Corvin finally whispered.

Something pulled me.

Leon shifted.

Pulled you physically?

No.

Corvin’s face was pale.

In my head.

That was the first answer Darius truly disliked.

They treated Corvin before questioning him further.

Not out of kindness alone.

Dead men gave poor testimony.

Julian cleaned the wound.

The cut along Corvin’s thigh was deep but did not appear to have severed the main artery.

Leon used part of his cloak as additional binding.

Darius watched.

Julian noticed.

Sir?

What?

You’re watching my hands.

Yes.

Why?

Because you asked to become a knight.

Julian stared.

I’m treating a wound.

Exactly.

Julian looked toward Leon.

Leon shrugged.

Get used to it.

Corvin almost laughed, then winced.

You men are strange.

Victor sat against the opposite wall.

You hired yourself to explore cursed ruins for a man whose name you barely know.

Corvin closed his eyes.

Fair.

Damien remained near the deeper passage.

Darius joined him.

You want to continue.

Damien shook his head.

No, Sir.

Darius looked at him.

Why not?

We have an injured man.

Unknown threat ahead.

Our original mission was reconnaissance.

We have enough information to report.

Darius waited.

Damien continued.

And whatever is down there already defeated four people who knew the site better than we did.

Darius nodded once.

Good.

Damien looked relieved.

Then Darius added.

But we’re not leaving yet.

Damien blinked.

Sir?

Darius pointed toward the wall.

You missed something.

Damien followed his finger.

At first he saw only ancient stone.

Then—

A scratch.

Fresh.

Low near the floor.

Another beside it.

Three parallel lines.

Damien crouched.

Not tool marks.

No.

Something moved through here after Corvin was injured.

Damien looked toward the surveyor.

Corvin had heard them.

His eyes opened.

It followed us.

Darius turned.

When?

I don’t know.

I lost consciousness.

Darius’s sword left its scabbard.

Fully this time.

The sound changed everyone.

Sir Darius Valen did not draw his sword because he was nervous.

Victor stood.

Leon raised his shield.

Marcus’s Aura appeared.

Too much again.

Darius did not correct him immediately.

Iris entered from the outer corridor.

Sir.

What?

Tracks outside changed.

Darius’s gaze sharpened.

How?

There are four leaving now.

Silence.

Victor frowned.

That’s impossible.

Iris looked at him.

I know.

We followed the three—

I know what I counted.

Darius looked toward the ruin entrance.

Corvin was still here.

They had entered on four tracks.

Three had left.

Yet now Iris had found four sets departing.

Something had walked out wearing the pattern of a man who never left.

That was enough.

Darius looked at Damien.

New priority.

Damien’s spear came up.

Protect Corvin?

No.

Darius turned toward the passage behind them.

Blackwood.

The word landed harder than any shouted order.

If something left this ruin and could imitate tracks, then the threat was no longer underground.

It was already outside.

Darius began issuing orders.

Leon, Julian. Corvin between you.

Yes, Sir.

Elias, rear watch.

Yes, Sir.

Marcus, stop flooding the corridor with Aura.

Marcus forced his breathing slower.

His Aura tightened.

Better.

Victor.

Victor straightened.

Sir.

You stay beside Iris.

Victor looked confused.

Why?

Because if she stops, you stop.

If she runs, you run.

If she tells you a leaf is suspicious, you treat the leaf as an enemy officer.

Iris smiled faintly.

Victor sighed.

Understood.

Damien.

Sir.

You’re with me.

Darius looked toward the exit.

We move now.

They did not return the way they came.

Iris led them northwest through the forest.

Darius chose the route for one reason.

If the unknown fourth trail was heading toward Blackwood’s central settlement, he did not want to follow directly behind it.

He wanted to cut across.

Intercept.

Victor struggled to keep quiet for the first mile.

Then the forest did it for him.

Iris moved quickly.

Every few hundred paces she crouched.

Touched earth.

Examined bark.

Twice she changed direction without explanation.

Darius never questioned her in front of the others.

He had given her responsibility.

He let her carry it.

That did more for confidence than constant interference.

They reached a shallow creek.

Iris stopped.

There.

Victor saw nothing.

Darius did.

A footprint in mud.

Human-sized.

The sole pattern matched Corvin’s boots almost exactly.

But Corvin was being carried thirty paces behind them.

Victor looked back.

Then down again.

I dislike this.

Iris crouched.

Weight is wrong.

Darius stepped beside her.

How?

Too deep at the heel.

Too shallow at the front.

Marcus joined them.

Meaning?

Iris stood.

Whatever made this footprint learned the shape.

Not the walk.

Darius looked toward the eastern bank.

Direction?

West.

Toward the settlement.

Damien’s jaw tightened.

How much lead?

Iris studied the mud.

Maybe two hours.

