Chapter 4~ The Hounds Of the Kings

The wind had changed.

Lia could feel it — the cold no longer came from the forest, but from something moving within it. The mist shifted unnaturally, curling into shapes that vanished when she blinked.

Kael stopped abruptly ahead of her, every muscle tense. “They’re here.”

Lia’s breath caught. “The hounds?”

He nodded once, eyes narrowing. “Don’t speak. Don’t run unless I tell you to.”

The forest had gone utterly still. Not even the crickets dared to sing. Then, from somewhere deep within the fog, a low growl broke the silence — followed by another, and another, until the air thrummed with it.

The hounds of the king were not beasts of flesh. They were shadows given teeth — formed from men who had sworn loyalty to the Crown and been consumed by its hunger. Their eyes burned with the same golden fire Lia had seen in the mirror.

Kael drew his blade, the metal drinking the faint moonlight. “Stay behind me,” he said softly, and the command in his voice left no room for argument.

Lia pressed herself against a tree, heart hammering. The mark on her chest pulsed with a rhythm that wasn’t her own — each beat echoed by the approaching growls.

From the fog, shapes emerged. Four. No — five. They moved low, their bodies rippling with black smoke and faint glints of armor still clinging to their ghostly forms.

One lifted its head and sniffed the air. “Blood,” it rasped, voice like gravel dragged across stone. “The vessel bleeds.”

Lia flinched. Kael stepped forward, blade raised. “You will not touch her.”

The hound laughed — a hollow, guttural sound. “The king calls his son home.”

Then they lunged.

Kael moved like a shadow unleashed. His sword swept in arcs of black light, slicing through the mist. Each strike tore through a hound, scattering them into trails of smoke — but only for moments. The darkness reformed, the creatures snapping and snarling, feeding on his energy.

Lia could feel the power draining from him. The more he fought, the dimmer his glow became.

“Kael!” she shouted. “They’re feeding on you!”

He gritted his teeth. “Then I’ll give them more than they can swallow.”

He raised his hand, and the air trembled. Shadows bent toward him, twisting into a circle of pure black flame. When the hounds leapt again, they hit the barrier and shrieked — their cries echoing through the forest like a thousand broken voices.

But the magic cost him. Kael staggered, falling to one knee, his blade clattering beside him. The barrier flickered.

Lia didn’t think — she ran to him. “What can I do?”

“Nothing,” he gasped. “Go!”

“I’m not leaving you!”

The hounds gathered beyond the failing circle, their golden eyes fixed on her. Lia felt the mark on her chest flare again, burning with a pain so sharp it stole her breath.

The lead hound grinned, its face flickering between man and beast. “You carry his curse,” it said. “You carry his crown.”

And then it lunged — straight through the dying barrier.

Lia screamed as the creature hit her, its claws sinking into her shoulder. Pain exploded through her, but so did something else — a surge of heat that burned brighter than the moon. The mark on her chest ignited, and for an instant, everything froze.

The hound’s golden eyes widened in terror. Its body convulsed — and then it disintegrated into ash, leaving nothing but silence.

Kael stared at her, stunned. “Lia… what did you do?”

She looked down at her trembling hands. Her veins glowed faintly gold beneath her skin, the light fading slowly. “I don’t know.”

The remaining hounds hesitated, whining lowly. One snarled, “She bears the king’s fire.”

Kael rose weakly, his sword in hand again. “Then let her show them what it can do.”

Lia met his eyes — fear and determination warring inside her. She didn’t understand the power coursing through her veins, but she felt its rhythm, as if the forest itself was breathing with her.

When the next hound lunged, she raised her hand instinctively. Golden light burst forth — not like Kael’s shadow flame, but pure, blinding brilliance. It struck the hound mid-leap and shattered it into dust.

The others howled and fled back into the fog.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Kael sheathed his blade, breathing hard. “The king will feel that,” he said quietly. “He’ll know you can wield his power.”

Lia pressed her shaking hands to her chest. “Then he’ll come faster.”

“Yes,” Kael said. “And so will others.”

“Others?”

He looked toward the horizon, where the first hints of dawn touched the trees. “There are those who rebelled once — those who remember what the Crown cost them. They will feel the shift in the bloodline. Some will come to protect you.”

“And the rest?”

He met her eyes — and there was sorrow there. “They’ll come to kill you.”

They found shelter in the ruins of an old watchtower as the sun rose. Kael leaned against the wall, pale from exhaustion. Lia tended to the gash on his arm, though she suspected shadow-wounds didn’t heal like normal ones.

“You shouldn’t have stayed,” he said after a long silence. “When I told you to run.”

She pressed the cloth harder, making him wince. “And leave you to die? Not likely.”

He gave her a look — half frustration, half gratitude. “You don’t understand what you’ve become. Every moment you’re near me, you draw closer to his gaze.”

“Then teach me to hide,” she said. “Or to fight. But don’t tell me to run.”

Kael studied her for a long time, then gave a small, weary smile. “You sound like my mother.”

Lia blinked. “Your mother?”

He nodded. “She was the only one who ever defied him and lived.”

“What happened to her?”

Kael’s gaze dropped to the dirt floor. “She didn’t live long.”

The silence stretched, filled only by the soft crackle of the small fire Lia had managed to start. She watched him, the faint light catching the scars along his jaw — reminders of a life stolen by a father’s greed.

“Kael,” she said softly. “If I carry the king’s fire… can I destroy him?”

He met her eyes, and for a heartbeat, she saw something there — hope, fragile and dangerous.

“Maybe,” he said. “But if you fail… the fire won’t stop at him.”

“Then what?”

“It will consume everything.”

Lia’s heart pounded. “Including me?”

Kael’s expression darkened. “Especially you.”

That night, Lia couldn’t sleep. The forest outside whispered her name again, soft and distant. She rose quietly and walked to the broken window, looking out at the mist.

In the distance, lightning flashed over the horizon — not white, but gold.

And in its light, she thought she saw a figure watching her from the edge of the trees — tall, cloaked, and still.

When she blinked, it was gone.

But in her mind, she heard a voice — cold, smooth, and unmistakable.

“My daughter of flame,” it said. “You were never meant to run.”

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