2 A Perilous Flight

Wind howled past my ears as I plummeted from the tower.

The castle walls blurred in my vision, the torches flickering along the battlements growing smaller, too fast. My stomach twisted in freefall, my body weightless in the dark expanse of the night sky.

This is how I die.

Again.

I braced myself for the impact, every nerve screaming. I need to stop. I need to slow down. But there was nothing—no ledge, no rope, no safety.

Except…

That fire.

The same power that had crackled in my veins moments ago. I reached for it, grasping blindly at something I did not understand.

And it answered.

Heat surged through my chest, burning not in pain, but in awakening. Time seemed to slow as golden light flickered across my arms, swirling outward like curling embers.

Focus.

The voice was deep, distant, inside me. It wasn't mine—but it belonged to me.

The fire exploded.

A burst of golden flames erupted around me, flaring out in twisting arcs of heat and light. My fall didn't stop, but the descent slowed enough for me to hit the surface of the moat without the bone-crushing force that should have killed me.

I hit the water hard.

It was like slamming into solid stone—every nerve in my body jolted, the impact forcing the air from my lungs. Cold surrounded me, swallowing the lingering warmth of the flames in an instant.

For a moment, I sank.

Darkness swallowed my vision. My limbs felt heavy, the weight of exhaustion pulling me downward. My mind screamed at me to move, but my body refused to listen.

Then, instinct took over.

I kicked upward, breaking through the surface with a desperate gasp. My lungs burned as I sucked in air, water pouring down my face.

Alive.

I was still alive.

Steam curled off my drenched clothes, the lingering heat of my power reacting to the cold. I forced my arms to move, paddling toward the riverbank. Every muscle screamed, my body not yet my own—as if I had been reborn into something stronger but still unrefined.

Above me, voices shouted.

I turned, blinking water from my eyes, and saw them.

Silhouettes leaned over the shattered window. Torches flickered as soldiers pointed frantically in my direction.

Then—bells.

A deep, thunderous toll rang out, shattering the silence of the night.

The castle was on alert.

I forced my body forward, my legs kicking against the pull of the water. The riverbank was too far, the weight of exhaustion dragging me down.

Not yet. Keep moving.

A sound broke through the ringing in my ears.

Hounds.

A low, distant baying echoed across the stone bridge leading from the castle gates. My stomach tightened.

They had released the dogs.

I cursed under my breath, forcing myself to swim faster. Finally, finally, my fingers brushed the muddy bank. I dragged myself onto solid ground, coughing up water, my entire body trembling from adrenaline and cold.

And then—

"You're full of surprises."

I whipped around.

A hooded figure stood in the reeds, half-hidden by shadows. Moonlight reflected off keen emerald eyes, watching me like a predator studying prey.

My muscles tensed. I had nothing—no weapon, no strength, no idea who the hell she was.

"Who are you?" I rasped, forcing myself upright.

The stranger tilted her head slightly. "Someone who just saw a dead prince fall from a tower and walk away unscathed."

My blood ran cold.

She knew.

The weight of her words pressed into me like a blade against my throat. If she knew who I was—what I was—then she was either here to help me… or to end me.

I clenched my fists, forcing down the rising panic. "If you know who I am, then you know I can't trust you."

"Fair," she admitted, a small smirk playing at her lips. "But you don't have much choice, do you?"

Before I could respond, she nodded toward the bridge.

"Listen."

I did.

Distant torches bobbed in the darkness. Shadows moved along the castle wall, soldiers spilling into the open courtyard. And beneath it all—

The pounding of paws against the dirt.

The hounds had picked up my scent.

My gut twisted.

"You can stay here and test your luck," the woman said lightly, "or you can come with me and live to see sunrise."

She turned, slipping into the reeds.

I hesitated.

Trusting a stranger in a world I didn't understand was dangerous. But staying here was worse.

I pushed myself to my feet and followed.

The reeds closed around us, their whispering rustle swallowed by the distant baying of the hounds.

We moved fast. My body screamed in protest, but I forced it forward. The mud clung to my boots, my breathing came in ragged gasps, but I didn't stop.

The woman was quick, too quick—she navigated the twisting riverbank with a practiced ease, her hood barely rustling as she moved.

She knew this land.

I barely did.

"Where are we going?" I forced out.

"Somewhere less… public."

That wasn't an answer. But I wasn't in a position to argue.

Behind us, the hounds' baying grew louder. They were close. Too close.

"We're not going to outrun them," I said, swallowing hard.

"No," she admitted. "But we don't have to."

Before I could ask what she meant, she stopped.

I nearly crashed into her.

We had reached a clearing—a ruined shrine, its moss-covered walls barely standing. A shattered stone arch loomed overhead, its carvings weathered and faded by time.

The woman moved to the shrine's base, kneeling beside a half-buried stone slab.

"Help me," she ordered.

I hesitated, but the baying of the hounds was too close for doubt. I dropped beside her, fingers digging into the damp earth.

Together, we heaved the slab aside.

A dark passage yawned beneath us—an underground tunnel.

The woman slipped in first, dropping into the darkness below.

I hesitated.

Then—crashing.

The hounds burst through the underbrush. Torches flickered between the trees.

I didn't think.

I jumped.

The stone slab slammed shut above us, drowning us in pitch black.

Silence fell.

Only my ragged breathing remained, the rush of my own pulse filling my ears.

Then, beside me—

"Welcome to the underground, Your Highness."