Sunlight slipped through the dense canopy overhead and fell across Kael Ashvane's face in a warm golden beam.
He stirred with a groan, expecting agony.
Instead, he found silence.
The maddening buzz that had been drilling through his skull was gone. The pounding pain behind his eyes had vanished completely. His body felt light, clean, overflowing with strength. Even the heaviness in his chest seemed burned away.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
He sat upright at once and looked around sharply.
The Griffin Carriage still rested nearby beneath the towering ancient trees. The four griffins lay curled together in uneasy sleep, their feathered flanks slowly rising and falling.
But the woman was gone.
No trace remained of her.
No scent.
No footprints.
Nothing.
Kael stared blankly for several long breaths.
"...Was I dreaming?"
The words barely left his mouth before his eyes caught something resting beside him in the moss.
A black sigil.
The thing was forged from some unknown dark metal that swallowed the sunlight instead of reflecting it. Strange runes coiled across its surface like living things beneath water.
Kael froze.
Then a grin slowly spread across his face.
"So it was real."
He snatched the sigil up with both hands and stared at it eagerly, memories flooding back through his mind.
That terrifying black bear.
That impossible woman.
Her fingers against his forehead.
Her voice calling him Little Kael as though she had known him all his life.
The revelation of the Primordial Sigil hidden inside him.
The mention of the Shadow Fox Lineage.
Kael's expression shifted again and again as thoughts crashed through his head. Confusion. Shock. Excitement. Fear.
His father.
The Wandering Fox.
The thing the entire world feared.
Could it really be true?
He could not piece it together no matter how hard he tried, yet the hatred and bitterness he had carried for so long no longer felt as crushing as before.
Not everyone wanted him dead.
At least one absurdly powerful woman had protected him.
And Lyra Farrow had protected him too.
The thought of Lyra jolted him upright immediately.
"Shit!"
He glanced at the light filtering through the trees. The sun had already passed midday.
If Lyra returned to the inn and found him missing, she would tear half the damn town apart looking for him.
Kael quickly stuffed the black sigil into the Wardian Satchel at his waist.
First he needed to escape this cursed forest.
He vaulted onto the Griffin Carriage, snapped the reins, and lashed the air with the Eight-Claw Flamescourge.
The griffins screeched and launched into motion.
The carriage burst upward through the colossal canopy and surged over an endless ocean of green.
Kael picked a random direction and drove hard.
Hours passed.
Nothing changed.
The forest stretched forever beneath him. Vast emerald waves of ancient trees rolled toward every horizon without end. The deeper he traveled, the more wrong the place felt.
No mountains.
No rivers.
No roads.
Just green.
Green without end.
Even the light overhead seemed trapped beneath the tangled ceiling of branches.
"The hell is this place..." Kael muttered.
Then suddenly the forest ahead exploded into motion.
Trees bent and snapped in great rolling waves as though some invisible storm were tearing through the canopy below.
Kael narrowed his eyes immediately and pulled the carriage downward.
As he descended, a flash of purple darted through the raging sea of branches below.
Small.
Fast.
Gone in an instant.
Kael's heart jumped.
"Violet?"
He drove the carriage toward the disturbance.
Then a deafening roar erupted from below.
The sound hit like thunder.
The four griffins instantly recoiled in terror. Their claws locked against the carriage frame as they whined and pressed tightly against one another, refusing to move another inch.
Kael's face changed.
"That damn bear?"
Another roar shook the forest.
Kael suddenly realized the truth.
"Oh, shit... did those two butterflies run into that monster?"
He cracked the Flamescourge again and again, but the griffins shrieked in panic and still refused to advance.
"Cowardly bastards!"
Grinding his teeth, Kael leaped straight from the carriage.
The instant he entered the storm of air below, a massive gust slammed into him.
The wind reeked of blood and beast musk.
Kael was dragged downward violently through the canopy.
"Fuck!"
He whipped out the Eight-Claw Flamescourge at once. The fiery whip wrapped around a gigantic tree trunk with a crack, leaving him dangling in midair.
Below him lay devastation.
Broken trees.
Splintered trunks.
Crushed earth.
And at the center of it all rampaged the gigantic black bear.
The beast looked like a moving hill of black fur and muscle. It tore through the forest wildly, smashing trees aside while pursuing two fleeing figures.
Violet Farwyn and Azure Farwyn.
The sisters looked utterly miserable.
Their hair had come loose. Their pale faces were drained of color. Each held a weapon while desperately dodging through the ruined forest, but it was obvious they stood no chance against the monster.
