Chapter forty four

The deeper they ventured into Orion’s territory, the worse it became.

The land itself felt wrong. The air was thick, charged with an unnatural presence that pressed against their lungs, making it hard to breathe. The trees twisted in unnatural angles, their bark darkened and gnarled, their roots pulsing beneath their feet like they were alive. The farther they went, the more the world warped around them, as if Orion’s very existence was reshaping the land.

And through it all, Kai could feel him.

The pull was stronger now.

The presence in the back of his mind wasn’t just lingering anymore—it was whispering.

“Come closer, Kai.”

Kai gritted his teeth, shaking his head sharply.

“You don’t have to fight it,” Orion’s voice purred, curling around his thoughts like a vice. “You were always meant to find me.”

A hand gripped his wrist, tight and grounding.

Kai snapped back into reality, his heart hammering.

Lucian was beside him, his blue eyes sharp, furious. “Don’t let him in.”

Kai exhaled shakily, nodding. “I’m fine.”

Lucian’s jaw clenched. “You don’t look fine.”

Kai hated how much he could see through him.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Ahead of them, Anna had stopped walking, her body rigid, her breathing uneven.

Mira moved toward her instantly. “Anna?”

Anna’s fingers dug into her arms, her mark pulsing with a dull, sickly light. “We’re close,” she whispered, her voice strained.

Kai followed her gaze and felt his stomach drop.

The land sloped downward, revealing a deep valley nestled between jagged mountain peaks.

And at its center, hidden beneath layers of mist and shadow, was a fortress.

Not like the stronghold they had seen before.

This one was different.

Older.

Darker.

Massive walls stretched across the base of the mountain, reinforced with steel and runes that pulsed faintly under the fading light. Guard towers loomed overhead, each one manned by sentries who stood unnaturally still, their eyes glowing in the dim light.

Orion’s true base.

Lucian inhaled deeply. “We found him.”

Rhett let out a low whistle. “Shit. That’s a whole damn fortress.”

Kieran scanned the perimeter, his expression unreadable. “We need a way in.”

Anna closed her eyes, breathing through the pain of the mark’s influence. “There’s a weakness in the southern wall,” she murmured. “It’s reinforced, but not as strong as the front entrance. If we move fast, we can take the guards out before they sound the alarm.”

Lucian nodded. “Then we move now.”

They didn’t have time to second-guess.

They moved.

The air thickened the closer they got.

Kai could feel it pressing against his skin, seeping into his bones, making his movements feel sluggish, heavy. It was Orion’s influence, radiating from the fortress like a sickness, tainting everything it touched.

“Why do you keep fighting, Kai?” Orion’s voice slithered into his mind again, soft and mocking. “You’re wasting your strength.”

Kai pushed it down, focused on what was in front of him.

The southern wall loomed ahead, guarded by six sentries, their bodies unnervingly still. They weren’t shifting their weight, weren’t blinking.

Like they weren’t truly alive.

Lucian motioned for silence, then nodded to Rhett and Mira.

They moved first, slipping through the darkness like shadows.

Rhett struck fast, his blade slashing through the first sentry’s throat before he could react. The second barely had time to turn before Mira sank her dagger into his chest, silencing him instantly.

Two down.

Kieran and Lucian took the next two, moving like lightning, their movements coordinated, precise.

Kai barely had time to register the last two guards turning before he moved, his claws slicing through the first one’s spine in a single, fluid motion.

The final sentry let out a strangled snarl, lunging forward—

But Anna stepped past Kai, her palm pressing against his forehead.

The guard froze.

For a split second, his body shuddered, his glowing eyes flickering—

Then, his body collapsed, the mark on Anna’s arm flaring before dimming again.

Silence.

Kai stared at the unmoving guard, chest heaving. “What… the hell was that?”

Anna swallowed hard, her hands trembling. “I don’t know.”

Lucian exhaled sharply. “We don’t have time to question it. Move.”

They slipped inside.

The fortress was worse from the inside.

The air felt wrong, heavier, as if something unseen was watching them, pressing down on their lungs, slowing their movements.

The walls were lined with chains, symbols etched into the stone, pulsing faintly with an unnatural energy.

This place wasn’t just a fortress.

It was a prison.

Kai’s chest tightened.

Orion wasn’t just building an army.

He was holding something here.

Something dangerous.

Lucian gestured for them to split up—Rhett and Mira took the left corridor, Kieran and Anna went right, while Kai and Lucian pressed forward.

The deeper they went, the colder it became.

The torches flickered dimly, their light weak, as if Orion’s presence was suffocating even the flames.

Then, suddenly—

Lucian froze.

Kai stiffened immediately. “What is it?”

Lucian’s gaze flickered toward a large iron door at the end of the corridor. It was heavily reinforced, more than any of the others they had passed.

Kai’s pulse spiked.

Something was inside.

Something powerful.

Lucian exhaled. “We need to see what he’s hiding.”

Kai nodded, moving toward the door, his claws unsheathing.

Lucian placed a hand on the heavy iron latch—

And the moment he did, the entire fortress trembled.

A deep, rumbling growl echoed through the corridors, followed by a wave of pressure so intense that Kai nearly collapsed.

Then—

A voice.

Not Orion’s.

Something worse.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

The door swung open on its own, revealing pure darkness inside.

Lucian stilled, his grip on his weapon tightening.

Kai swallowed, forcing his breathing to stay even.

They had just sprung the trap.

And there was no turning back now.