Chapter 5: The King's Hand
645 Words
A cold silence swept across the battlefield.
Neither the Moonfang warriors nor the Shadow Claw wolves dared to move.
The hooded stranger's crimson eyes remained fixed on Kael, as though no one else existed.
"I've been looking for you," he repeated.
Kael instinctively stepped back.
"I don't know you."
"No," the stranger replied calmly. "But I have known of you since before you were born."
The words struck Kael like a hammer.
Before he could respond, Alpha Magnus stepped between them, his massive frame shielding Kael.
"You will not take another step," Magnus growled.
The stranger smiled faintly.
"I see you still keep your promises, Magnus."
Magnus's fists tightened.
"I swore never to let your master return."
"And yet..." The stranger glanced at Kael. "His return has already begun."
The Moonfang warriors exchanged uneasy glances.
Kael frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The stranger ignored him.
Instead, he slowly reached beneath his cloak and drew a long silver dagger. It wasn't pointed at anyone.
He turned the blade over in his hand.
The metal shimmered with ancient runes.
Alpha Magnus's face paled.
"The Crescent Fang..." he whispered.
Elder Rowan, who had ridden with the warriors despite his age, gasped.
"It still exists."
The stranger nodded.
"It has waited many centuries."
He drove the dagger into the ground.
The earth trembled.
Dark cracks raced through the battlefield.
A violent gust of wind exploded outward, forcing warriors on both sides to shield their faces.
Kael felt an unbearable pressure building inside his chest.
His heart hammered wildly.
Then the voice returned.
"Do not fear."
Kael froze.
It was the same ancient voice he had heard at the Stone of Awakening.
"The seal is weakening."
"What seal?" Kael whispered.
No one answered.
Because no one else had heard it.
Suddenly, the ground split open.
A column of silver light burst into the sky.
Every wolf—Moonfang and Shadow Claw alike—dropped to one knee, whining in pain.
Every wolf...
Except Kael.
He remained standing.
Confused.
Unaffected.
The stranger's smile widened.
"There it is."
Magnus turned sharply.
"Warriors! Protect Kael!"
Dozens of Moonfang fighters rushed to surround him.
The Shadow Claw wolves charged at the same moment.
Steel clashed.
Claws tore through shields.
The quiet forest erupted into chaos.
Kael had never seen battle before.
A Moonfang warrior was thrown through the air by a massive black wolf.
Another cried out as he blocked a sword strike.
The scent of blood filled the air.
Rylan fought fiercely near the front lines, shifting between human and wolf with remarkable speed.
For a moment, he caught Kael's eye.
"Run!" he shouted.
It was the first time Rylan had spoken to Kael without hatred.
But it was too late.
Three Shadow Claw warriors broke through the Moonfang line and rushed straight at Kael.
He had no weapon.
No wolf.
Nowhere to run.
The first attacker swung his axe.
Kael barely dodged.
The second lunged with claws extended.
Kael stumbled backwards.
The third raised a spear.
"This ends now!"
The spear flew.
Kael closed his eyes.
A deafening roar shook the valley.
Not the roar of a wolf.
Something far older.
The spear shattered in mid-air.
A wave of invisible force blasted outward, throwing friend and foe alike off their feet.
When Kael opened his eyes...
A faint silver symbol glowed on the back of his right hand.
It disappeared almost instantly.
The battlefield fell silent.
Every warrior stared at him in disbelief.
The King's Hand slowly knelt.
Not in surrender.
In reverence.
"The Mark of the First King..." he whispered.
"So the prophecy was true."
Far away, beneath the forgotten mountain, the ancient king rose from his black throne.
He looked towards the northern sky and smiled.
"The heir has revealed himself."
He stretched out one hand.
"Prepare my throne."
"At last..."
"...the age of kings is about to begin."
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