Rory woke to the ache in her burned hand and the weight of the Starheart fragment in her pocket. The small stone chamber they had holed up in smelled of damp moss and charred vines. Romeus sat by the door, sharpening his sword, his eyes scanning the dark beyond.
No one had come for them overnight. But that did not last.
The first sign was the horns. Low and distant, they rolled through the forest like a warning. Romeus stood, hand on his sword. "Patrols. Both houses want us."
Rory rubbed her eyes and checked her hand. The blisters had darkened to angry red, but the pain had dulled to a constant throb. The System panel flickered in her vision: Mana at four out of ten. Her head still felt fuzzy from overuse.
"They put bounties on us," Romeus said. He moved to the narrow window and peered out. "Sylvana for treason. Draconis because we took the fragment from their vault."
Rory's stomach tightened. They had stolen the fragment to keep it from Calen, but now every guard and bounty hunter in the region would be after them. She stood, wincing as her burned hand brushed her tunic. "We need to move. Sitting here is asking to get caught."
They slipped out before dawn, keeping to the thickest trees. The forest pressed close, branches heavy with glowing moss that lit their path in faint blue. Rory's ears picked up every snap of twigs and distant hoofbeats. The fragment in her pocket felt heavier with each step, like it was watching her.
They made it three miles before the ambush hit.
Hooves thundered from the underbrush. A squad of ten riders burst from the trees, clad in red Draconis armor. They formed a tight circle around Rory and Romeus, swords drawn.
At their head rode a man who looked like a harder version of Romeus. Same black hair, same sharp jaw, but with a jagged scar across his knuckles and eyes that burned with betrayal.
"Kael," Romeus said. His voice was flat.
"You bring shame to our blood," Kael spat. He was taller than Romeus, broader across the shoulders, and rode with the confidence of someone used to giving orders. "Stealing from our own vault. Running with a Sylvana traitor. Father should have let you rot."
Romeus's hand went to his sword. "It was not theft. That fragment belongs to no house. Calen will use it to burn everything down."
Kael's lip curled. "Calen is not the thief here. You are." He drew his blade and kicked his horse forward. The squad followed, closing the ring.
Rory backed up until her shoulders hit a tree. Her mana was too low for anything useful. She gripped a broken branch, ready to swing it like a club. The first rider charged Romeus, sword raised. Romeus parried and drove his blade into the horse's flank, sending the rider tumbling. But more came, forcing him back.
Rory dodged a spear thrust and smashed her branch into a rider's knee. The man howled and fell. She scrambled for his dropped sword, her burned hand screaming with the effort. The weight of the steel nearly pulled her off balance, but she held it.
Kael dismounted and faced Romeus alone. Brother against brother. Their swords met in a shower of sparks. Kael fought with clean, brutal strokes, each one meant to end it fast. Romeus blocked and countered, but he was tiring.
"You abandoned us," Kael growled, hammering a blow that staggered Romeus. "For her."
Romeus took a slash across his forearm. Blood welled up. He dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Kael raised his sword for the killing stroke.
Something snapped in Romeus. His eyes went wide, and a low rumble built in his chest. Scales erupted across his shoulders and arms, black and gleaming like polished obsidian. His breath hitched, and a burst of fire roared from his mouth, searing the air between them.
Kael stumbled back, face pale. The scales spread to Romeus's jaw and chest, unnatural and terrifying. Fire licked at his teeth as he roared and surged to his feet. His sword crashed into Kael's guard twice the strength it had before. Kael barely blocked it. He wrenched his horse around and signaled his squad to retreat.
"This is not over," Kael said, voice shaking. "You are no longer Draconis." The riders vanished into the trees.
Romeus dropped to his knees, scales fading, breath ragged. Rory rushed to him, dropping the sword. "You okay?"
He nodded, sweat dripping from his brow. "It has never done that before. Partial shift."
The System pinged in Rory's vision: Shared Fate Unlocked. Passive ability. Your life is linked to Romeus Draconis. Damage to one affects the other. Strength and resilience shared in moments of crisis.
Before she could ask what that meant, pain stabbed through her side. She gasped and fell, a thin dagger buried in her ribs. Blood soaked her tunic. She had not even seen the attacker.
A cloaked figure stood over her, silver ring glinting on one hand. Thornbound. The assassin yanked a second dagger free and raised it for the kill.
A bolt of green light slammed into the assassin, hurling them back into a tree with a crack of bone. The figure crumpled, hood falling away to reveal a pale, narrow face.
Rory clutched the dagger in her side and looked up. Another cloaked form stood between her and the assassin. This one was smaller, wings shimmering faintly under black fabric. The newcomer threw back her hood, revealing a face like carved ivory, eyes bright as emeralds, and translucent wings folded tight against her back.
"Stay down," the fairy woman said. Her voice was sharp and precise. She knelt beside Rory, hands glowing with steady green light. The pain in Rory's side dulled as the dagger wound began to close, leaving a raw, puckered scar.
Romeus staggered to his feet, sword raised. "Who are you?"
The fairy did not look at him. She kept her hands pressed to Rory's ribs until the bleeding stopped. Then she stood, brushing dirt from her cloak. "My name is Lila. I am a scholar of forbidden texts. And I just saved your life because you are the only ones who can stop what is coming."
Rory pushed herself up, hand clamped over the new scar. Her vision swam, but she forced herself to focus. "Why help us?"
Lila's eyes flicked to the assassin's body. The silver ring still gleamed on the dead hand. "Because that killer was Thornbound. And they are closer to victory than you know."
Romeus lowered his sword a fraction. "What does that mean?"
Lila's gaze hardened. She pointed to the trees around them. Branches rustled and shadows shifted. More cloaked figures emerged from the underbrush, at least a dozen. Silver rings flashed on their fingers. Daggers and short bows were already drawn.
"They know you have the fragment," Lila said. "And they will not leave without it."
The assassins closed in, their steps silent and sure.