Chapter 555: The Huntress and the Howl

"The past never sleeps—it stalks, it waits, it strikes."

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The wind cut sharp across the frozen plains. Wolves howled in the distance, but even they kept their distance from her.

She moved through the blizzard like a shadow—silent, graceful, dangerous.

They called her The Huntress, but her true name had been erased long ago. Only one knew it now.

Jayden Ochieng.

She unsheathed her blade, its edge shimmering with symbols long forbidden.

"This time," she murmured, "he will not run."

A raven landed on her shoulder, its eyes unnaturally gold.

"The serpent has awakened," it cawed.

She smiled.

"Then the gods will bleed."

--

Jayden stood inside the war room, surrounded by maps, half-burnt scrolls, and silence.

Wendy entered, her sharp eyes scanning the scene.

"You've seen it, haven't you?"

He nodded slowly. "The serpent. It's not a myth."

"It's a mark of inheritance," she said. "And a curse."

Jayden's jaw clenched.

"I was never supposed to survive," he said, voice tight. "The Ochieng bloodline was erased for a reason."

"And yet here you are," Wendy said softly, "walking proof that fate can be fooled."

---

A hooded figure appeared at the city gates, dragging behind him a cart covered in cloth.

The guards stopped him.

"What's in the cart?"

"A gift," he rasped. "For Jayden Ochieng."

The cloth fell away—revealing a body carved with symbols.

A single feather clutched in the dead man's hand.

Jayden arrived moments later.

The corpse was still warm.

And the mouth was still moving.

"She's coming…"

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Rian and Naela met in secret beneath the tunnels. The candlelight danced on the walls, flickering in rhythm with their racing hearts.

"She's a hunter," Rian said. "And she knows everything about Jayden."

Naela's hands trembled. "He's not ready."

"He has to be. Because she's already inside the city."

A sudden gust snuffed out their candle.

Darkness fell.

And a soft voice whispered from the shadows:

"So are you."

---

Atop the citadel, under the blood moon, Jayden stood alone.

In his palm was a golden coin—one side bearing a lion, the other a serpent.

He tossed it into the air.

It never landed.

The wind caught it, and the fire below flared.

Behind him, his subordinates—Tielen, Jeff, Linet, and Wendy—stood in formation.

"I am no longer hiding," Jayden said, voice like thunder.

"I am Jayden Ochieng."

The flames roared in approval.

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