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Chapter 22: Blood oath
publish date:
2026-07-24 19:17:37
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The monster's fated prey Chapter 55: Sharper division
The captains’ meeting was called before the blood on their clothes had fully dried. Aziel and Lior entered the side hall together. The senior captains were already waiting. Ysolde stood near the head of the table, her expression controlled but tight. Tova and Sera took places along the left wall. Mara remained near the back, quiet as always. The rest of the captains filled the remaining seats and standing spaces. The air in the room felt harder than it had after previous reports. Aziel did not sit. “The village on the south-eastern edge is gone. We arrived in time to cut the rear of the attackers and take two alive. The rest had already done their work and pulled away. The survivors are being housed in the lower store rooms for now. That is the shape of the night.” A few captains nodded. Others kept their faces blank. Ysolde spoke without waiting for a longer invitation. “The lower halls are already talking. The talk turned darker the moment the first runners brought word of
The monster's fated prey Chapter 54: The same look
Aziel and Lior left the ruined village with the two bound prisoners, the small force, and the weight of what the survivors had not said. The fires still burned behind them. The dead attackers lay where they had fallen. The living remnant of the village had stared at Lior without gratitude and without words. Only fear. Tova and Sera took the flanks again. The scouts kept the rear secure. The prisoners rode bound and silent in the middle of the group. Lior rode at the front beside Aziel and did not speak. The forest closed around them. The smell of smoke faded slowly, replaced by the cleaner scent of damp earth and pine. Hooves struck the trail in a steady rhythm. No one forced conversation. The fight had been short and brutal. The aftermath sat heavier than the blades had. Lior kept his eyes on the path ahead. The bandage on his arm had darkened again with fresh blood. The cold ease of the killing still moved under his skin. He could see the faces of the survivors clearly when
The monster's fated prey Chapter 53: The fear
The smoke was already a dark column against the night sky when they cleared the gates. Aziel and Lior rode hard with a small force of twelve. Tova and Sera took the flanks. The rest were proven blades who could keep the pace without falling behind. They don't have any heavy escort, and even slow wagons, but only speed and the knowledge that a village under Nightbane protection was burning while their attention had been pulled by decoys. Lior leaned low over his horse’s neck. The bandage on his arm pulled with every stride. The cold ease from the western fight still sat under his skin. Now the real target had shown itself in fire and smoke, and the tiredness he had named earlier had no room left to speak. Aziel’s voice carried over the sound of the hooves. “We do not stop for tracks. We ride straight to the village. If the main group is already gone, we will have to take the rear and anything that's still burning.” Tova answered from the left. “South-eastern edge. The village
The monster's fated prey Chapter 52: The shadows
Aziel and Lior remained in the small side room after Mara left. The bandage on Lior’s arm still pulled when he moved. The cold ease of the western fight still sat under his skin. Now the prisoner’s first useful word had given that feeling a sharper edge. The second group had never been the real advance. It had only been the piece meant to keep their eyes turned the wrong way. Aziel closed the door fully and leaned against it for a moment. “A decoy on the western line. A visible test on the eastern line before that. They have been spending men to map how we answer.” Lior stayed near the table, fingers resting lightly on the edge. “They wanted to know how fast we close a line when both of us ride. Then they wanted to know how we answer when only one of us rides. The decoy gave them the second measure without risking their main force.” Aziel pushed off the door and walked to the window. The courtyard below moved with the usual night traffic of guards and runners. Nothing looked d
The monster's fated prey Chapter 51: The cut
The gate closed behind them with a heavy final sound. Lior dismounted in the courtyard while the prisoner was pulled down and marched toward the lower cells. Tova and Sera gave short reports to the waiting captains and then moved to handle the horses and the outer rotations. The short western fight had left little visible damage on the Nightbane side. One shallow cut along Lior’s upper arm was the worst of it. The blood had already slowed. Aziel met them at the edge of the courtyard. His eyes moved over Lior once, quick and thorough, then settled on the bound Ashenveil man. “Secure him,” Aziel said to the guards. “I will be down shortly.” He turned back to Lior. “Mara is waiting in the side room off the main hall. Go. I will handle the first questions.” Lior gave a short nod. The cold ease of the fight still sat in his muscles. He could feel it the same way he felt the sting in his arm. Present. Unwelcome. Familiar. He walked the short corridor alone. The side room was s
The monster's fated prey Chapter 50: Western line
The signal horn was still echoing when Lior reached the east gate. He did not wait for a full briefing. The western screen had called contact without full engagement. That was enough. Tova and Sera were already waiting with two scouts and five horses. The bags of travel items from the earlier packing still hung from the saddles. Tova held the reins of Lior’s horse. “We heard the horn. The same pattern as the last western alert. Short contact, and then silence.” Lior took the reins and mounted in one clean motion. “We have to go now. There's no need for large group. We read the line, take what we can, and return before the fortress starts inventing worse news.” Sera swung into her own saddle. “The two scouts know the western ground better than most. They will stay on the tracks. Tova and I take the flanks. You stay at the front.” One of the scouts, a lean woman named Jessa, gave a short nod. “The secondary western trail is soft after the night rain. Fresh prints will show c
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