The air was sharp with salt and mystery. The Sunken Isle rose from the ocean like a broken tooth, jagged and angry, its obsidian cliffs black against the bruised sky. The boat scraped against the shore, the four of them disembarking in silence, eyes scanning the unfamiliar terrain.
Aurea's breath caught in her throat. Even with the threat of storm clouds and salt-stained ruins, the island held a haunting beauty—vines clinging to sunken towers, once-proud statues half-swallowed by the sea. But under that beauty lurked something ancient. Something watching.
They had barely stepped into the shadows of the broken colonnades when the air shifted.
A growl—not from any beast they knew—rumbled across the stones like thunder.
Eryan's hand flew to his blade. "Something's here."
Kael narrowed his eyes, his hand glowing faintly as he summoned a barrier of light around Aurea. Riven, ever the quiet shadow, slipped ahead, his footsteps silent, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
The moment cracked.
From the depths of a collapsed temple, the beast lunged.
It was like nothing they'd seen before—a mass of scales and sinew, limbs too long, mouth too wide, its eyes glowing with a malevolent hunger. It moved like shadow and storm, too fast, too wrong.
Aurea screamed as it barreled toward her.
The barrier Kael cast shattered like glass, his spell barely buying a breath of time.
"NO!"
Eryan darted forward, blade flashing. His sword struck true—but the creature didn't falter. It tossed him aside with a whip of its tail, slamming him against the stones. He groaned, dazed.
Kael stepped between Aurea and the beast, his arms flaring with power. "Get behind me!"
The beast shrieked, a sound that tore the air. It leapt—and Kael took the hit, his shield cracking. Blood smeared his lips. He went down on one knee.
Aurea turned to flee—but the ruins shifted, and her foot caught. She fell, pain lancing up her ankle.
Too late. The beast was on her.
And then—like wind through the storm—Riven struck.
A blur of shadows and steel, he slammed into the creature's side, blades flashing in a deadly rhythm. He drove it back with sheer fury, his expression carved in ice.
Aurea's eyes widened. "Riven..."
But the creature wouldn't die. It howled and lashed out, catching Riven across the chest. He grunted, blood painting the stones, but didn't fall.
And then Eryan was back, rage blazing in his eyes.
He leapt onto the beast's back, driving his blade down—again, again—his breath ragged.
Kael, pushing through the pain, stood and raised his arms. Light burst from his palms like dawn. The creature shrieked as Kael's magic seared its flesh, weakening it.
Finally—Riven plunged his dagger into its throat, deep and brutal.
The beast convulsed… and fell.
Silence.
Only the ragged breathing of the four remained. Blood, sweat, smoke.
Aurea was shaking. Tears streaked her face, but she stood slowly. "You... you saved me."
Eryan limped to her side, cupping her face with blood-stained hands. "I will never let anything take you. Never."
She shuddered, not from fear—but from the tremble in his voice.
Kael walked up next, his eyes full of guilt and tenderness. "I wasn't fast enough."
"You were," she said, reaching for him. "All of you were."
Then Riven approached, silently, his cloak torn and stained. He didn't speak—but the way he looked at her was louder than any words. Like he was trying to memorize her face. Like she was the only light in his world.
She stepped toward him. "You didn't hesitate."
"I never will," he murmured, voice low. "Not when it's you."
The sun, hidden behind clouds, broke for just a moment—light falling through shattered arches like blessing.
In that silence, surrounded by the wreckage, Aurea reached for all three of them—Kael, Eryan, Riven.
And they came to her.
She didn't belong to one. She never had.
She belonged to the storm and the sea and the fire that bound them.
They stood there, breathing together, hearts pounding like one drumbeat.
But far above them, hidden in the highest spires of the sunken temple, something else watched.
Another beast, larger—smarter—opened its glowing eyes.
And the hunt had only just begun.