WANTED

Skybound Odyssey – Chapter 7: Wanted

The Stormchaser drifted over the endless sky, battered but still flying. Ryo leaned against the ship's railing, letting the cool wind rush past his face.

Lyra sat beside him, still catching her breath. "Okay, let's review: we stole a ship, picked a fight with an imperial officer, got ambushed by sky pirates, and nearly crashed. Did I miss anything?"

Ryo grinned. "Yeah. We won."

Lyra groaned, rubbing her temples. "That's not the takeaway here, Ryo! The entire Skyborn Empire is probably after us now!"

She wasn't wrong. If Malgrove had recognized Ryo's abilities, then the Empire would hear about it soon enough. And when they did…

We're gonna have a lot more enemies.

Ryo shrugged. "So what? We keep moving."

Before Lyra could argue, a sudden beeping sound came from the ship's communications panel. She rushed over and flipped a switch.

A mechanical voice crackled to life.

"Attention all skyfarers! The Skyborn Empire has issued a high-priority bounty!"

Ryo's ears perked up. "Bounty?"

The voice continued.

"Wanted: Ryo Stormheart. Suspect is considered highly dangerous. Reward: 100,000 sky crowns."

Lyra paled. "Oh no."

Ryo blinked. Then he smirked. "Huh. 100,000? That's kinda low, don't you think?"

Lyra smacked him. "That's not the point!"

Within moments, more transmissions buzzed across the radio.

"A hundred grand? That's easy money!"

"If we catch this guy, we'll be set for life!"

"All ships, be on the lookout for the Stormchaser!"

Ryo stretched his arms. "Welp. Guess we're famous now."

Lyra's face darkened. "More like hunted."

Ryo turned to the horizon, his grin never fading. Skyspire was still out there.

And no bounty, no empire, and no sky pirate was going to stop him.

"Let 'em come," he said. "The real adventure's just getting started."