Worst of all was the wind.
Every roar from the bear's mouth unleashed another monstrous gale that dragged at their bodies and ruined their footing. They fluttered through the storm like trapped butterflies, constantly on the edge of death.
Kael saw Azure falter first.
Her Vitae finally broke.
Her body stalled in midair for the briefest instant.
The next gust caught her completely.
Azure screamed as she was sucked directly toward the bear's enormous jaws.
"Azure!" Violet cried.
Without hesitation Violet lunged after her sister, grabbing hold of her arm.
But the force of the wind dragged them both.
Together they flew straight toward the beast's open mouth.
Kael moved.
He released the whip from the tree trunk and shot forward through the air.
The bear never noticed him.
Kael landed behind it, gathered every scrap of Vitae in his body, and swung the Eight-Claw Flamescourge with everything he had.
Fire exploded.
The whip slammed into the bear's gigantic ass with a wet, meaty crack.
The blazing dragon-scale lash bit deep into flesh almost to the handle.
But Kael still was not satisfied.
"The Sundering Flame Art!"
Fire Vitae surged violently into the whip.
The dragon scales along the weapon suddenly reversed direction with a metallic rasp.
Kael triggered the tearing force of the Sundering principle directly inside the wound.
Chunks of fur and flesh ripped free in an explosion of blood.
The bear released an earth-shaking scream.
The sound nearly burst Kael's eardrums.
The enraged monster spun around instantly, abandoning the sisters.
Violet and Azure slammed against the thick fur at the back of the bear's neck before scrambling free in panic and fleeing across the shattered forest floor.
Far away, both sisters turned back pale-faced, expecting to witness Kael being torn apart.
Instead they saw something bizarre.
The bear had suddenly gone still.
Completely still.
It lowered its gigantic head and stared blankly at Kael.
Azure blinked in disbelief.
"What's it doing?" she whispered shakily. "Did it suddenly become stupid?"
Kael raised the Flamescourge cautiously, ready to strike again.
But the bear simply stared at him with wide eyes and hanging jaws.
Kael suddenly felt a little awkward.
"Ahem."
He pointed the whip at the beast and shouted loudly, "You attacked Lord Ashvane first! That strike just now settles the score! Come on then, let's fight another three hundred rounds!"
The bear took one slow step backward.
Then another.
Then suddenly it turned and bolted.
The enormous beast crashed away through the forest at full speed without even looking back.
Kael stood there dumbfounded.
So did Violet and Azure.
For several long moments, nobody spoke.
Finally the sisters hurried toward him.
"You... chased that thing away?" Violet asked, staring at him.
Kael finally recovered himself.
He immediately swept his sleeve dramatically through the air and snapped the Eight-Claw Flamescourge back around his arm in the most heroic pose he could manage.
Azure looked at him differently now.
Very differently.
"Why did it run the moment it saw you?" she asked softly.
Kael said nothing.
He merely gave them a mysterious smile full of hidden meaning.
Violet's eyes became dazed.
"So Little White really is amazing..." she murmured.
Kael turned smoothly.
"Come on."
Azure blinked. "Where are we going?"
Kael's voice lowered into a deep, magnetic rumble he thought sounded extremely impressive.
"I'm taking you out of this forest."
---
The wind howled across the endless sea of trees as the Griffin Carriage raced through the sky.
Violet and Azure sat close against Kael on either side, their long hair and flowing garments whipping wildly in the rushing air.
"Those things really are griffins?" Violet shouted over the wind while staring ahead at the four beasts.
"Real as it gets." Kael grinned.
He flicked the Flamescourge through empty air.
The terrified griffins shrieked and immediately accelerated harder.
Azure hugged his arm lightly while speaking in a soft admiring voice.
"Little White's incredible. You have so many treasures. Even this whip is beautiful."
Kael puffed up instantly.
"So now you know I wasn't bragging before."
Azure blinked innocently at him with her bright watery eyes.
"We never thought you were bragging."
"Bullshit," Kael snorted. "Which two people abandoned me and ran away earlier?"
Azure immediately looked aggrieved.
"We came back for you! That's why we ran into the bear in the first place! Ask my sister if you don't believe me!"
Kael glanced sideways toward Violet.
Violet pressed softly against his other shoulder and nodded.
"It's true. We got lost trying to find you."
Kael's chest swelled pleasantly.
The sisters' attitudes toward him had completely changed.
They stuck close to him now without hesitation, looking at him with soft glowing eyes.
Kael suddenly felt he had achieved enlightenment.
