The path up the mountain was steep, the kind of climb that demanded blood from your knees and sweat from your bones. Rogue didn’t care. He tore through low brambles and leapt over jagged stone like the ground itself was an insult. Hunter was barely a breath behind him, still human, still clutching the enchanted blade Althea had handed him moments before they split from the others.
The lieutenant had vanished.
They’d seen the burst of light, seen him reel back, wounded. Then nothing. No scent. No heat. No trail. But Rogue was certain.
"He’s here," Hunter muttered. "Coward’s just hiding behind a spell."
Ahead, the air shimmered. A veil. One of Althea’s, twisted. Hunter didn't hesitate. He slashed through it with the blade, and the mountain yawned open.
The lieutenant stood at the edge o
