A BLOOD Oath

The Man in the Dark

Footsteps echoed slowly through the tunnel.

It didn't sound rushed, confident.

Everyone in the chamber went still in anticipation.

Kael stepped in front of Arielle instantly, one hand pulled his sword free despite the fresh wound in his side.

The movement was sharp enough that pain hit through the oath immediately.

Arielle felt it like a blade dragging across her own ribs.

Idiot she thought.

“You’re injured,” she whispered.

“I noticed.”

The footsteps stopped just beyond the broken archway leading deeper underground.

There was heavy silence. Then a voice spoke from the darkness.

“Well… this is disappointing.”

The shadow of a man stepped into the dim moonlight spilling through the cracked ceiling.

Tall. Lean. Dressed completely in black armor marked with the royal crest.

Arielle’s stomach dropped immediately.

A royal Guard.

But something about him felt wrong.

Not like the palace soldiers she remembered.

This man carried himself differently.

He was calmer. Colder.

Like violence was natural to him.

His dark hair brushed against his jaw, slightly damp, and a thin scar cut across one eyebrow. He looked younger than Kael, maybe early thirties, but there was something deeply unsettling in his eyes.

He smiled slightly when he saw Kael.

“There you are” he said.

Kael’s entire body went rigid. Not from fear but from recognition. Bad recognition.

Lucien had a frowned expression instantly.

“Well,” he muttered softly, “that’s unfortunate.”

Eamon looked between them nervously.

“You know him?”

Nobody answered immediately.

Which was answer enough.

The man’s gaze shifted lazily across the group before landing on Arielle.

Interest flickered there immediately.

“So this is her.”

Kael’s voice turned dangerously quiet.

“Don’t.”

The man smiled wider.

“Oh, you really do care.”

Arielle looked between them carefully.

Something about this felt personal.

Very personal.

Sera’s hand tightened around her dagger.

“You should’ve stayed dead, Ronan.”

Ronan.

The name settled heavily in the room.

Ronan laughed softly.

“That’s a cruel thing to say after all this time.”

Kael never lowered his sword.

“What do you want? Kael asked.

Ronan looked genuinely surprised.

“You.”

The answer was quick and honest. Too honest.

Arielle frowned.

No one moved.

Even the tunnel seemed quieter now.

Then Ronan sighed dramatically.

“Though admittedly,” he added, glancing toward Arielle again, “the girl complicated things more than expected.”

Kael stepped forward immediately he said that. The movement was protective enough that even Arielle noticed it this time.

“You will not touch her.”

Something dark flickered across Ronan’s expression.

Interesting.

“You sound possessive.”

“And you sound suicidal,” Lucien cut in casually.

Ronan ignored him completely as if no one spoke.

His attention stayed fixed on Kael.

“You disappeared without even saying goodbye. That wounded me emotionally.”

“Oh good,” Eamon muttered. “Another insane person.”

Arielle’s eyes narrowed slightly as she realised that the tension between Kael and Ronan wasn’t normal hatred.

It felt older than that.

Sharper. Like betrayal left to rot for years.

And suddenly, a horrible thought crossed her mind.

“You’re the traitor,” she said quietly.

The room immediately fell silent.

Ronan slowly looked at her. Then smiled.

“Well. She’s clever.”

Kael’s jaw tightened hard enough to hurt.

Arielle stared at Ronan carefully.

“You’ve been feeding information to the court.”

“Parts of the court,” Ronan corrected lightly. “Important distinction.”

Lucien looked exhausted at this point.

“You people and your distinctions” he said.

Arielle’s pulse quickened.

This was the reason soldiers kept finding them. Why the kingdom stayed ahead. Why Kael looked haunted every time betrayal was mentioned.

And judging by Kael’s face, this went deeper than politics.

Ronan took another slow step forward.

“You really should’ve killed me when you had the chance.”

Kael’s voice stayed flat.

“I tried.”

“Oh, you definitely tried.”

