Chapter 6

The anger within him refused to dissipate, churning and ravaging everything, leaving nothing but smoke, ash, and memories as if burnt up by a deep inferno.

Caed stumbled through the forest, his mind reeling, his heart shattered beyond repair. The tall trees whispered above him, as though trying to offer some comfort, but all he could hear was the crackling of flames that had consumed his past. His parents died in such a horrifying way, in cold-blood murder. His prison, still the only thing he had known all his life, was lost to the inferno. And now, here he was, a mere shadow of who he once was, wandering alone in the vast expanse of the woods, the weight of betrayal and sorrow heavier than the very earth beneath his feet.

He collapsed to his knees, his body shaking with exhaustion, his throat raw from the cries he had been unable to stop. The tears flowed freely, mingling with the dirt and ash on his cheeks. His parents, who he had always hoped would one day come to find him, rescue him, and whisk him away from the horrors he was dealt with daily at the Pendleton's had always been the one constant in his life, the ones who had loved him, cared for him, sheltered him from the cruelty of the world. But they were gone, their deaths violent and unholy. They had been taken from him, their lives stolen by the very people who should have protected them—his uncle and aunt.

He could just imagine it in his mind's eye, the flames licking at the walls of their home, the heat that had burned through the thick stone, the screams of his mother as she died in the fire, and his father consumed by grief barely able to understand what occurred before he was slain in cold blood. His uncle had stood there, watching it all unfold, cold and unmoving, after staining his father and had been confident in his hubris to take in his son and all but killed him also. His aunt had done nothing but join her husband in his cruel mechanization; she had been his family in blood and had still found it easy to destroy his life. It must have been the loss of the wealth and power that had now slipped through their fingers, that made them keep him alive he had thought, his laughter was a broken and dark thing, what a naive way of thought, they only wanted .ore ways to cause havoc on his kind instead, believing he must have a key to the magical realm. They hadn't cared for him, not really. Not in the way that Caed had desperately hoped. They had only cared for themselves.

The betrayal cut deeper than the fire ever could. They had taken everything from him, everything. His home, his family, his future. And now, he was lost—alone in a world that had never truly accepted him.

His tears fell like rain as the memories of his torment flooded his mind. His very guardians, those who were supposed to protect him, had tortured him with their cruelty. They had laughed as they hurt him, telling him that he was nothing but a demon, a spawn of darkness who didn't deserve their mercy. They had treated him like an outcast, as though it were his fault that he had been born into this cursed existence.

The servants who had worked in his family's household hadn't been any better. They had shunned him, turning their eyes away in disgust whenever he passed by, as though he were the cause of their misery, as though it were his fault they had been forced to serve the family. He could hear their whispers, the cold words they spoke when they thought he couldn't hear: "Demon spawn, born of evil. He is not one of us."

He had been a child when it started, his innocence shattered by the cruelty of those around him. But now he found that the evil was not limited to his immediate vicinity, and he realized that the cruelty was not just limited to those who tormented him directly. The crown itself, the very thing that was meant to protect him, had allowed this suffering to continue. The monarchy, the very institution his parents had allied with, had turned a blind eye to his pain. His parents had died trying to bridge both worlds and now he found, in return, it had done nothing but betray them, betray him.

The letters, the ones his uncle had been receiving, the ones that had been so carefully sealed with the royal crest—he had read them over and over, trying to understand. The words had spoken of power, of alliances, of promises made and broken. His parents had been in the dark about the plots and mechanizations and what they were getting into when they married; unbeknownst to them, the very people they wanted to unite had stabbed them in the back; Caed had never understood the extent of their sins against him, now he had an idea, and it burned.

Now, he did. He would burn everything.

Everything.

He slammed his fists into the ground, the earth beneath him trembling with his rage. How could they? How could they betray him, his parents, his entire family? The crown, the guardians, the servants, the humans—all of them had played their part in his suffering. All of them had been complicit in the loss of his family. And now, he was left to carry the weight of their betrayal, alone.

A soft, gentle sound of hooves hitting the forest floor, broke through his thoughts.

He looked up.

He froze, his breath catching in his throat. He stared, and there, standing before him was the unicorn—his companion, his friend. The unicorn had always been there for him, even when he thought he had nothing left to live for. It had been his friend, his guide when the world seemed too dark to navigate.

The unicorn's eyes were filled with understanding, the wisdom of centuries reflected in its gaze. Its silver-white mane shimmered in the fading light of the day, its hooves soft against the earth. It stepped closer to him, nuzzling him gently, as though trying to comfort him in his grief.

Caed's heart twisted with both gratitude and pain. How could he go on? How could he keep moving forward when everything he had known was lost?

The unicorn knelt beside him, lowering its head in a gesture of solidarity. His eyes were deep and penetrating as if willing him to be strong, willing him to stand and rise above his torment, to stand firm.

Caed wiped his eyes, his heart heavy with the weight of his emotions. But something stirred within him—something that had been dormant, buried beneath the layers of despair and hopelessness. It was a fire, small but fierce, kindling in his chest. The fire of resolve.

"I swear," Caed whispered, his voice low but steady. "I swear vengeance on those who have wronged me. On my aunt and uncle who tormented me, on the servants who turned their backs on me, on the crown that allowed this to happen, and on every single person who has had a hand in my pain. I will make them pay for everything they've taken from me."

The unicorn nodded, its eyes filled with understanding as it stood beside him a silent support.

With a final nudge of its head, the unicorn stood, its eyes meeting Caed's once more as if trying to tell him something and turning his head away into the deep forest, and Caed understood.

Caed stood, his legs unsteady, but his heart resolute. He followed the unicorn through the dense forest, the trees parting before them as if in acknowledgment of the magic at work. They reached the clearing where an ancient portal stood between towering trees, its stone arch covered in moss and ivy, its surface glowing faintly with an inner light.

The unicorn lowered its head, and with a gentle touch of its horn, the portal sprang to life, the air shimmering with power. The gateway opened before them, revealing the land of his father, the land that was his by birthright. Caed stepped forward, his heart pounding in his chest.

As he crossed the threshold, the weight of the forest, the betrayal, the loss—all of it—seemed to fall away. His resolve was firm now, solid as the earth beneath his feet. He had a purpose. He had a future.

And nothing, no one, would stand in his way.