So this was how it worked.
When a man became strong enough, women naturally threw themselves at him.
The realization nearly made him float out of his seat.
"This forest is strange," Violet said after a while. "We've been traveling forever and still haven't found the edge."
Azure suddenly pointed downward excitedly.
"Look! There are houses over there!"
Kael and Violet both turned immediately.
Sure enough, a clearing had appeared deep within the forest. Several small low wooden houses sat near the center, with a fenced vegetable garden behind them.
Kael brightened at once.
"Good. We'll ask for directions."
He turned the carriage and descended rapidly.
As they approached, they saw an old man working in the garden below, watering crops and turning soil with a hoe.
Kael landed the carriage beside the clearing and jumped down immediately.
The old man had white hair, white eyebrows, and a long white beard. A gray-green gourd hung from his waist. Aside from his hair looking like an abandoned bird's nest, he carried the strange air of a hidden sage.
Kael quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, honored elder."
The old man slowly raised his eyes.
He said nothing.
Kael assumed the man had poor hearing.
He raised his voice.
"Elder, may I ask where this place is?"
The old man leaned on his hoe and stared at him silently.
Beneath those heavy white brows, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Kael frowned internally.
Is this old bastard deaf?
He raised his voice even louder.
"Elder! Do you know how to leave this forest? We're lost!"
The old man snorted.
"Why are you shouting? My ears work perfectly fine."
Kael coughed awkwardly and immediately lowered his tone.
"My apologies, Elder. You didn't answer, so this junior misunderstood. May I ask where we are? Is there a way out?"
"This forest is called the Bewildering Wood," the old man replied calmly. "There is no road out."
Kael blinked.
"No road?"
"If there's no road, how do you leave?" Azure asked from beside him.
The old man casually pulled the gray-green gourd from his waist and took a slow drink.
Azure frowned.
"Hey! I asked you a question!"
The old man ignored her completely and leisurely took another swallow from the gourd.
Azure's cheeks puffed in outrage. Hands planted on her slim waist, she looked ready to explode at the old man for ignoring her.
Then Kael shot her a hard glare.
Something in it made her swallow the words before they left her mouth.
"Damn," Kael said suddenly, sniffing the air. "That smells incredible. What're you drinking, Elder?"
"Wine," the old man answered.
Kael's throat bobbed. His eyes locked onto the gray-green gourd hanging from the elder's hand like a starving wolf staring at fresh meat.
"You want some?" the old man asked lazily.
"Do I?" Kael grinned. "Absolutely."
The old man tossed him the gourd.
Kael caught it and immediately tipped it back.
Glug. Glug. Glug.
The liquor rolled down his throat hot and smooth. Sweet fire spread through his chest, then melted into a warm heaviness in his belly that made every muscle loosen.
His eyes widened.
"Gods above," he breathed. "That's good. That's really good." He lowered the gourd slowly. "What is this called?"
"No name," the old man said. "Just country liquor."
"Bullshit. No nameless swill tastes like this." Kael took another long pull. "Damn… damn…"
One drink became three.
Then five.
He finally stopped long enough to suck air through his teeth, but made absolutely no move to return the gourd.
"Tastes like earth," he muttered dreamily. "Dry grass too. Smoke. Rain-soaked roots." He smacked his lips. "Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful."
The Farwyn sisters stared at him like he had gone insane.
Mud and hay were supposed to be compliments?
And how the hell was he sitting there drinking peacefully when they were trapped in some cursed forest with no way out?
Kael frowned deeper after another swallow.
"Funny thing is…" He squinted at the wine. "I swear I've tasted this before."
"You haven't," Azure said flatly.
"No, seriously." Kael rubbed his brow. "I know I never drank this exact wine before, but it still feels familiar somehow…"
Then he snapped his fingers.
"That's it. All truly good liquor tastes like this."
The old man watched him with a faint smile.
Then he murmured quietly, almost to himself—
"So it really is you."
Kael blinked. "What?"
The old man sighed instead.
A strange loneliness filled his weathered eyes. Ancient. Bitter. Tired beyond words.
Kael scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well… if we're trading drinks…" He formed a hand seal and reached into the Wardian Satchel at his waist. A small jade bottle appeared in his hand. "Try mine."
He uncorked it proudly and handed it over.
The old man lifted the bottle to his nose first.
He inhaled.
Then took a shallow sip.
His eyes closed.
He rolled the liquor across his tongue for a long moment before swallowing slowly.
Kael leaned forward eagerly.
"Well?"
