CHAPTER 35: BENEATH THE FIRELIGHT
The tiefling captain’s yellow eyes glowed with a cold, predatory light. He crouched down before me, his gaze unwavering, like a predator sizing up its prey. His voice, gravelly yet commanding, pierced the tense silence.
“You’re in no shape to run,” he said flatly, his words deliberate, his tone carrying the weight of someone who expected answers. “Start talking. What was that thing back there?”
I groaned, clutching my side where the wound from my shadow’s claws still throbbed. The bandages I hastily wrapped around it held, but the pain, agonizing and persistent, reminded me how close I had come to losing everything. I let my head droop, as if weighed down by exhaustion and regret. “It attacked me when I went to find my family,” I muttered, my voice low and strained. “I returned to my village, but it was gone—nothing left but ash and that... thing.”
The captain’s gaze didn’t falter, his suspicion growing like an aura around him. “Convenient timing, isn’t it? A creature like that doesn’t show up without reason.”
I snapped, frustration flaring to life. “I don’t know why it came after me!” I bit off the words, letting anger seep into my voice, a thin veil over my true intentions. “Do you think I wanted this? If I hadn’t killed it, I’d be dead.”
A silence settled over us, heavy with suspicion, and yet I couldn’t shake the thrill of the game. The captain was sharp, no doubt about that. But I was sharper. He’d soon see I wasn’t a threat to him, at least not in the ways he expected.
One of the men, a younger human, spoke up from behind the captain. “Captain, he doesn’t look like he’s lying. And we’ve seen the aftermath of those villages. Could be one of the survivors.”
“Dren, don’t speak for me,” the captain snarled, silencing the younger man with a cold, cutting gaze.
Dren raised his hands in mock surrender but couldn’t hide the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Just saying, Cap.”
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The captain’s piercing glare returned to me. “What’s your name?”
“Cassian,” I replied smoothly. The name felt foreign on my tongue, but it had its purpose, and I was nothing if not a master of appearances.
“Cassian,” the captain repeated, studying me with those unnervingly bright eyes. “Will you follow along for a while? You seem capable of holding your own, and it looks like you’ve got nothing left. Might as well tag along.”
Inside, a twisted sense of satisfaction curled. These fools. They believed me. I contained a chuckle, allowing a small, grateful grin to form on my lips. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to pull my weight.”
“Guess that makes ya part of the family now,” Dren added, his tone lighter than the situation warranted, as he knelt by the fire, poking at it with a stick.
Before I could respond, chaos erupted. Dren, in his usual clumsy fashion, managed to set the dry grass on fire with a stick he’d foolishly used to stoke the flames. The fire spread quickly, prompting shouts of panic and curses from the group. I watched with detached amusement as they scrambled to extinguish the flames. It was pathetic, almost... endearing.
“Fire!” Dren shouted, darting away to alert everyone.
I barely lifted a finger to help, content to let them make fools of themselves. After a few minutes of shouting and scrambling, Dren ran toward the horses and called out to me, “Hop on, will ya!”
I winced as I stood, the pain in my side sharp, but I ignored it, forcing myself to run. Dren grabbed my arm and helped me onto the horse, his grip strong despite his earlier misstep. We galloped away, leaving the chaos behind.
The journey took about a day, during which I had time to reflect on my situation. My position here, with this new group, was an opportunity. They might have no idea who or what I truly was, but that wouldn’t last. I would bide my time, gather information, and when the time was right, I would turn this situation to my advantage.
When we finally arrived at the gates of the city, it was a far cry from the grandeur of Aeladria. The walls were weathered, made of stone that had seen better days. Vines crawled up their sides, and the air was thick with the smells of a city far less polished than what I was used to. The distant noise of voices, clattering hooves, and the occasional bark of a street vendor filled the air, a far cry from the cold, empty silence of the villages I’d burned to the ground.
I could feel my excitement building, the familiar pulse of power lurking just beneath the surface. This city would fall too, eventually. They all would. But for now, I had a role to play.
[Adjustment Period: 13 Days 19:43:21…]