The forest air was thick with tension. Shadows danced in the flickering torchlight as Jay paced outside the royal medical tent. His fists were clenched, jaw tight, mind racing.
Inside, the lone surviving soldier from the scout team was barely breathing. Poison had spread through his veins, his wounds deep and ragged. He had fought his way back through jungles, blood loss, and pain—only to collapse at the border gates with a single message: "I've seen him."
Jay stepped inside the tent again. The soldier was lying on the cot, breathing in short, shaky gasps. His eyes fluttered open as Jay approached, followed closely by Madhvi.
Jay knelt beside him, gripping his hand firmly.
"Talk to me. What happened?"
The soldier blinked, forcing his dry lips to move. "We… we followed a trail, my lord. Broken twigs… crushed leaves… ash near a river bend."
Jay's eyes narrowed. "You found something?"
The soldier nodded weakly. "We reached the black cliffs. Beyond them… hidden in the forest… there was an old temple. Abandoned. Covered in vines, buried under roots."
Madhvi stepped closer, heart pounding.
"There were men," the soldier continued, coughing. "Not normal bandits. Dozens. Some guarding… some performing strange rituals."
Jay's grip tightened. "Rituals?"
The soldier's voice shook. "A hooded man… he stood in the center, drawing circles with his hands… whispering things I couldn't understand. And then…"
His face twisted in horror. "A body—a corpse—got up. Started moving. It had no soul… no life in its eyes."
Jay's eyes flared. "Necromancy…"
The soldier nodded. "And in the middle of it all… there was a wooden post. Someone was tied to it. Limp. Bloodied."
He struggled to breathe. "It was him. Prince. Vaishnav."
Madhvi gasped, covering her mouth.
"I saw his face," the soldier said. "He was unconscious… but breathing. They weren't just holding him—they were draining something from him."
"What do you mean?" Jay asked, voice low.
"I don't know," the soldier rasped. "Some kind of magic… energy flowing out of him while that hooded man chanted."
Jay's face turned pale with fury. "What happened next?"
"We stayed hidden, watching. But then… one of our men stepped on a dry branch. It snapped."
The soldier paused, eyes trembling. "They saw us. All of them. And they charged. We tried to run, but they surrounded us."
"Did you fight?"
"We fought," he said, a weak smile forming for a second. "Till our blades broke and arrows ran dry. But they kept coming… even the dead ones."
Jay gritted his teeth. "You escaped alone?"
"I ran," the soldier whispered. "I had to. Someone had to tell you. But I was hit… here." He pointed to a blackened wound. "Poisoned. I don't have much time…"
Jay lowered his head for a moment, eyes filled with guilt and respect.
Madhvi knelt beside the soldier, voice trembling. "You saw him alive?"
"Yes…" he whispered. "Alive… in pain…"
His breath began to slow. Jay called for the healer again, but it was too late. The soldier's eyes faded, his body going still.
Silence filled the tent.
Jay stood, his face unreadable. But inside, rage boiled like a storm.
He turned to the captain. "Send a team to the village near the cliffs. I want every detail—every story, every whisper."
"Yes, my prince."
"Keep an ambush unit ready. No one moves without my command."
Jay walked out into the night, the wind cold against his skin. Madhvi followed quietly, still clutching the cloth tied to her wrist—her father's keepsake.
She looked up at him. "They were doing something to him… Why? Who are these people?"
Jay didn't respond right away. His eyes scanned the dark forest beyond the hills.
Then he spoke softly, but with venom in every word:
"Magician."
A single word—but it was enough. It wasn't just a kidnapping anymore. It wasn't about ransom or revenge.
Something darker had begun.
And now… the hunt would begin.