The storm outside seemed to stop breathing.

Golden light pulsed beneath Ash’s torn sleeve while the dragon-shaped mark burned brighter across his skin.

The royal soldiers stared in absolute horror.

Because every child in Ashkar knew the same story.

The Dragon Bloodline had been exterminated years ago.

Every last one.

Yet the mark glowing on the boy’s arm was unmistakable.

One soldier slowly stepped backward.

“No…” he whispers.

Elder Rowan’s hands trembled beside the counter. Ancient memories filled the old pharmacist’s eyes as thunder rattled the pharmacy windows.

He had seen the mark once before.

Long ago.

On the arm of a dying king.

Ash slowly rose from the wet stone floor while rainwater dripped from his hair onto the scattered copper coins.

The tallest soldier finally found his voice.

“Cover it.”

Ash looked confused.

“What?”

“COVER YOUR ARM!”

The soldier suddenly grabbed his sword in panic.

Because if the royal court discovered a marked child living in the slums…

The entire district would burn.

The other guards exchanged terrified looks.

“We should report this immediately.”

“No,” another whispered harshly. “If Lord Malgrim hears first, the boy dies tonight.”

Ash backed away slowly.

He didn’t understand any of this.

The glowing mark hurt.

Heat pulsed beneath his skin like fire trapped inside his bones.

“My mother…” Ash whispered weakly. “Please… she needs the medicine.”

Elder Rowan looked toward the shelves of Moon Herb.

Then toward the soldiers.

A dangerous silence filled the room.

Finally—

The old pharmacist turned away from everyone.

Reached slowly toward the highest shelf.

And removed a silver box.

The soldiers stiffened instantly.

“Rowan…” one guard warned.

But the old man ignored him.

He placed the silver box onto the counter before Ash carefully.

Inside rested glowing blue herbs wrapped in royal cloth.

Moon Herb.

Enough to save a dying person.

Ash’s eyes widened instantly.

“You’ll give it to me?”

Rowan stared at the boy for a long moment.

Then quietly answered—

“No.”

Ash’s face collapsed.

But the old pharmacist suddenly pushed the herbs across the counter anyway.

“I never saw you,” Rowan whispered.

The soldiers froze.

The old man’s voice hardened.

“And neither did you.”

The guards looked uneasy.

Helping a slum child steal royal medicine was treason.

Helping a child with the Dragon Mark?

Death.

The tallest soldier cursed beneath his breath.

Then suddenly—

BOOM.

The pharmacy doors exploded inward.

Wind and rain burst through the room violently as armored figures stormed inside carrying black shields marked with silver wolves.

Not royal soldiers.

Royal Hunters.

Every person inside froze instantly.

Because the Royal Hunters answered only to one man.

Lord Malgrim.

Their captain stepped forward slowly beneath the candlelight.

A massive scar crossed his bald scalp while one steel eye reflected cold blue light.

Then he saw Ash.

And smiled.

“Well…” the captain murmured.

“There really is a dragon child.”

The regular soldiers backed away nervously.

“We were just about to report him,” one lied quickly.

The Hunter captain ignored them completely.

His single steel eye remained fixed on Ash.

“How old are you, boy?”

Ash clutched the medicine tightly against his chest.

“…Eight.”

“And where is your father?”

“I don’t know.”

The captain’s smile widened slightly.

“Good.”

Then he drew a black blade.

“Because it means no one will miss you.”

Ash’s heart nearly stopped.

The Royal Hunters moved instantly.

Elder Rowan suddenly slammed both hands against the counter.

“RUN!”

Ash sprinted toward the back door just as black steel crashed through the pharmacy.

Shelves exploded apart.

Glass shattered everywhere.

The regular soldiers panicked and joined the fight instantly as chaos erupted beneath the thunderstorm.

Ash heard screaming behind him.

Then blood splashed across the wooden wall beside his head.

He didn’t look back.

The child burst into the alleyways outside while freezing rain hammered the slums endlessly.

“STOP HIM!”

Boots thundered behind him.

Ash ran harder.

Bare feet splashed through freezing mud while lantern light flickered across the narrow streets of the undercity.

People slammed windows shut as the Hunters stormed through the slums.

Nobody helped.

Nobody dared.

Ash clutched the Moon Herb desperately while his lungs burned from exhaustion.

Then suddenly—

A black arrow struck the wall inches from his face.

Ash screamed and stumbled sideways.

Another arrow flew.

CRACK.

The shot shattered a wooden barrel beside him.

The Hunters were gaining.

“Corner him!”

