Chapter Thirteen: The Hunt Begins

The cold night air carried the scent of blood and death as Seraphina rose to her feet, her cloak heavy with the weight of her actions. The battlefield around her was littered with bodies—some still, some groaning in pain. The assassins who had come for her had underestimated what she was capable of. No, what she had been capable of. Even now, she could still feel the remnants of power tingling in her fingertips, as if it refused to leave her, as if it had only just begun to wake.

Caius stood a few steps away, watching her with an unreadable expression. He had seen many things in his lifetime, but this? This was something else. He had fought beside warriors, assassins, and mages alike, but never had he seen someone command the darkness as if it had always belonged to them.

She turned to face him, her gaze sharp. "They won't stop, will they?"

He exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "No."

A bitter chuckle escaped her lips. "Then I suppose I shouldn't waste time waiting for them."

Caius studied her carefully, weighing his next words. "You plan to run?"

Seraphina turned away, her fingers grazing the fur of the Shadow Hound still kneeling before her. The creature remained unmoving, its silver eyes locked onto her with a strange sense of recognition. It was as if it knew something she didn't.

"I plan to hunt," she murmured.

Caius stiffened. "Seraphina—"

"Enough," she interrupted, turning to face him fully. "I have spent my entire life running from who I am. From what I was supposed to be. From the shadows that have followed me since the day I was born." Her voice was steady, unwavering. "I refuse to run anymore."

Something flickered across Caius's expression—respect, perhaps even admiration—but it was quickly replaced with concern. "The court will brand you a heretic. They will send more than just assassins next time. They will send hunters, knights, entire legions if they must."

She lifted her chin. "Then let them."

A heavy silence settled between them.

Caius sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You are impossible."

A smirk tugged at her lips. "You're just realizing that now?"

He didn't answer, but there was the faintest hint of amusement in his gaze before he turned serious once more. "Then if you're truly done running… where do we go next?"

Seraphina looked down at the Shadow Hound beside her. Its ears twitched as if waiting for her command. She could feel it now—the pull between them. This creature had been sent to kill her, yet now, it lingered, waiting, watching. It had chosen her.

Just as the darkness had.

"The capital," she said finally, her voice steady. "If the kingdom wants to hunt me, let them. But I won't wait for them to find me."

Caius raised a brow. "You're planning to walk into the lion's den?"

A shadowed smile curved her lips. "I'm planning to burn it down."

The Shadow Hound let out a low growl, and as the first rays of dawn threatened the horizon, Seraphina took her first steps toward the kingdom that had abandoned her. This time, she was not the prey. She was the storm.

And the hunt had only just begun.

The world around them shifted, the cold wind carrying whispers of what was to come. The forest no longer felt like a place of escape but rather the edge of something far greater—a beginning wrapped in blood and prophecy. Seraphina could feel it, the shift in the air, the way the darkness responded to her presence. It no longer tried to consume her. It listened. It waited.

Caius exhaled sharply, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. "You do realize what you're saying, don't you?" His voice was quiet, but the weight behind it was anything but. "Walking into the capital now would be no different than inviting death to sit at your table."

Seraphina met his gaze, her expression unreadable. "Then I will make death my guest," she murmured, her fingers grazing the fur of the Shadow Hound beside her. The creature's body tensed under her touch, a low growl rumbling in its chest—not in defiance, but in understanding.

Caius cursed under his breath. "You're reckless."

She smiled, but there was nothing kind about it. "No, I'm tired." She turned toward the trees, her posture no longer that of a runaway, but of something else entirely—something no one had ever expected her to be. "For years, I have been the villainess they feared, the cursed one they whispered about in dark halls. They tried to erase me from the story." Her eyes darkened, a fire flickering beneath them. "But they failed."

Caius hesitated, his brows furrowing. He had known she was dangerous from the moment he met her, but this? This was something else. Something raw. Something terrifying.

"Then what's the plan?" he finally asked, his voice edged with reluctant acceptance.

Seraphina inhaled deeply, feeling the pulse of the shadows in her veins. The capital was a city built on lies, ruled by men who hid behind golden crowns while their blades carved nightmares into those beneath them. If they wanted to brand her a monster, she would become one—on her terms.

"We start at the outer districts," she said, stepping forward, her cloak billowing behind her. "We find those who were cast aside, the ones left to rot in the filth of the kingdom's greed. If the crown thinks it holds all the power, then it has forgotten the ones it trampled to get there."

A slow smirk tugged at Caius's lips. "You want to build an army."

She turned to him, the glow of her power simmering beneath her skin. "I want to give the kingdom something real to fear."

The Shadow Hound let out a deep, guttural snarl, as if sensing the storm that had been set into motion. The hunt had begun, but Seraphina would not be the one running. This time, she was the predator.

And the kingdom was already bleeding.