Darius’s face remained calm.

Inside, everything changed.

Two hours.

At walking pace, the thing could already be several miles closer to inhabited Blackwood.

Darius looked at the soldiers.

We run.

Corvin stared.

I can’t—

Leon shifted him higher.

You’re not running.

We are.

Then they moved.

Back in Blackwood, Kael had spent the afternoon arguing about grain.

Not demons.

Not ancient ruins.

Grain.

Orrin Belmore stood on one side of the manor study.

Lily stood on the other.

Between them rested three ledgers and a price list that had somehow become more offensive every time Kael read it.

Orrin tapped one figure.

That is the current market price, my lord.

That is robbery.

That is drought pricing.

There’s no drought here.

The grain isn’t coming from here.

Kael leaned back.

How much for enough to replace four fields?

Orrin named the figure.

Kael stared.

Lily quietly turned one ledger around.

The number matched.

Kael looked betrayed.

You already checked?

Three times.

And he’s right?

Unfortunately.

Orrin smiled.

Thank you, Lady Lily.

Lily looked at him.

I am not a lady.

Orrin paused.

Mistress Lily, then.

She accepted that with a nod.

Kael rubbed his forehead.

Buy half now.

Orrin’s eyebrows rose.

Only half?

Half before everyone else learns Blackwood is suddenly buying grain in bulk and raises prices again.

The merchant’s smile disappeared.

Kael continued.

Use three separate routes.

Don’t buy all of it through Aurelia.

Orrin looked impressed despite himself.

Northern villages?

Partly.

Western merchants too.

Kael pointed at the map.

And find out who has surplus barley.

Lily looked at him.

People will complain.

People complain about bread less when they have bread.

Orrin bowed.

As you command, my lord.

He left.

Lily stayed.

Kael looked at her.

What?

You’re learning to think like a merchant.

That sounded like an insult.

It wasn’t.

Mostly.

A knock came at the door.

Captain Roland entered.

My lord.

Kael straightened.

Report?

One of the eastern watch riders just returned.

Darius?

Not yet.

Kael’s expression changed.

Roland continued.

The rider came from the outer patrol. He found something near the eastern road.

What?

Roland held up a strip of cloth.

Brown.

Bloodstained.

Kael stared.

Where?

Six miles east.

Before the old forest narrows.

Kael stood.

Whose?

Unknown.

Roland hesitated.

And there was a man walking west along the road.

Kael looked at him.

A traveler?

The rider tried speaking to him.

No response.

He kept walking.

Kael’s hand moved toward his sword.

Where is he now?

The patrol lost sight of him near the eastern tree line.

Kael’s voice changed.

Close the eastern approach.

Roland immediately nodded.

How many?

Kael thought.

Not all fifty.

Darius had seven with him.

Others were already on western watches and village patrols.

Osric had warned him repeatedly that spreading soldiers too thin created holes.

Kael looked toward the courtyard.

Who is here?

Roland answered.

Grom. Hugo is with Tavian. Osric. Fourteen Black Dragon soldiers between manor and settlement. More can be recalled.

Kael nodded.

No panic.

Quietly close the road.

Grom takes six.

Osric organizes the settlement watch and civilian movement.

You take four around the manor.

Roland nodded.

And you, my lord?

Kael reached for his sword belt.

Roland’s face changed.

Sir Darius told you to remain.

Kael looked at him.

Sir Darius isn’t here.

That is precisely why he told you to remain.

Kael stared at him.

Roland held the stare for approximately three seconds.

Then looked away.

My lord.

Kael almost smiled.

I’m not riding east.

Roland relaxed.

I’m going to the road gate.

The relaxation disappeared.

My lord—

Kael buckled his sword.

That’s still Blackwood.

Roland sighed.

Yes, my lord.

Grom Ironfang found Kael before Kael found him.

The seventy-four-year-old goblin appeared from the direction of the barracks with his spear already in hand.

Someone said stranger.

Kael looked at Roland.

News travels fast.

Roland pointed toward Grom.

He is news.

Grom ignored him.

Alive?

Unknown.

Dangerous?

Unknown.

Grom grinned.

Good.

Kael frowned.

How is unknown good?

If you knew everything, you wouldn’t need me.

That was irritatingly logical.

Osric Hale approached next.

Unlike Grom, Osric carried no excitement at all.

He carried a roster.

My lord.

Osric.

I have seventeen Black Dragon soldiers within immediate reach if we pull two from the western grain road.

Don’t.

Osric nodded.

I agree.

Kael looked at him.

Then why mention it?

Because knowing what you could do is different from doing it.

Kael decided he needed to spend more time around Osric.

The man thought in numbers without becoming trapped by them.

Osric pointed toward the settlement.

Families indoors?

Not yet.

Good.

Kael frowned.

