The wind in Blackhowl Canyon cut sharper after dark.

  Rell crouched along the ridge beside Thessia, peering down at the camp tucked between stone walls and flickering lanterns. Carts lined the far edge, half-covered with tarps. Beast eggs. Six, maybe seven — glowing faintly with pulsing glyphs. Trolls stood in clusters near the fire pits, arms crossed. Towering. Restless.

  On the other side, cloaked human traders whispered behind a silence charm, bartering like devils in disguise.

  Thessia reached for her blade. “We wait, watch. Then hit hard and quick.”

  Rell was already moving.

  “Rell—!” she hissed.

  Too late.

  He dropped from the cliff silently, landing with a crouch. He didn’t attack. He just stepped forward and said:

  “Eggs not yours.”

  The traders turned.

  A silence.

  Then laughter.

  The largest troll grunted. “You speak for forest now, little thing?”

  One of the humans — a wiry man with rings on every finger — snapped his fingers. “Get rid of him.”

  The mercs moved.

  Rell raised his hands slightly, but his magic was already sparking.

  But before any spell flew—

  The wind cut different.

  A blur passed between them. One of the mercs gagged — a line of red blooming across his throat.

  Everyone froze.

  She stood there, blade still vibrating in the air, red eyes glowing in the firelight.

  Nexya.

  —

  Her presence was felt before it was understood.

  She stood at the center of the ring like she’d always belonged there. Her pale skin shimmered faintly like moonlight on bone. White hair fell in choppy strands past her shoulders, with two crimson-tipped braids framing her face.

  Her eyes glowed — not with warmth, but with knowing. And her voice hit the air like velvet over thorns.

  “You know,” she said, to no one in particular, “this deal’s already broken. You just didn’t realize it yet.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  She wore light battle gear layered with cursed fabric — midnight gray stitched in jagged sigils. Her boots barely made sound. A tail flicked lazily behind her, more expressive than her face.

  The scent of her was faintly floral… but unnatural. Like perfume brewed from corrupted petals.

  Every time she blinked, the shadows blinked with her.

  Thessia stiffened. “No way…”

  Rell looked between them. “You know her?”

  Thessia: “Nexya. Lieutenant of the assassin guild. They’re ruthless in their approach. She took down an entire fortress once because they misquoted her price.”

  Nexya smiled.

  “That’s slander. I also didn’t like their flag.”

  The trolls drew weapons. The humans stepped back. Nexya didn’t move.

  Then, slowly, she walked toward Rell.

  “You’re the one,” she said. “The one causing ripples.”

  She circled him once. Not touching. Just watching.

  “You broke into the chapel. Fought the priest. Freed the cursed girl. Killed a man-made beast.”

  Rell blinked. “You spy?”

  “No,” she said. “I *listen*.”

  Silence hung.

  Then she stopped in front of him. Inches away.

  “I like breakers,” she said, voice low. “They make fun things happen.”

  Thessia stepped forward. “He’s not a toy, Nexya.”

  “Oh? You sound jealous.”

  “I sound serious.”

  The moment stretched.

  Then Nexya tilted her head. “Well… I *was* going to see who paid more, but now I’m curious.”

  She flicked her blade once — and it disappeared in black smoke.

  “To be continued,” she said, stepping back into shadow.

  “Deal’s off,” she called behind her. “And the next fool who touches an egg dies screaming.”

  The canyon went still.

  Rell exhaled slowly. Thessia reached for his arm.

  “You okay?”

  “Fine,” he said. “But… she crazy.”

  She nodded. “That’s Nexya.”

  They looked toward the stolen eggs.

  Then up — toward whatever came next.

  —

  **END OF VOLUME 5**