CHAPTER 31

The survivors limped back toward the Capital under a blood-red sunset.

Kael rode at the front, Rynn beside him, her arm tightly bandaged but her spirit unbroken. Behind them, Serah and the others carried the wounded and the unconscious. The little girl from Stonewatch slept fitfully in a makeshift sling across Rynn's back.

No one spoke much.

Grief hung heavy in the air. They had lost three students during the battle — bright lights, snuffed out before they had ever gotten the chance to shine.

And Dain.The memory of his twisted face, his venomous words, haunted Kael like a specter.

By the time they reached the Academy gates, night had fallen. Lanterns swung from iron posts, casting long, skeletal shadows. Master Varick was waiting for them, arms folded, jaw clenched.

When he saw the battered group — and the stretcher bearing one of the fallen — something flickered in his steely gaze. Not anger. Something deeper. Regret, maybe.

"Report," he barked.

Serah stepped forward, weary but unflinching.

Kael half-listened as she relayed the facts: the destroyed village, the wyverns, the corrupted rider.

When she said Dain's name, a murmur rippled among the gathered instructors.

Varick's expression turned grim.

"Bring the wounded to the Healers," he ordered. "The rest of you — rest. You'll be summoned for debriefing at first light."

Kael dismounted, his body screaming in protest.

Rynn slid from her horse, wobbling slightly. Kael caught her elbow instinctively.

"You good?" he murmured.

"I'll live," she said, flashing a tired grin. But there was a shadow in her eyes, and Kael hated it — hated that she had been hurt, hated that he hadn't been fast enough to stop it.

They walked toward the dormitories together, silent except for the scuff of their boots on stone.

The little girl — now sleeping soundly in one of the Academy's safehouses — would be cared for. But Kael knew her nightmares wouldn't end with a soft bed.

Neither would his.

Dreams of Fire

That night, sleep did not come easily.

When Kael finally drifted off, it was into dreams filled with fire and screams.

He stood again in Stonewatch's ruins. Dain appeared from the smoke, laughing, his body shifting — sometimes human, sometimes something far more monstrous.

"You can't escape it," Dain whispered. "It's in your blood, too."

Kael tried to lift Veyrion, but the sword was too heavy. It melted in his hands, running like molten metal.

The world burned around him.

And standing at the heart of the flames — a woman.Eyes like molten gold.A crown of black iron.

She reached out to him, smiling.

"Soon."

Kael jerked awake, gasping, drenched in cold sweat.

The dormitory was silent. Moonlight poured through the high windows.

Across the room, Rynn stirred, sensing his distress even in sleep. She shifted, murmuring his name.

Kael rose quietly, wrapping a cloak around himself, and slipped outside.

The Council's Warning

Morning came with a sharp summons.

Kael, Rynn, Serah, and the others were led into a chamber deep beneath the Academy — a place few students had ever seen.

The walls were lined with ancient tomes and artifacts pulsing with trapped magic.

At the far end stood the Academy Council — seven figures robed in silver and crimson, faces shadowed beneath deep hoods.

The High Chancellor, a stern woman named Malora Veyne, stepped forward.

"You faced horrors most seasoned knights would falter against," she said, voice cold but not unkind. "You have proven yourselves worthy beyond expectation."

Kael shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't come for glory. He would trade every ounce of it to bring back the ones they had lost.

"But," Malora continued, "your report raises troubling concerns."

She glanced at a parchment on the table — Kael's own written testimony.

"Wyverns this close to the Capital are no accident. And Dain Thorne's corruption points to something far worse: infiltration."

A ripple of unease passed through the students.

"You must understand," Malora said, fixing them with an iron gaze. "There are forces that would see this realm torn apart — from within."

Her words echoed in Kael's mind, stirring memories of the woman in his dream. The molten eyes. The promise of "soon."

"You are to speak of this to no one," Malora said. "Outside these walls, the people must believe they are safe."

Kael felt the weight of it settle on his shoulders. Another secret to bear.

"You will be watched," Malora added. "And you will be tested."

A final look.A warning.

"Choose your allies carefully."

Rifts

Back in the courtyard, the air was thick with tension.

Some of the students — those who had seen their friends fall — broke away in anger or grief.

Kael leaned against the stone wall, rubbing his face.

Rynn found him there, holding two mugs of steaming tea.

"Thought you might need this," she said.

Kael took the cup gratefully.

They stood for a long moment, watching the sunrise paint the towers in gold and pink.

"Do you think they're right?" Rynn asked finally. "That there's a traitor here?"

Kael thought of Dain's twisted grin. Of the shadows slithering at the edge of his dreams.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But if there is... we'll find them."

Rynn smiled — a fierce, determined smile that made something warm coil in Kael's chest.

"And we'll burn them down," she said.

Kael laughed softly. "You sound like a dragon yourself."

Rynn bumped her shoulder against his. "Maybe I am."

Their laughter faded into a comfortable silence.

The path ahead was darker than ever.

But together, they would walk it.

Together, they would fight.

Together, they would endure.

And somewhere beyond the horizon, forces stirred — watching. Waiting.

The true war was just beginning.