-Finn-
The scent of a city—exhaust, old brick, and too many bodies—hit me first. It was a jarring contrast to the acrid smoke and deep forest we'd just left. We were huddled in the darkness behind a row of dilapidated storage sheds, close enough to the city limits that the faint, pulsing neon signs cast sickly green and purple shadows across the alleyway.
"That's him," Soren breathed, his voice tight. His shadow magic didn't just sense darkness; it knew Asher's unique energy signature, woven deep into the fabric of the shadows themselves. "He's close. Two blocks south, near the old shipping yard."
My gut clenched, a familiar knot of anger twisting with a new, sharp spike of determination. Two blocks. Two minutes until I was face-to-face with the bastard wolf who sold out Alexia once and who was now our only option to save her.
"Let's go," I muttered, already moving. My fire, usually a comforting warmth under my skin, was a raging furnace now, threatening to burst out and scorch the grime off the walls. Every beat of my heart was a desperate plea from Alexia through the bond—a distant, almost imperceptible thrum that only fueled my rage. I loved her, and that love was currently a weapon aimed straight at anyone who stood between us.
Jasper grabbed my arm, his grip surprisingly firm. "Wait. Finn, we have to be smart. If he fights—"
"He won't fight," I cut him off, shaking free. "He needs to understand we are not here to negotiate past grievances. We are here to issue an ultimatum: Help us find her, or I burn every shadow he casts."
Kaia, clutching Zeus's mane, stepped forward, her eyes wide with fear but her chin stubbornly lifted. "He betrayed her, Finn. What if this is a trap?"
I spared her a glance. "Then we destroy the trap. But we're wasting time. Every minute we stand here arguing is a minute Alexia is alone with Gideon."
We approached a towering, rusty chain-link fence bordering a deserted lot. Soren was trying to bypass the mechanism when I saw it.
Near a stack of pallets, a figure knelt. It was Asher.
He wasn't sitting, brooding. He wasn't hiding. He was hunched over a spread of complex, flickering shadow runes drawn in the dirt—a powerful tracking spell specifically keyed to Gideon's dark energy trail. The primal tracker was doing what he did best.
My movement froze. My fire sputtered, momentarily stunned. He was already trying to find her.
The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow, a confounding mix of surprise and the kind of white-hot resentment only a rival can provoke. Bastard. Even when he was doing the right thing, he was irritatingly ahead of us.
I charged past Soren, a low growl rumbling in my chest. I skidded to a stop a foot behind Asher and grabbed the back of his collar, hauling him violently up and backward.
"You think you can just start searching after you were the reason she needed saving in the first place?" I roared, throwing him against a stack of crates.
Asher landed hard. He pushed himself up, his eyes, the color of storm clouds, narrowed on mine.
"Finn," he gasped, "I'm five hours ahead of you." He gestured back toward the tracking spell. "Gideon's trail goes cold where he crossed the river into the northern territories. If you want to waste time fighting, go ahead. But every minute you spend indulging your rage is a minute Alexia is getting closer to being used as a weapon."
The word "weapon" sliced through my anger. He wasn't lying.
Soren moved in, his shadow blades extending, ready to hold Asher captive. "He's telling the truth, Finn. We need to focus," he said, his voice low and cold.
"Fine," I spat out. "You're tracking. Now you're tracking for us. You step out of line, you slow down, or you try anything clever, and I swear to you, I will make you beg for Gideon's shadow bind."
Asher simply nodded. He knelt back down, his attention already returning to the runes. "And Finn," he added, his voice dropping to a serious, almost mournful tone. "Gideon didn't just take her. He wants to change her. We don't have time."
The air suddenly grew ice-cold, colder than Asher's presence should have allowed. We all felt it—a sudden, deep thrum in the bond—a distress signal.
"What did you just feel?" I demanded, looking at Soren and Jasper.
"A pulse," Jasper whispered, his hand pressed to his chest. "Like she was moving. And a surge of... dread."
Asher didn't hesitate this time. His human body blurred, and with a sharp crack of shifting bone, a massive jet-black wolf stood where the man had been. Its eyes were pure, focused shadow, and its snout immediately dropped to the ground, sniffing the faint magical residue of the tracking spell.
He lifted his head and let out a single, piercing, mournful howl—the sound ripping through the industrial silence and carrying a raw, urgent piece of information.
"He found it," Soren said. "That's a locational signal."
"Where, Asher?" I yelled.
The black wolf gave a swift, powerful thrust of his muzzle toward the north.
"A castle. Deep in the mountains," Kaia translated instantly. "He's telling us the type of terrain and the direction."
Zeus, who hadn't moved from Kaia's side, rumbled a deep, guttural sound of acknowledgement toward the black wolf's primal call. It wasn't a challenge; it was the recognition of a clear mission.
"Right," I said, my voice sharp and decisive. "Soren, get us out of the city. Jasper, watch the black wolf's flanks—don't let him out of sight. Kaia, hang onto Zeus. We run until we hit those mountains."
The black wolf, Asher, didn't wait. He launched himself forward, a shadow blurring against the faint city lights. He was heading for the dark horizon, and we were right behind him.