"Good ingredients," the old man said with a nod. "Very good."
Kael puffed up instantly.
"Told you." He grinned smugly. "It's called Heavenly Three-Step Softener. Brewed it myself."
The old man shook his head.
"The ingredients are excellent," he said calmly. "Your brewing is not."
Kael's grin froze.
"You wasted the fruit."
The words hit him like a slap.
Kael stared.
"…What?"
"You don't understand refinement." The old man turned the bottle slowly between his fingers. "You don't know how to separate impurity from essence. Mud and jade were thrown together and buried under crude methods."
Kael's face reddened immediately.
"That's easy to say," he snapped. "If you know so much, why don't you prove it?"
The old man smiled mildly.
"I can."
Kael slapped his thigh.
"I still have more of the fruit! Brew me a batch then. Let's see if you're all talk."
The old man stood.
"Come with me."
Azure groaned.
"What is wrong with you?" she hissed at Kael. "We're trapped in a nightmare forest and you suddenly care about wine?"
Kael snorted.
"I just don't believe some old hermit can make better liquor from the same ingredients than I can."
Violet's eyes drifted around the little clearing outside the hut.
"There's something strange about this place."
Kael looked at her. "What kind of strange?"
The three of them sat around a rough wooden table inside the hut, speaking in lowered voices.
Violet glanced toward the doorway.
"This forest is enormous. Filled with monsters. Predators." Her voice dropped softer. "Yet he lives here alone."
Azure nodded slowly.
"I thought the same thing. These huts look ordinary, but…" She frowned. "Something feels off."
The room truly was barren.
One table.
Four wooden chairs.
Nothing else.
No decorations.
No tools.
No clutter from daily life.
It felt less like a home than a waiting room built by someone pretending to be human.
"We should leave," Azure muttered.
Kael waved dismissively.
"What're you scared of? As long as I'm here, nobody's touching either of you."
He said it casually.
Almost jokingly.
But something about the way he said it carried effortless confidence. Wild and reckless and strangely dependable all at once.
The sisters looked at him quietly.
Azure's expression softened first.
"Little White…" she murmured. "You'd really protect us?"
"Of course." Kael leaned back proudly. "With Lord White around, your safety's practically guaranteed."
He sounded completely full of shit.
Which was especially impressive considering he himself was half-lost, injured, hunted, and trapped in a death forest.
Violet smiled sideways at him.
"Then can you help us with something?"
Kael narrowed his eyes immediately.
"What kind of help?"
"In a few days," Violet said carefully, "we're going to fight someone."
Her gaze held his.
"Will you come help us?"
Kael answered instantly.
"Easy."
Then his brain caught up.
His eyes narrowed harder.
"…Wait. Why exactly should I risk my life for you two?"
"Because we're friends," Violet said sweetly.
Kael barked a laugh.
"Friends? We met less than a day ago."
Azure leaned forward across the table.
The movement pushed her soft breasts tighter against the front of her robes. Her cheeks carried a faint flush as she stared at him through lowered lashes.
"But we're pretty," she said softly. "Aren't we?"
Her voice turned syrup-slow.
"If you treat us well… maybe one day we'll repay you."
The implication hung thick in the air.
Violet rolled her eyes but did not deny it.
Azure kept staring at him with open temptation.
Kael snorted.
"Save it."
The sisters blinked.
Kael rolled his eyes lazily.
"My Master and Shreve Lyra are both more beautiful than you by a mile." He pointed vaguely into the air. "And my Elder Sorors too."
Azure's face changed instantly.
"You lying bastard!"
She nearly jumped out of her chair.
Violet grabbed her under the table before she could launch herself across it.
Then Violet smiled sweetly toward Kael.
"Really? I don't believe you." She tilted her head. "You should introduce us someday."
"No problem," Kael said automatically.
Then pain flashed through his chest.
The smile on his face stiffened.
For the briefest second, longing crossed his eyes.
Lyra's smile.
Eya's face.
Selene glaring while blushing red to the ears.
The memories cut through him like knives.
The sisters noticed immediately.
Violet's gaze sharpened.
"Wait a second." She pointed at him. "Didn't you say you didn't belong to any Order?"
Kael froze.
"Then where did all these Masters and Elder Sorors suddenly come from?"
Kael opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Azure burst out laughing.
"Aha! He's been lying the whole time!"
Her mood improved immediately.
Kael coughed into his fist and changed the subject at once.
"Why's that old man taking so long?" He frowned toward the doorway. "He didn't steal my Redjade fruit and run off, did he?"
