Fallon
The wind howled through the trees as I tightened the straps on my cloak, my eyes fixed on the distant horizon. The border of Ithrador loomed ahead, a jagged line of shadowed cliffs and dense forest marking the divide between our land and the unknown beyond. The Brotherhood had been moving in the dark, their presence growing like a disease at the edges of our kingdom. And now, it was our job to find out just how far they had spread.
Of course, they had sent him with me.
I stole a glance at Kane, who rode beside me, his expression unreadable as always. The moonlight barely touched his face beneath the hood of his cloak, but I could still make out the sharp angles of his jaw, the scar that cut across his left eye. He was quiet, like he always was, but there was a tension in the way he held the reins, in the way his shoulders stayed rigid beneath the weight of his armor.
It had been days since our fight in the training grounds, and we hadn't spoken of it since. Not that I had expected us to. Kane wasn't the kind of person to dwell on emotionsânot his own, and certainly not mine.
"Stay alert," he murmured, his voice low. "We don't know what's waiting beyond that ridge."
"I am alert," I snapped back, before I could stop myself.
His gaze flicked toward me, something unreadable in his expression, but he didn't respond. He simply nudged his horse forward, leading us toward the treeline where the shadows stretched long and deep.
I followed, gripping the hilt of my dagger beneath my cloak. The further we rode, the more the air thickened with something unseen. The border was always dangerous, but tonight, it felt different. It felt watched.
We reached the top of the ridge just as the first hints of dawn bled across the sky, painting the clouds in streaks of crimson and violet. From here, we had a clear view of the valley below, where a small, abandoned outpost sat in eerie silence. Once, it had belonged to Ithrador, a scouting station meant to keep watch for incoming threats. Now, it was nothing but a skeleton of its former selfâcharred beams, collapsed stone walls, and the unmistakable stench of decay.
Kane dismounted first, scanning the area with sharp eyes. I followed suit, my boots crunching against the frozen earth as I moved beside him.
"There was a battle here," I said quietly, studying the scorch marks on the ground.
Kane nodded. "Recently, by the looks of it."
We moved carefully through the ruins, our weapons drawn, senses sharp. The silence was oppressive, like the world itself was holding its breath. Then, Kane crouched near the remains of a broken wooden post, his fingers tracing over a symbol carved deep into the wood.
A serpent wrapped around a blade.
The mark of the Brotherhood.
I felt my blood turn to ice. "They've been here."
"Not just here." Kane's voice was grim as he straightened. "They've taken this outpost. Reinforced it."
I turned, my pulse hammering in my ears. "You think they're still nearby?"
A rustle of movement answered for him.
I spun, daggers raised, just as a figure lunged from the shadows. I barely had time to react before steel clashed against steel, my body moving on instinct. The assassin was fastâBrotherhood-trained, no doubtâbut I was faster. I ducked under his blade, driving my dagger up toward his ribs. He twisted, barely avoiding the strike, and countered with a vicious slash toward my throat.
I threw myself backward, but my heel caught on loose stone, and I stumbled. The assassin saw the opening, closing inâbut then, before he could land the strike, Kane was there.
A blur of motion. A flash of steel. And then, the assassin crumpled to the ground, Kane's blade buried deep in his chest.
Silence fell between us, the only sound our ragged breaths. I pushed myself up, my hands shaking slightly from the sudden rush of adrenaline.
Kane wiped his blade clean, his expression unreadable as he looked down at the dead man. "We need to move. Now."
I swallowed hard and nodded. "More could be nearby."
We searched the body quickly, finding a few scraps of parchment with Brotherhood markings. No clear orders, no mapsâjust confirmation that they were, without a doubt, moving deeper into Ithrador's territory.
"This isn't just scouting," I murmured, scanning the ruins one last time. "They're preparing for something."
Kane's jaw clenched. "Then we need to warn the others."
We mounted our horses and turned back toward the capital, the weight of what we had discovered pressing heavily on my chest. But even as we rode, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still watching us from the shadows.
And I had the sinking suspicion that this mission was only the beginning.