Chapter 21: Trial Sparks
Aric Blackthorn’s gaze narrowed to slits.
Crimson eyes, burning like twin embers under ash, locked onto the boy in front of him. Crimson hair, too—violent and bright like fresh blood spilled over snow. That hue was never coincidence. That was heritage. That was Blackthorn blood.
But Caelan Blackthorn did not exist in this generation.
Not now.
Not anymore.
Aric’s mind raced like clockwork gears grinding through memory and madness.
The past...
It clicked. And the click was cold.
He had no time to dwell, because pressure began to bleed through the space like invisible steel wires wrapping around his skin. A killing intent—refined and undiluted—rolled off Caelan’s frame like a silent storm. His hand moved toward the hilt of his weapon, and that was the only de
