The night was thick with silence, the kind that felt heavy—like a warning. The moon hung low, its pale light barely illuminating the dense fog that clung to the ground. The air smelled of rain and something else… something metallic. Blood.
Kael's breath shaking as he lay in the blood of his best friend Mira. His heart pounded against his ribs like a caged beast, wild and desperate. His hands, slick and trembling, were painted red. His mind was a whirl of chaos, fragments of memories flashing like broken glass—laughter echoing throughout his mind as thoughts of his kindhearted best friend replayed in his head.
A sudden rustle in the underbrush snapped Kael out of his trans. Voices—angry, accusing—echoed from the trees. Torches flared in the darkness, their flames reaching toward the sky like vengeful spirits.
"He's here!"
Panic surged through Kian's veins. He turned to run, but his body felt leaden. His mind screamed at him to move, but it was as though the weight of betrayal had anchored him to the ground.
"No this isn't right."
They had set him up. He could feel it in his bones, but the truth didn't matter. Not to them. Not now.
"We trusted you, Kael." Leo's voice echoed in his head, filled with venom and disbelief.
"You killed her... after everything..." Emmori's eyes, once so full of warmth, now cold and hollow.
"You're a traitor." Darius's words were like a dagger straight to his heart.
The footsteps grew louder, closing in. Kael's vision blurred, not from fear, but from something far worse.
Betrayal.
His closest friends had turned on him, and now they wanted his blood.
Leo closed the distance between them, his footsteps pounding against the earth. Before Kael could react, Leo's blade struck with ruthless precision.
"Thud."
Kael hit the ground hard, the air rushing from his lungs. Pain shot through his body, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart as rough hands seized him. His wrists were bound tightly with a coarse rope, the fibers digging into his skin.
His vision blurred, but he forced himself to look—one last time—at the lifeless body lying mere feets away. A hollow ache spread through his chest; a sharp, unforgiving pain that made it hard to breathe.
As the guards hauled him to his feet and dragged him toward the waiting carriage, Kael's gaze lifted. He searched the faces of those he had once called friends—Leo, Emmori, and Darius. Their expressions should have been filled with grief, with doubt… but instead, they were smiling.
Smiling?
Kael's blood boiled. His body tensed, raw fury coursing through his veins like fire.
"I'll kill you!" he roared, his voice echoing through the night as he thrashed against the guards' iron grip.
He fought with everything he had, but they held him firm, their grasp unyielding as they shoved him into the cold confines of the carriage.
Kael's heart pounded in his ears as he met Leo's eyes one last time before the door slammed shut. The betrayal burned deeper than any blade ever could.
"I'll make you pay for this," he whispered, his voice low and filled with a chilling promise.
The wheels creaked as the carriage lurched forward, carrying Kael toward a fate he hadn't deserved—and away from the vengeance that now consumed him.