Six months had passed since Mia left on that dragon.
Six months of training alone. Six months of checking the road every morning. Six months of her letters keeping me sane.
Until two weeks ago, when the letters stopped coming.
I'd read her last one so many times the paper had gone soft at the folds.
Letter from Mia
Dear Luke,
Happy sixteenth birthday!
I am so sorry I can't be there with you right now. It's been six months since I left home — time flies, but not fast enough. I miss you. I miss our house, our training sessions, and even your terrible jokes at breakfast.
Please forgive my absence. Things didn't go smoothly at first. A full-fledged monster raid broke out last month. We lost a lot of good people stopping it from reaching the settlements. But we eradicated most of the monsters. Tomorrow morning, we're breaking the rift core and dealing with the rest.
I'll be home within the week, Luke. I need to stop by the capital to debrief with the Order's high command, but once I'm done, I'll head straight home.
When I get back, we're taking that journey I promised you. The Crystal Gardens, the floating markets, the great library in the capital — all of it. You and me, Luke.
Nothing's going to stop me from keeping my promise.
I'll see you soon, little brother.
Love always,Mia
I stood by the window, Mia's letter crumpled in my hand, the paper soft from constant handling.
Two weeks since it arrived. Two weeks of silence.
I'll be home within the week.
She wrote that three weeks ago.
I reread the line again, as if the words might change. As if they'd explain why the road stayed empty.
Checking that road every morning. Jumping at every sound. Reading her words until the paper tore at the folds.
Why isn't she here?
The capital? Blocked roads? Bureaucracy taking longer than expected?
Or worse —
No. Don't go there.
But the thoughts kept circling anyway, each worse than the last.
"She's the Spear of the North," I muttered to the empty room. "She's survived the front lines. She's fought in raids. She promised she'd come home."
The words felt hollow.
I shook the thoughts off and went to train. It was the only thing that shut my brain up.
I pushed until I couldn't think about anything except breathing. Until the road and the silence and the letter were just noise underneath the exhaustion. Until my legs gave out and I had to sit in the dirt for a while before I could stand again.
It worked. For about an hour.
Then I stumbled back home, drenched in sweat and starving.
The kitchen was empty. Completely empty.
I stared at the bare shelves. No bread. No dried meat. Nothing.
Six months of living alone, and I still hadn't gotten the hang of keeping the place stocked like Mia did.
The emptiness felt like an accusation. Mia always kept it stocked. Always made sure we had what we needed.
Now it was just me, and I'd let it run dry.
"Oh shit." I groaned. "Now I have to go all the way to the market."
I washed up, changed clothes, grabbed our coin pouch, and headed out.
Another thing to do alone.
I made my way down the same path Mia and I had taken four years ago, heading to the awakening ceremony. The path hadn't changed, but everything else had.
I had my sword with me — Mia's voice echoing in my head: "Luke, always have a weapon by your side."
The market came into view — same area as the Awakening Hall, just as crowded as always.
I stepped into the chaos. A cart nearly clipped my shoulder. Someone shoved past, not bothering to apologize. A vendor grabbed my arm, shouting about "genuine enhancement crystals."
I pulled free and kept moving.
"Sir! Sir, this blade enhances your sword talent even further! Would you like to —"
The voice came from behind me — Hugo, from Starsteel Ironworks. Fat, short, and way too smooth with his sales pitch.
He stopped mid-sentence.
I turned. Our eyes met.
"Oh. It's you." His expression twisted with disgust, like he'd stepped in something foul.
My stomach dropped. I knew that look. I'd seen it a thousand times.
"Scram, boy. You're ruining my sales." He waved me off like trash, already turning to another customer. "Sir, this blade —"
And off he went.
I stood there for a moment, jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.
Four years. Four years and they still looked at me like that.
I kept walking, head down, ignoring the stares.
After buying dried meat, bread, and some questionable vegetables, I headed to Silver Bear Smithy.
Kade Ravenson ran the place — tall, muscular, covered in scars. He'd forged Mia's sword years ago after she saved his daughter from a collapsed building. Since then, he'd practically become family.
As I approached, I heard steel ringing and flames roaring. That was Kade — always working.
"Kade!" I called as I stepped into the smithy.
Heat blasted from the forge. Kade set down his hammer and crushed my hand in what he called a handshake.
"How's Mia?"
"Haven't heard from her in two weeks." I stared at the flames. "Starting to worry."
"Nothing will happen to her. Don't worry." He wiped soot from his hands. "She's strong — stronger than I ever was. She's fought on the front lines, and she's not alone. She has the Order behind her."
His confidence should've helped.
It didn't.
"Anyway, Luke, I've got an order to deliver. Want to tag along?" He grabbed a cloth-wrapped bundle from the workbench.
"I'd love to, but I've got to restock food. Mia will kill me if she finds out." I gestured to the bag outside.
He glanced at it and laughed. "I wish I had an older sister like that."
Kade mounted his horse, waved goodbye, and rode off.
I sighed, grabbed my bag, and started heading back home.
A stone smacked the back of my head.
Pain flared. I stumbled forward, hand going to the spot.
"Ow — what the —?"
I spun around.
City kids.
