THE WITCH HE WAS SENT TO KILL

*Chapter 1: The Scent of Magic* The smell of burning herbs meant one thing. A witch. And I never miss. I crouched on the rooftop, rain dripping down my black cloak. Below me, Eldermere village slept. Or at least, it pretended to. Three days. That’s how long it took me to track the rogue magic signature to this cursed place. Three days of dead forests, cold nights, and the Order’s orders ringing in my head: _Kill on sight. No trials. No mercy._ My name is Kael Vire. Warlock of the Order. The best hunter they have. And I was about to break every rule I’d ever sworn to. A flicker of green light flashed from a small cottage at the edge of the village. Not fire. Not torchlight. Magic. I dropped from the roof, silent. My boots hit the mud without a sound. The dagger at my belt pulsed, reacting to the magic in the air. The door was cracked open. Inside, a woman knelt beside a small boy. His skin was grey. His breathing was shallow. Plague. And her hands… her hands were glowing. emerald light poured from her palms into the boy’s chest. The grey faded. His color returned. “Shh,” she whispered, voice soft as moonlight. “You’re going to be okay, little one.” A witch. Healing. That was forbidden. That was punishable by death. My jaw clenched. The Order didn’t care if she was saving lives. Witches were witches. They brought ruin. They brought the curse that was slowly killing my sister back in the capital. I pushed the door open. She spun around, eyes wide and gold. Not human gold. Witch gold. Her hair was black, tangled, and fell past her waist. She couldn’t have been older than 23. The light in her hands died instantly. “Don’t,” she said, stepping between me and the boy. “Please. He’ll die without this.” “You’re using forbidden magic,” I said. My voice was ice. “Step away from him.” “I’m saving him,” she shot back. There was no fear in her eyes. Only defiance. “The healers here gave up on him. The Order gave up on all of us. So I did what I had to.” Her name would be in the Order’s book tonight. Lyra, maybe. Or something with too many vowels. It didn’t matter. In 10 minutes she’d be ash. “Last chance,” I said, drawing my dagger. The blade hummed, drinking in the magic still in the air. “Come with me. Quietly. Or I drag you.” She didn’t move. The boy behind her coughed and opened his eyes. “Miss Lyra?” he croaked. Lyra. So that was her name. For a second, I saw it. The exhaustion under her eyes. The way her hands shook. She wasn’t powerful. She wasn’t a threat. She was just… tired. And she saved a child the Order would have let die. The moment broke when I heard it. Boots. Armor. Voices. The rest of my squad. They’d found me. “Kael!” Captain Doren’s voice boomed from outside. “Do you have her?” Lyra’s eyes went wide. She looked at me. Then at the boy. Then at the dagger in my hand. She made a choice before I did. She grabbed the boy and bolted for the back window. “Stop!” Doren shouted. The door slammed open. Four warlocks in silver armor flooded in, magic crackling at their fingertips. “There!” One of them pointed. “The witch!” Lyra was halfway out the window. If they caught her now, they wouldn’t take her to trial. They’d burn her in the street as an example. And the boy would die again. Something in my chest twisted. 300 years of law. 300 years of “kill on sight”. My sister’s face flashed in my mind. Pale. Coughing. Dying from the same curse magic caused. The Order was supposed to stop this. So why did it feel wrong? “Kael!” Doren snapped. “What are you waiting for? Bind her!” I had 2 seconds. I could raise my dagger. I could shout the binding spell. I could be the perfect soldier. Instead, I moved. I grabbed Lyra’s wrist as she climbed through the window. Her skin was cold. Her pulse was fast. She looked at me, expecting pain. Expecting chains. I leaned in close, so only she could hear me over the rain and the shouting. “Run,” I whispered. And I shoved her. She tumbled into the darkness outside. Behind me, Doren roared. “TRAITOR!” Magic hit the wall next to my head. I rolled, drawing my own power. But all I could think about was her. Lyra. The witch I was sent to kill. And the one I just set free. The hunt had just begun. But this time… I was the prey. *END OF CHAPTER 1*