Azure leaned on the table.
"That fruit you used for the wine…" she said curiously. "Where'd you get it?"
Kael's expression softened.
"A friend gave it to me."
"A close friend?"
Kael stared down at the tabletop.
"…A real one."
Warmth spread through his chest again.
A girl's laughing face rose in his mind.
Bright eyes.
Soft lips.
The memory struck so hard his chest actually hurt.
Gods, he missed her.
The door creaked open before anyone could press further.
The old man returned carrying a clay wine jug and several cups.
"Finished," he said calmly. "Rushed work, but the flavor came through."
Kael immediately poured himself a cup.
He drank.
Then went completely still.
The sisters stared at him.
Kael slowly lowered the cup.
His eyes looked almost haunted.
"Well?" the old man asked with a smile. "How does it compare to your Heavenly Three-Step Softener?"
Kael abruptly stood.
Then bowed deeply.
All the way to the waist.
"I concede completely," he said honestly. "This is leagues beyond mine." He looked up. "Honored elder… who exactly are you?"
The old man stroked his white beard slowly.
"I've lived apart from the world too long. Names don't matter much anymore." His eyes drifted toward the forest outside. "For the last few centuries, people have called me Elder Greymantle."
The three younger ones exchanged looks instantly.
"Several centuries?" Kael said carefully.
The old man chuckled.
"So now I'm a sage immortal?"
Kael grinned sheepishly.
"Well… kinda."
"Immortals." Elder Greymantle looked toward the distant sky beyond the trees. "Smoke and drifting clouds. Nothing more."
Something ancient and sorrowful hid beneath the words.
Kael felt it immediately.
But he had no idea what to say in response.
So he cleared his throat and raised his cup instead.
"Would've been even better with food."
"Fair enough," Elder Greymantle said. "Guests from afar deserve proper hospitality." He paused. "Especially when old companions return."
Then he walked outside again.
The hut fell silent.
Violet frowned first.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Kael asked.
"He said old companions return."
Azure folded her arms.
"This old man keeps saying weird things."
Kael scratched his cheek.
"I don't understand half of what he says either." He shrugged. "But I don't think he means us any harm."
Not long afterward, Elder Greymantle returned carrying a large wooden tray.
Steam rose from several dishes.
Simple food.
But the smell alone nearly made the three younger ones lose their minds.
Poached chicken with glistening skin.
Bitter melon fried with egg.
Fresh bamboo shoots slick with oil.
Wild mushrooms crackling in garlic fat.
A clear tofu soup releasing gentle clouds of fragrance.
By then the sun had already passed noon.
The three of them were starving.
They attacked the table without dignity.
Elder Greymantle sat nearby drinking quietly while watching them eat.
The dishes looked ordinary.
But every bite tasted absurdly good.
Even the simplest bamboo shoot carried layers of sweetness and smoke Kael had never tasted before.
Azure moaned openly after swallowing a mouthful of chicken.
Violet closed her eyes in pleasure while sipping the soup.
Kael ate and drank with complete abandon.
Wine flushed his cheeks.
His eyes sparkled brighter with every cup.
Before long, the sisters started demanding wine too.
Kael reluctantly poured them cups.
One sip was enough.
The two butterfly spirits immediately fell in love with it.
The jug began emptying at terrifying speed.
They drank back and forth, laughing louder and louder as warmth spread through their bodies.
Kael watched the disappearing wine with growing horror.
"Hey! Slow down!"
Azure hugged the jug protectively to her chest.
"What?"
"That wine's made from Redjade fruit!" Kael snapped. "You know how strong that stuff is? What if you get drunk?"
Azure laughed mockingly.
"Please." She rolled her eyes. "We could drink a thousand cups."
Violet slammed her own cup down excitedly.
"We should compete!"
Kael blinked.
"Compete?"
"Drinking contest," Violet declared. "Let's see who collapses first."
Azure pointed dramatically.
"The first one down is a dog!"
Kael stared at the two increasingly flushed butterfly spirits.
Then he pointed at them warningly.
"Fine. Don't listen to me. But when you two are crying later, don't say I didn't warn you."
Azure burst into laughter.
"Did you hear him, Sister?" She pointed at her own face proudly. "He thinks we'll get drunk."
Violet snorted.
"What a joke."
She rolled up one sleeve carelessly, exposing a smooth pale arm.
Then she crooked a finger at Azure.
"Pass me the jug."
Her eyes glittered challengingly toward Kael.
"I'd like to see who's brave enough to try stealing it from me."