They were from rich, influential families, and whenever Mia wasn't around, they made a hobby of messing with me.
"Well, well, well... if it isn't Mr. Trash Ellington himself," someone sneered.
Arthur stepped forward — richest, strongest, and easily the biggest prick in the group. His Purple-tier fire talent wasn't just flashy — it was dangerous.
His eyes were cold, mean. The kind of look that said he enjoyed this.
"Where's your sister?" He stepped closer. His cronies flanked me, blocking any escape.
My hand drifted toward my sword.
"My friends think she's finally gotten tired of carrying dead weight." His laugh was harsh. Cold. "Can't say I blame her. That's what I'd do with a useless brother."
The group erupted in laughter.
"Shut up!" The words were out before I could stop them.
The laughter died. Arthur's smile vanished.
Flames burst from his hands. He grabbed my collar and lifted me off the ground, my feet dangling helplessly.
"I was thinking of giving you a tattoo. Right here." He pointed to my cheek, flames dancing in his palm. "Hold still."
His hand moved closer.
My heart hammered.
This wasn't posturing anymore. This wasn't Arthur being Arthur — cruel for the fun of it, stopping just short of something he couldn't take back.
He was actually going to do it.
Four years of being called worthless. Four years of being looked through, laughed at, pitied. And now he was going to make it permanent — carve it into my face so that every person I ever met would see it before they saw anything else.
Talentless. Trash. Not worth the space he takes up.
The flames inched closer. Close enough to feel blistering heat. Close enough that I could smell my own hair singeing.
I couldn't move. Couldn't fight back. Couldn't do anything except hang there and wait for it.
After four years of their mockery, this is how it ends. Branded. Marked as trash forever.
A massive roar split the air.
The ground trembled.
Arthur's flames died. His grip loosened. His face went pale.
The dragon descended.
Mia's dragon.
The beast landed in the market square with ground-shaking force, wings spread wide enough to cast us all in shadow. The impact shook buildings, rattled windows. Another roar — louder, closer.
For one impossible moment, I thought she'd come back.
Mia. She came back for me.
"Run!" Arthur dropped me.
I hit the ground hard, gasping.
His gang scattered like roaches — some crying, all of them screaming in terror.
The rider dismounted, boots hitting the ground hard.
Not Mia.
Captain Sera. The same woman who'd taken her away six months ago.
"You hurt?"
"Where's Mia?" I scrambled to my feet, searching frantically behind her, around her, anywhere.
"Not here. Monster raid breached the northern border — the city center is under attack. Get to the evacuation point NOW!"
"But —"
"GO!"
She was already remounting. The dragon launched skyward, flames erupting from its maw toward something beyond the treeline.
In the distance, smoke rose near where our house stood. The ground trembled with impacts that were getting closer, more frequent.
Our house. Kade. Everyone.
And I understood.
Mia wasn't coming back.
Not today.
Maybe not ever.
I ran.
The sounds of battle echoed from every direction — roars, screams, the clash of steel. Smoke filled the air, thick and choking, burning my lungs with every breath.
My legs pumped. My chest heaved. Glass crunched under my feet. Heat from burning buildings pressed against my face.
A child's cry cut through the chaos — desperate, terrified — then abruptly silenced.
Don't think about it. Keep moving.
Behind me, snarls. Heavy footfalls. Too close.
I couldn't outrun them. Couldn't fight them. Too many.
"Luke, get down!"
I dropped.
A massive rock flew over my head —
CRUNCH.
The goblin's skull caved in. Green blood sprayed across the stones, hot and thick.
Kade charged past in battered armor, hammer already swinging. Another goblin fell. Then another. He moved like something that had been doing this his entire life — no wasted motion, no hesitation, just controlled devastation.
"City center! GO!"
I wanted to stay. For half a second I actually thought I could help.
Then I looked at the tide of green flesh pouring from the smoke behind him — dozens of them, howling, closing fast — and I understood exactly what I was.
Another body for him to protect. Another burden.
I cursed and sprinted forward, hating myself with every step.
Behind me, Kade roared a battle cry as the goblins swarmed him.
I didn't look back. Couldn't.
Buildings burned. People screamed. Hunters fought and died in scattered groups.
So many monsters.
My lungs burned. My legs felt like lead. Every breath tasted like ash and blood.
But I kept going.
The ground shook — something massive moving nearby. A roar that made my bones vibrate.
Survival first. Everything else later.
The only thought keeping my legs moving.
Ahead, the city center rose through the smoke — and beyond it, walls of flame reaching toward the sky.
I pushed forward, dodging debris, leaping over bodies I couldn't let myself look at.
And somewhere in the chaos, as Arthur's words echoed in my head — dead weight, useless, abandoned — I couldn't help but think:
Maybe they were right.
Maybe Mia finally realized what everyone else already knew.
That I wasn't worth coming back for.
The ground shook again, harder this time.
I glanced back.
A massive shadow moved through the smoke — larger than any goblin, larger than anything I'd seen today. The roar that followed didn't just shake the buildings. It shook something deeper. The kind of sound that reached inside your chest and squeezed.
I turned and ran faster.
Some things you don't need to see to know you don't want to meet them.