Kane
The journey had been long, the air thick with the scent of fresh blood and danger. Fallon walked beside me, still silent, still unsure. Every so often, her gaze would flicker to me, then quickly avert, like she was trying to piece together something she didn't want to acknowledge.
I wasn't entirely sure what it was, either. The tension between us had shifted, become something new, but neither of us was brave enough to name it yet. Not with everything going on. Not with the Brotherhood out there, hunting us, and the truth of what happened on that battlefield still haunting my mind.
We'd stumbled upon the Brotherhood's hideout just outside of Valtora. A dilapidated building deep in the forest, abandoned and forgotten by most. But we knew it wasn't forgotten by them. And now, as we walked toward it, Fallon's shoulder brushing against mine as we took our steps in sync, I knew we weren't going in just for information.
We were going in to capture him.
The leader. The one who had been pulling strings, orchestrating everything from the shadows. The one who had slipped through our fingers too many times. Now, we had him cornered.
I didn't know who he wasâhis identity had been a well-guarded secretâbut I could feel it in my bones that the moment we found out, everything would change.
The door creaked open, and there, standing in the center of the room, was a man cloaked in shadows. He didn't move at first, just watched us with cold, calculating eyes. And in that instant, I knewâthis was the one we had been hunting. The leader of the Brotherhood. The face that would reveal the depths of their betrayal.
Fallon stood tall beside me, her hand on the hilt of her blade. Her expression was unreadable, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the clenching of her fists.
"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice low and steady, masking the flicker of rage that burned beneath the surface. This man, this monster, had been the source of so much destruction. The leader behind the deaths of countless innocents. Behind the lies, the manipulation, everything that had brought us here.
The man's lips twisted into a small, almost mocking smile. "You already know who I am."
I tensed. There was something about the way he said it. Something... too familiar.
"No," Fallon muttered under her breath, taking a step forward. Her voice was like steel, her fury palpable. "Who are you really?"
The man chuckled, the sound low and chilling. "You really don't recognize me?"
Fallon's brow furrowed, and my mind raced. I felt like I was missing something. Something important.
But then he stepped into the light.
I froze.
There, standing before us, was someone I thought I would never see again. Someone who should have been dead. A face I had buried deep in my past. The face of a man I had once called my brother.
"Dorian?" I breathed, the name escaping me like a curse.
Fallon's gaze snapped between us, her eyes wide with confusion, but I could barely focus on her. All I could see was Dorian, the brother I had trained with, fought alongside, the one I had trusted more than anyone. The one who had disappeared from my life after the fall of Ithrador. The one I had thought was lost forever.
But there he was, standing in front of me, wearing the symbol of the Brotherhood on his chest. The same symbol I had once fought to protect.
"I see the recognition in your eyes," Dorian said, his tone dark, filled with something I couldn't quite place. "Did you think I was just going to vanish? Did you really believe that I wasn't going to come for what was mine?"
My blood ran cold, my hand tightening around the hilt of my sword. "You... you betrayed us."
"Betrayed?" He scoffed, taking a step closer. "No, Kane. I didn't betray anyone. I simply embraced what we are. What we were meant to be. You were always so blind. So naïve."
I took a step forward, my heart pounding. The anger, the rageâit surged through me like wildfire. But I knew, deep down, that there was no reasoning with him now. Not with the man he had become.
"You're a traitor," I spat, my voice thick with disgust. "A coward."
Dorian's eyes flashed with something dangerous. "You think I'm a coward? You're the one who ran away, Kane. You're the one who left Ithrador to rot. You could've stayed. We could've changed everything. But youâyou left me. And now, you think you can just waltz back in here and fix it all?"
I didn't respond. I couldn't. The weight of his words hit me harder than I'd expected. Was that what he thought? That I had left because I didn't care? That I had abandoned him?
But I knew that I hadn't. I had done what I thought was right. I had been following orders. But now... now I was questioning everything.
"You're coming with us," I said, my voice hard, determined. "We're taking you back to Ithrador. You'll answer for everything you've done."
His lips curled into a grin, but there was no humor in itâonly malice. "You think it'll be that easy?"
Before I could react, he lunged, his movements fluid and vicious. I barely had time to draw my blade as his sword clashed against mine, the force of the blow sending a shockwave up my arm.
"I will never go back to Ithrador," Dorian hissed, his eyes wild with something that wasn't just madnessâit was something deeper. Something darker.
The fight was on.
I dodged another strike, rolling to the side and coming up with my sword raised. Dorian was fastâtoo fast. His movements were like a blur, each strike designed to kill, to maim.
And as much as I hated it, I knew he was still my brother. Still someone I had once fought beside.
But I couldn't let that stop me. Not now.
I had a duty. And it was one I wasn't going to ignore.
Dorian swung again, and this time, I blocked his strike and shoved him back with all the force I could muster.
"You're coming back with me, Dorian," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "One way or another."
Fallon's voice cut through the chaos. "Kane! We don't have time for this. He's not going to make this easy."
But I couldn't stop now. Not when I was this close. Not when it was him.
"Then we'll make it harder," I muttered under my breath, charging forward to meet him again.
This fight was just beginning. And I wasn't going to stop until he was in chains.