My world flipped. Inside out. Upside down.
I think I wobbled—Naial caught me just in time. Her little hands wrapped around my side, grounding me. I gave her a weak smile, tried to stay strong, tried to keep breathing. But Ryke… he wasn't joking. He wasn't bluffing.
They wanted me.
Why?
Mother's face twisted in horror. Uncle Ren looked like someone had sucker-punched the soul out of him. Naial gripped my hand like I'd disappear if she let go.
"LIAR!" Mother's voice ripped through the storeroom like lightning.
The barrier surged—violent and red—as Ryke convulsed, shrieking. Blood sprayed against the glowing dome. The light crackled, seared, burned.
"You lie, you piece of SCUM!" she shouted, red lightning dancing at her fingertips. She shocked him again. And again. And again.
She didn't stop until her knees buckled.
Ryke slumped too—twitching, smoking, a heap of ruined flesh.
Mother raised her hand for the finishing blow.
But Uncle Ren caught her.
He wrapped her up in his arms, holding her still. Not like a warrior—like someone grabbing lightning and refusing to let go.
"Stop it, Chief Tess," he whispered, voice steady but strained. "We don't kill. Not like this. He's not worth it."
Mother thrashed in his hold. "He was going to sell Kaya! He wants to take her!" Her voice cracked, full of fury and something that sounded like... heartbreak.
She looked at me, then—and I swear the whole world narrowed down to her eyes. Desperate. Wild. Terrified.
I staggered toward her, dragging my foot like it weighed ten tons. Everything in me hurt—my arms, my legs, my chest. My soul still trembled from what Ryke said.
She broke from Ren and grabbed me like I was the last real thing in her world. Her hug wasn't gentle—it was fierce, fierce like fire. Like a storm that couldn't lose me again.
"I won't let go," she whispered, voice shaking as her face pressed into my hair. "I won't let go until I know you're safe. I won't let go, Kaya."
And I didn't want her to. Ever. I melted into her arms, my heart twisting until breathing felt like a battle. Naial curled against my side, both of us clinging like we were trying to hold the pieces of ourselves together.
Then Ryke coughed.
It dragged us all back into the nightmare.
He leaned against the barrier, blood pouring down his chin, grinning like a demon with a death wish.
"It's futile, Huntress," he rasped, his voice raw and bitter. "You can't stop us from taking your little girl. Might as well hand her over now."
Mother tensed again, her body wound like a bow ready to snap.
"Over my dead fucking body." Her voice could've sliced stone. "I'd rather die than let a bastard like you touch her."
Ryke's laugh was brittle and vile. "Careful, bitch. That time might be a lot closer than you think."
And for the first time… I saw it.
Mother faltered.
Just for a second.
And that was enough to make me break.
Was I really the girl they were hunting? Was I the one in those rumors? The special one?
Why me?
What did I ever do?
I could barely stand. My legs wobbled, and the air felt thick like molasses. Naial kept her grip on me, her tiny body warm and firm against my side, keeping me upright. If not for her, I'd have crumpled straight onto the bloodstained floor.
Still dizzy, I limped toward the barrier. Each step sent fire up my spine. Mother came with me, her hand resting firm on my shoulder like an anchor.
My voice trembled, my throat like sand. "Wh-why would you want me?" I asked. "What do you even want with me?"
Ryke's smile chilled me straight to my bones. He dragged himself forward until his face was just inches from the barrier. It pulsed red against his skin.
"You're special, brat," he said, voice low and smooth like a blade in the dark. "We just want to benefit from your existence."
He leaned closer. Eyes glowing with something twisted.
"So why don't you be a good little thing and hand yourself ov—"
CRACK.
The barrier exploded with red lightning. Ryke shrieked, his body convulsing in violent spasms, before collapsing again—charred, twitching, and unconscious.
Mother was seething.
I turned to her—my breath thin and sharp—and I saw it. The rage. The wrath. Not just of a mother. Of a warrior. Of a legend.
She let go of me slowly and rose.
"Reynard." Her voice cracked the air like thunder. "Take the girls. Head for the Isle's border. Evacuate the villagers. Every last one."
Uncle Ren blinked, caught off guard. "And what exactly do you plan to do, Chief Tess?"
The title wasn't warm anymore.
It was a challenge.
"You're not planning to stay behind and face them alone, are you?"
She didn't answer.
She didn't have to.
The silence in the room said it all.
And just like that, my bones went cold.