The child turned sharply into a flooded alleyway—

And froze.

Dead end.

Towering stone walls surrounded him while rain poured from broken rooftops above.

Ash backed against the wall in terror as the Royal Hunters slowly entered the alley.

Five of them.

All armed.

The steel-eyed captain approached calmly.

“You should feel honored,” he said.

“Lord Malgrim spent years searching for the last dragon blood.”

Ash trembled violently.

“I just want to save my mother…”

The captain tilted his head slightly.

“That’s the problem.”

Lightning flashed overhead.

The Hunter raised his sword.

“Dragon blood always begins with sympathy.”

Then the captain lunged.

Ash closed his eyes—

But the blade never hit him.

CLANG.

Sparks exploded across the alley.

The Hunter staggered backward in shock.

A hooded figure stood between him and Ash holding a long curved sword.

Rain poured down the stranger’s black cloak.

The steel-eyed captain narrowed his gaze.

“…You.”

The hooded warrior said nothing.

The Hunters immediately stepped backward nervously.

One whispered in fear—

“The Black Wolf…”

Ash looked up in confusion.

The stranger slowly lowered his hood.

An older man revealed himself beneath the stormlight.

Gray hair.

A scarred face.

And one blind eye.

The Hunter captain cursed.

“You died years ago.”

The old warrior’s voice came low and calm.

“Not today.”

Then he moved.

Faster than human eyes could follow.

His curved blade flashed once through the rain—

Two Hunters collapsed instantly.

Blood mixed with muddy water across the alley floor.

The remaining attackers surged forward together.

Kael met them head-on.

Steel screamed against steel while thunder exploded overhead.

Ash watched in stunned silence.

The old warrior fought like a shadow.

Every movement precise.

Every strike lethal.

Within seconds, three more Hunters lay dead in the rain.

Only the steel-eyed captain remained.

Breathing hard.

Bleeding from his shoulder.

“You protect him?” the captain growled. “After what the dragons did to Ashkar?”

Kael’s blind eye remained motionless.

“The kingdom murdered children.”

“They were monsters!”

“No,” Kael answered quietly.

“You simply feared them.”

The captain roared and attacked wildly.

Kael sidestepped once.

Then drove his blade straight through the Hunter’s chest.

Silence returned to the alley.

Only rain remained.

Ash stared at the bodies in horror.

Kael slowly cleaned the blood from his blade before turning toward the child.

“You’re hurt?”

Ash shook his head weakly.

“My mother…”

The boy suddenly remembered the herbs and clutched them tighter.

“She’s dying.”

Kael looked toward the glowing mark still burning beneath Ash’s sleeve.

Then sighed heavily.

“So it begins.”

Ash didn’t understand.

But before he could speak—

Church bells suddenly rang across Ashkar.

Not once.

Not twice.

Seven times.

Kael’s expression darkened instantly.

“No…”

Ash looked up.

“What’s wrong?”

The old warrior stared toward the massive fortress towering above the kingdom.

“The Hunters already informed the palace.”

Torches began lighting across the city walls.

Hundreds.

Then thousands.

Search parties.

The entire kingdom was waking up.

Kael grabbed Ash’s shoulder immediately.

“Listen carefully,” he said. “From this moment forward, every soldier in Ashkar will hunt you.”

Ash’s face turned pale.

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“You were born.”

The bells continued echoing across the stormy night.

Kael knelt before the child.

“Where is your mother?”

“The lower slums near the river.”

Kael nodded once.

“Then we move now.”

Ash hesitated.

“Why are you helping me?”

The old warrior went silent briefly.

Rain dripped from the scar across his blind eye.

Then quietly—

“Because I failed your family once already.”

Ash frowned in confusion.

But suddenly—

The dragon mark beneath his sleeve burned hotter.

Much hotter.

The pain nearly dropped him to his knees.

Golden light spread farther across his arm.

Kael’s eyes widened.

“Impossible…”

The ground beneath the alley trembled softly.

Then came the sound.

A deep roar somewhere beneath the city.

Ancient.

Massive.

Alive.

Both Ash and Kael froze.

The roar echoed again beneath the storm.

Not from the castle.

From underground.

From directly beneath Ashkar itself.

Kael slowly looked down toward the flooded stone beneath their feet.

Fear entered his face for the first time.

“No…”

Ash whispered shakily—

“What was that?”

Kael stared toward the distant fortress while thunder rolled endlessly above the kingdom.

Then the old warrior answered quietly—

“The thing your bloodline was trying to keep asleep.”