Kael returned to the place where Sir Janson had died.
The snow was deeper here, burying the blood and the churned earth of three months ago under a pristine white blanket. But Kael remembered the trees. He remembered the specific angle of the ridge where the ambush had sprung.
At that time, he was nothing more than a servant.
Now, he stood in fitted black leather, the cold wind feeling like nothing more than a refreshing breeze against his heated skin.
He raised a hand. The squad behind him stopped instantly.
Facing north—the direction where the farmer from his memories had once walked away—Kael lifted his chin slightly.
"Silas," Kael said quietly. "Front. Scout ahead."
Silas said nothing and was gone. Snow held his outline for a breath, then dissolved as he moved, a muted shape threading through the pines, the ice unmarked beneath him.
Five minutes passed.
Silas came back the same way he had left, breathing steady, shoulders loose.
"Clear."
Kael nodded. "Move."
They pushed into the denser tree line. The trees closed in, branches low, snow packed hard underfoot.
—krrsh—
The brush gave way under something heavy.
To their left, the undergrowth burst apart. Snow and dead leaves sprayed outward as something drove through it, fast and low.
Jarek was already moving. The bow came up, string drawn to the cheek, arrow leveled into the gap where the brush still shuddered.
Griggs stepped in front of the line, shield rising by instinct.
Kogan reached past him and tore it free in one pull, wrenching the shield from Griggs' hands and planting himself forward instead.
A brown bear filled the clearing.
It stood massive among the trees, thick fur and winter fat hanging heavy over its frame, its bulk crowding the space around it. When it rose, it towered over the snow, close to three meters tall, blotting out the light behind it. Snow slid off its coat in sheets, breath pouring from its mouth in loud, wet bursts.
Then it dropped.
The bear came down onto all fours and surged forward in the same motion, snow tearing up under its weight. One forepaw swung out, fast and wide, cutting through the air toward the front of the line.
Kogan stepped forward, feet biting into the snow. The shield came up angled, chin down, his shoulder rolling in behind the iron as his weight settled and held.
—thud—
A dull, heavy impact slammed into the shield.
The bowstring snapped and the arrow crossed the gap in a flat line. It struck the bear's right eye and buried to the fletching.
That was enough.
Jarek loosed.
The bear roared, rearing up to strike down over the shield.
—Thwip—A single arrow hissed through the air.
The bear's roar broke into a high, tearing shriek.
Jarek's arrow struck the left eye and drove in hard, the shaft biting deep before stopping short. Blood spilled immediately, dark against the snow as the bear recoiled, head jerking to the side.
The bear dropped to all fours and twisted away. It drove off hard, claws tearing furrows through the snow as it lunged for the trees.
"It's breaking for the trees—Captain?"
Kael surged forward.
Snow detonated under his boots. He ripped the spear from Griggs's hand as he went, momentum never breaking.
The bear was fast, but Kael was a blur. In three heartbeats, he had closed the distance.
The bear hauled itself up the slope, snow shearing loose under its weight.
Kael broke into the incline and jumped.
The ground fell away beneath him. He cleared the churned snow and exposed rock in a long, flat arc, body stretched tight, both hands locked on the spear in a reversed grip. The drop pulled at him as momentum drove him forward, everything narrowing to the point of the spearhead.
—thrk—The spear punched through hide and sank deep.
Kael drove the spear down.
The iron tip punched through the thick fur, through the spine, through the heart, and drove deep into the frozen earth beneath.
The bear convulsed once, its massive frame pinned to the ground like an insect. Then, it went still.
Kael landed on the beast's back, his breath even. He wrenched the spear free with a wet sucking sound and jumped down.
The squad stared. Kogan lowered the shield, a low whistle escaping his lips.
"Clean," Kogan grunted.
They moved in closer. The bear lay half on its side, blood darkening the snow beneath its head. One eye was gone, the shaft of the arrow still lodged there. Its chest no longer rose. Steam bled slowly out of the wound and thinned into the cold air.
Griggs crouched near the body, one hand resting on his knee as he looked it over.
"Captain, we taking the hide?"
Kael gave the carcass a brief glance.
"On the way back. If it's still worth the work."
"Didn't think we'd mesh that clean," Bren said, looking around at the others.
"Do we follow it back to the den?" he asked. "Stories always say beasts like that leave something worth taking."
Kael traced the churned snow with his eyes.
"All right. We've got time."He turned toward the tracks. "Let's see if the stories ever get one thing right."
Kogan turned and pushed the shield back into Griggs's hands. He gave Griggs's shoulder a firm pat.
"Good work. You stepped in front when it mattered."
Kael stepped in and returned the spear as well. Griggs accepted it without meeting his eyes, jaw working once before he adjusted his grip and stepped back into line.
Silas moved first.
He slipped ahead along the torn snow and broken brush, reading the bear's retreat in the scuffed ground and snapped branches. The others followed in a loose line behind him, spacing out as the trees closed in.
As they walked, Bren glanced over at Jarek.
"I thought you were exaggerating. Eighty steps, straight through the eye."
Jarek ducked his head, a brief, awkward smile. "Heh."
——
Rathmere
[Greyfield Manor], nearly a thousand kilometers south of Blackstone Keep.
The fire burned low, coals settling into a dull red bed.
A man stood near the wall, snow melting from the hem of his cloak and darkening the stone beneath his boots.
"Did you find the truth?"
The figure at the table lifted his gaze, fingers resting flat on the wood.
"A servant named Kael carried it out."
A brief pause followed, measured.
"You're certain?"
"The claim came from Kael's associate," the man replied. "Tom. He's waiting outside."
The name lingered in the air. The man at the table turned slightly toward the fire, watching the coals shift and glow.
"Tom," he said, testing it.
He rose, straightening his coat.
"Bring him in," he added. "I want to hear it from his mouth."
The fire crackled once, sharp in the quiet.