The air between them felt sharp enough to cut through steel.

Arielle glanced quietly toward Sera.

Sera noticed immediately. Her expression darkened.

“They fought together years ago,” she said quietly. “Northern campaign.”

The same campaign Lucien mentioned before.

The one Kael refused to talk about.

Ronan laughed softly at Arielle’s reaction.

“Oh. He still hasn’t told you.”

Kael’s eyes widened dangerously.

“Enough.”

“No,” Ronan replied calmly. “I don’t think so.”

Arielle looked between them again.

“What happened in the north?”

There was the usual silence.

Then Ronan answered before anyone else could.

“We burned an entire city to the ground.”

The words hit like ice water.

Arielle stared at him.

“What?”

Kael looked furious now.

“Ronan.” he yelled.

“You wanted honesty.” Ronan shrugged lightly. “There it is.”

Arielle’s chest tightened.

“No…”

“It was war,” Kael said immediately.

But there was guilt beneath the words. Heavy guilt.

Ronan smiled coldly.

“That’s one way to describe it.”

Lucien rubbed his hands across his face tiredly and sighed.

“This conversation somehow keeps becoming worse.”

Arielle looked directly at Kael now.

“You burned a city?”

The silence lasted too long this time.

And that was enough.

Something painful twisted inside her chest.

Not fear. Something she had no words for.

But the terrifying realization that she still did not know who Kael truly was.

Ronan watched the moment carefully like he enjoyed it.

Then suddenly, He moved.

Fast.

A dagger flashed through the air straight toward Arielle.

Kael reacted instantly. He caught her and twisted sharply, dragging her against his chest as the blade slammed into the stone behind them. Pain exploded through the oath again.

Kael grunted sharply.

Arielle’s eyes widened.

The movement reopened his wound.

Blood spread quickly beneath her hands where she had grabbed his shirt.

“Kael—”

Ronan attacked again before she finished speaking.

Steel clashed violently through the chamber.

Everything exploded into full motion.

Lucien drew blades from seemingly nowhere while Sera lunged toward one of the remaining guards that was with Ronan.

Eamon swore loudly enough to wake the dead.

Kael shoved Arielle behind him despite bleeding badly.

“Stay back.”

“I’m not helpless!”

“I know!”

The answer came louder than expected.

For half a second, both of them froze.

Then Ronan smiled darkly from across the chamber.

“There it is.”

Kael looked ready to kill him.

Honestly, Arielle was considering helping.

The fight turned brutal fast. Ronan moved like someone who was trained alongside Kael for years.

Every strike was precise. Every movement familiar. Too familiar.

Kael blocked another blow hard enough to stagger slightly from pain.

The oath pulsed violently between him and Arielle. She could feel his strength fading again and is pain.

Ronan noticed too.

“You’re slower” he said.

Kael’s expression stayed deadly calm.

“You talk too much.”

Then he drove Ronan backward hard enough to slam him against one of the stone pillars.

The entire chamber shook violently.

Cracks were spreading across the ceiling above them quickly.

“Oh, fantastic,” Eamon muttered while fighting one of the guards. “Now the cave is angry too.”

Stone rained down suddenly. Everyone scattered.

Arielle barely dodged falling debris before another violent c***k thundered overhead.

The shrine was collapsing again.

Lucien grabbed Eamon’s arm roughly.

“We need to move now!”

Sera killed the last guard quickly before turning toward Kael.

“The ceiling’s coming down!”

Kael never took his eyes off Ronan.

For one terrible second, Arielle thought he might stay and fight until one of them died.

Then another massive c***k split through the chamber and it made the floor tremble beneath them.

Ronan stepped backward slowly, breathing harder now but still smiling.

“You always choose her.”

Those words hit strangely.

Kael’s expression changed instantly.

Ronan noticed.

And smiled wider.

“Oh,” he said softly. “You haven’t realized it yet.”

Arielle frowned.

Realized what?

But before anyone could speak, the ceiling collapsed.