The Thorne Estate loomed beneath the clouds.
From above it looked less like a mansion and more like a fortress—wide walls carved with ward marks, watchtowers lined with lights, courtyards patrolled by armored hunters. Beyond the gates stretched the gardens, once beautiful but now overgrown, their twisted branches hiding steel traps and runes.
Kaelis circled high once, golden wings cutting the night. "Ugly nest," he rumbled, smoke slipping from his jaws. "They’ve been preparing for someone like you."
Lucian’s eyes narrowed as he studied the sprawl of lights and barriers below. "Not someone like me. Me."
Kaelis barked a short laugh that shook his scales. "True enough." He tilted, wings folding slightly. "Hold on, rider. It’s time for your entrance."
Air screamed past them as Kaelis plunged, his body glowing faint gold. The towers lit up, alarms blaring through the estate. Hunters ran to their stations, crossbows cranked, magic glyphs flaring in their palms.
Lucian sat steady on the dragon’s back, cloak whipping hard. His violet eyes cut through the night, locked on the courtyard below.
Kaelis opened his jaws. A beam of golden fire roared downward, tearing through the outer wall in a single strike. Stone and wards shattered like brittle glass, throwing hunters into the dirt. The shockwave split the garden open, trees snapping in half.
Kaelis’s claws gouged trenches into the cobblestones, wings flaring wide as dust erupted around them. The earth shook under his weight, the air heavy with smoke.
Lucian stepped down from his back. The moment his boots touched stone, hunters rushed in.
"Kill him!" one shouted.
Bolts of steel and light cut through the air. Lucian didn’t move at first. Space bent around him in a ripple, bolts twisting away, striking the ground harmlessly.
The hunters charged, blades glowing with blood-etched runes.
Lucian raised a hand. His voice was quiet. "Fold."
The first wave of hunters snapped sideways, their bodies pulled through a sudden rift. They reappeared above the courtyard, flailing as gravity caught them. They hit the ground with bone-cracking force, lifeless before they could scream.
Kaelis snarled with amusement. "You’ve gotten colder."
Lucian’s eyes stayed fixed on the hunters regrouping at the far end. "They chained my people. Mercy isn’t part of this."
The hunters hesitated now, shifting uncertainly as their comrades bled at Lucian’s feet. One older man, clad in heavier armor, stepped forward. His blade was longer, etched with ancient Thorne markings.
"You’re trespassing," the man said, voice steady despite the tremor in his stance. "The Thorne Estate doesn’t bow to shadows or traitors. Leave, or be broken here."
Lucian’s gaze locked on him. "Where are they?"
The man’s jaw clenched. "Who?"
Lucian took a step forward. The space around his boots rippled faintly, like heat above fire. His eyes burned sharper, violet glow bleeding across the courtyard. "Reia. Silas. Vyn. Tell me where."
The man tightened his grip on the blade. "Prisoners of the House. You won’t see them again."
Lucian blinked once. In the next instant, he was gone.
The man’s eyes widened. He barely registered the ripple before Lucian appeared behind him. A hand closed over the back of his head. Space folded with a tearing sound—then collapsed.
The man’s skull and spine twisted in on themselves before his body hit the ground.
The other hunters froze, their faces pale.
Lucian’s voice carried through the courtyard, calm and flat. "You have one chance. Run. Or die where you stand."
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then half of them turned and fled into the estate. The rest, driven by desperation or pride, rushed him with blades raised.
Lucian lifted his hand again. Space cracked into shards, sharp as glass. He flicked his wrist, and the shards sliced through the charging hunters. Blood sprayed across the courtyard stones, mixing with the dust.
Kaelis leaned his massive head down, teeth bared in a grin. "Efficient."
Lucian’s cloak snapped faint in the wind. His voice was cold. "Not enough. Where’s Marc?"
The dragon sniffed the air, golden smoke curling. "Deeper. I can taste his flame. Strong... unstable." His eye shifted toward the mansion. "He’s waiting for you."
Lucian looked up at the estate. The windows glowed faintly, shadows moving inside. He could feel eyes watching, whispers carrying through the wards. The Thornes were rattled, but not broken. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Kaelis lowered his head, smoke trailing from his nostrils. "Do you want me to burn the halls now? Or wait until you’ve had your dance?"
Lucian’s gaze lingered on the glowing windows. His voice was low. "Wait. If he’s holding them inside, we don’t scorch until I get them out."
Kaelis’s rumble shook the courtyard. "Practical. Boring, but practical."
The heavy doors at the front of the mansion creaked. A group of hunters stepped out, dressed differently—dark armor, lined with red sigils. Their movements were sharper, trained. Elite.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed.
The one at the front lifted a halberd, pointing it straight at him. "By order of the Thorne bloodline, you are condemned. Your shadow ends here."
Lucian tilted his head. "Condemned?" He stepped forward, boots crushing stone fragments. "You’ll have to try harder than words."
The elites attacked together. Their weapons glowed with red light, cutting arcs through the air. Wards flared across their armor, hardening their skin like steel.
One blink and he was inside their formation. His palm struck the first man’s chest, collapsing the space in front of him. The man’s armor crumpled inward, bones snapping with the pressure. He dropped, twitching once before stilling.
Another swung from behind. Lucian bent space, letting the blade pass through harmlessly before it warped sideways and split its wielder’s throat.
Kaelis watched, golden eyes gleaming. "You’ve stopped playing."
Lucian didn’t answer. His movements were precise, silent. He cut through the elites one by one, their blood spreading dark across the stone. Within moments, only one remained, crawling back across the courtyard, helm cracked, eyes wide with terror.
Lucian stood over him.
The man shook his head fast. "I—I don’t know. Only Marc knows. He took them below. Below the estate, into the vaults. Please, I don’t—"
Lucian’s hand rose. Space folded inward. The man’s body vanished, erased from the courtyard.
Kaelis’s tail lashed, his grin widening. "So. The vaults."
Lucian turned toward the massive doors of the mansion, cloak shifting with the night wind. His eyes glowed faint, violet light threading along the seams of the air itself.
"Then that’s where we go."
Kaelis leaned close, his massive head lowering until his golden eye filled Lucian’s vision. "Careful, space-boy. Vaults are where families hide their curses."
Lucian’s gaze didn’t move from the doors. "Good. Let them open every curse they’ve got. I’ll break them all."
He walked forward, each step echoing across the blood-stained courtyard.
Above them, the sky cleared for a moment, the moonlight spilling over the ruins of the wall, the broken garden, the corpses sprawled across stone.
The Thorne Estate had survived wars before. But tonight, with Lucian and Kaelis standing at its gates, it looked fragile. Mortal.
Kaelis’s wings stretched wide, golden light cutting across the walls. His laughter rolled through the night like thunder. "Then let’s see what ghosts they’ve been hiding."
Lucian pushed the doors open.
The mansion waited, shadows crawling along the halls. Somewhere deep below, he could already feel Marc’s aura burning like a furnace.
And beneath it, the faint, broken pulses of Reia, Silas, and Vyn.
Lucian’s voice dropped, steady and quiet. "I’m coming."
The doors slammed shut behind them.