Good?

If you order everyone indoors without explanation, they’ll panic.

Osric’s finger moved toward the market.

Close the eastern road first.

Keep the market open.

Double visible patrols gradually.

If we need to move people later, we do it district by district.

Kael nodded.

Do it.

Osric gave a short bow.

Yes, my lord.

No drama.

No argument.

Just competence.

Kael understood why the System had valued his logistics so highly.

The eastern road gate was not really a gate yet.

Two reinforced timber posts.

A half-finished watch platform.

A movable barricade.

Blackwood was growing faster than its defenses.

Grom stood beside Kael.

Six Black Dragon soldiers spread across the road and surrounding tree line.

Captain Roland stayed closer to the settlement with another group.

Kael watched the road.

Nothing.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Grom leaned on his spear.

You are impatient.

Everyone tells me.

Everyone is right.

Kael looked at him.

You are supposed to be resting.

I rested yesterday.

That’s not how wounds work.

Mine do.

Kael decided arguing with Grom about health was less productive than arguing with a wall.

A bird call sounded from the trees.

Wrong rhythm.

Grom immediately straightened.

A Black Dragon scout emerged.

My lord.

Kael recognized him as one of Osric’s younger patrolmen.

Report.

Movement east.

One person.

Distance?

Half mile.

Walking.

Responding to commands?

No, my lord.

Grom rolled his shoulders.

Kael looked at him.

Alive first.

I heard you.

I know you heard me.

Then why repeat it?

Because you’re smiling.

Grom stopped smiling.

Mostly.

The figure appeared between the trees.

A man.

Brown coat.

Mud-covered boots.

Head lowered.

He walked slowly.

Not stumbling.

Not injured.

Just wrong.

Kael felt that before he understood why.

Grom did too.

His spear lowered.

Kael raised one hand.

Stop there.

The man kept walking.

Kael summoned no Ice.

No Light.

Not yet.

Stop.

Nothing.

The Black Dragon soldiers tightened formation.

Twenty paces.

Fifteen.

Kael saw the man’s face.

Pale.

Eyes open.

No expression.

Blood covered one sleeve.

Kael’s instincts screamed.

He activated Frost Sense through the ground.

Cold spread beneath the road.

Roots.

Moisture.

Stone.

Bootsteps.

The man’s feet touched earth.

But something else moved with him.

Not inside him.

Around him.

A second pattern.

Like pressure without shape.

Kael’s hand went to his sword.

Grom whispered.

You feel it too?

Yes.

The man stopped.

Exactly ten paces away.

His head lifted.

He looked at Kael.

Then smiled.

Too slowly.

Kael’s Light reacted.

White-gold energy flickered along his fingers without being summoned.

The man’s smile vanished.

For the first time, he spoke.

Not in a language Kael knew.

The sound was low.

Broken.

Then he tried again.

Prince.

Grom’s spear came fully forward.

Kael did not move.

Who are you?

The man stared at the Light gathering around Kael’s hand.

His lips trembled.

Not fear.

Recognition.

Behind Kael, a horse thundered along the road.

Sir Darius Valen’s voice cut across the distance.

Kael!

The man’s head snapped toward the sound.

Then his body bent backward.

Farther than any human spine should allow.

Black vapor burst from his mouth.

Grom attacked.

His spear struck the road where the man had stood.

But the body collapsed before the blade reached it.

Empty.

Kael stared.

The black-purple vapor twisted once above the corpse.

His Light flared instinctively.

The vapor recoiled.

Then vanished into the trees.

Darius rode into view seconds later with Damien and Iris ahead of the others.

He dismounted before his horse fully stopped.

Kael!

I’m fine.

Darius looked at the body.

Then at Kael.

Then at the trees.

His sword was already drawn.

Iris ran toward the corpse.

Darius stopped her.

No touching.

She froze.

Kael looked beyond him.

Leon and Julian carried an injured stranger between them.

Corvin.

Darius looked at the dead man on the road.

The surveyor made a strangled sound.

No.

Kael turned.

You know him?

Corvin stared.

That’s Senn.

The man who fled the ruin?

Corvin’s face had gone colorless.

Yes.

Iris crouched several feet from the corpse.

Sir.

Darius looked at her.

Tracks?

She stared at the road.

Then toward the tree line where the vapor had vanished.

For the first time since Kael had known her, Iris Hollow looked uncertain.

One set came here.

She swallowed.

Two left.

Nobody spoke.

Kael looked toward the fading white-gold Light around his hand.

Darius looked at it too.

Then at the dead surveyor.

The eastern ruin had given them more than another buried channel.

Something had come out.

Something that could ride inside a man.

Something that recognized Kael.

And unlike the crystal beneath western Blackwood, this problem was no longer waiting underground for them to return.

It had already walked to his doorstep.