--
Chapter Thirteen: The Moment He Chose to Arrive
The jungle did not welcome th
The moment Ruria and Kaelis crossed the boundary, the air changed. It grew thick, heavy with magic that pressed against the skin like damp cloth. The trees twisted unnaturally, their bark dark and slick, leaves whispering even when there was no wind. Faint glows pulsed between the roots, eyes perhaps, or fungi, or something worse pretending to be harmless.
Kaelis slowed instinctively, hand tightening around her blade.
"This place is wrong," she murmured.
Ruria nodded. Her chest felt tight, but not with fear. With urgency. The wagon tracks were still fresh, pressed deep into the soil, leading straight into the demonic jungle.
"They went this way," Ruria said. "We don't stop."
They followed the tracks deeper.
Sounds warped in the jungle. Footsteps echoed where no one walked. Growls came from nowhere and everywhere at once. More than once, Ruria thought she saw shapes moving between the trees, tall silhouettes slipping out of sight the moment she focused on them.
Kaelis moved ahead of her, silent and alert.
"You should stay behind me," Kaelis said quietly. "If something attacks, I'll draw its attention."
Ruria shook her head. "We move together."
They found the merchants just before dusk.
The wagon stood in a small clearing, canvas pulled back, guards relaxed, laughing as they unpacked crates. There were four of them. Armed. Confident. They had no idea where they were.
Ruria's stomach twisted when she saw the wagon bars.
Kaelis did not hesitate.
She moved like a shadow given purpose.
The first man fell without a sound, throat opened before he could scream. The second barely had time to turn before Kaelis drove her blade into his chest. The third raised his weapon, but Ruria reacted on instinct, magic flaring from her rings, sending him flying backward into a tree with a sickening crack.
The fourth ran.
He did not get far.
Kaelis caught him by the collar and slammed him into the wagon.
"Who did you sell them to?" she demanded.
The man laughed weakly, blood on his teeth. "Does it matter? They won't last long."
Ruria stepped forward.
Her voice was calm. Too calm.
"It matters."
The man's eyes flicked to her rings. Recognition dawned too late.
"Demonic jungle," he spat. "Buyers deeper in. Creatures pay well."
Kaelis ended it quickly.
Silence fell.
Ruria's hands shook as she approached the wagon. She pulled open the bars.
Inside were two girls.
Elves.
Their ears were unmistakable, long and delicate, pressed flat against their heads in terror. One had pale silver hair, tangled and dirty, eyes a bright frightened green. The other had darker hair, nearly golden, her expression guarded even through exhaustion.
They looked young. Not children, but barely beyond it.
Ruria felt something inside her break.
"It's okay," she said softly. "You're safe now."
The silver-haired girl flinched anyway.
Kaelis turned sharply.
Ruria felt it too.
The jungle went quiet.
Too quiet.
A low rumble echoed through the ground.
The trees shook.
Something massive moved.
Kaelis's face drained of color.
"That's not a beast," she whispered. "That's…"
A shape emerged through the canopy.
Scales like molten obsidian. Wings that blotted out the fading light. Eyes glowing a deep, ancient red.
A dragon.
Ruria's breath left her in a soundless gasp.
"They don't exist," she whispered.
"They do," Kaelis replied grimly. "And we cannot win."
The dragon roared.
The sound alone sent Ruria to her knees, blood trickling from her ears. Kaelis grabbed her arm and pulled her up, dragging her toward the trees as flames scorched the clearing.
They ran.
The dragon pursued.
Kaelis turned suddenly.
"Take the girls," she shouted. "I'll slow it down."
"No!" Ruria cried.
Kaelis didn't wait.
She leapt forward, blade flashing, striking at the dragon's leg. The blow barely scratched it, but it was enough to draw its attention.
The dragon retaliated.
A claw came down like a falling mountain.
Kaelis screamed.
Ruria turned in time to see it.
Blood.
Too much blood.
Kaelis lay on the ground, her left arm gone entirely, torn away as if it had never existed.
Ruria's mind went white.
She ran back.
Magic flared wildly from her rings as she threw herself between Kaelis and the dragon, screaming words she didn't know, spells she didn't understand. The magic struck the dragon's chest and did nothing.
The dragon inhaled.
Fire gathered in its throat.
This was it.
This was where they died.
The world froze.
The fire never came.
A presence descended.
Not with sound. Not with light.
With certainty.
The dragon's head vanished.
Not exploded. Not crushed.
Simply ceased to exist.
Its massive body collapsed a heartbeat later, lifeless, shaking the jungle with its fall.
Ruria stared.
Vaelor stood between them and the corpse.
He had not drawn a weapon.
He had not even looked at the dragon.
His cloak did not move.
His hands were clean.
He turned his head slightly, eyes flicking to Ruria.
"You took longer than expected," he said calmly.
Her knees gave out.
"You knew," she whispered. "You watched."
"Yes."
He stepped closer.
Kaelis was barely conscious, blood pooling beneath her.
Vaelor did not kneel.
He extended a hand.
Magic unlike anything Ruria had ever felt poured from him, dense and absolute. Kaelis's wound closed instantly. Bone, muscle, skin reformed as if time itself reversed. Her arm returned whole, unscarred.
Kaelis gasped, convulsing, then went still.
Vaelor turned to Ruria.
She was crying. Silent. Furious.
"You could have saved us earlier," she said. "You let it happen."
"I let you choose," he replied. "And I let you face the consequences."
She struck his chest weakly.
"You're cruel."
He did not deny it.
"I am patient," he corrected. "And now you understand the difference."
He turned away, already done with the dragon, the jungle, the danger.
"Bring the wagon," he said. "We're leaving."
Back at the wagon, Vaelor opened it himself.
The elf girls stared at him in terror.
Ruria stepped forward quickly. "They're coming with us."
Vaelor glanced at them once.
"They will serve you," he said. "If you wish."
Ruria nodded fiercely. "They will."
The silver-haired elf whispered, "We won't be sold?"
"No," Ruria said. "Never."
Vaelor smiled faintly.
"Interesting," he murmured. "You collect people."
He turned away.
"And I allow it."
As the world folded and the castle returned around them, Ruria realized something chilling.
He had never been late.
He had arrived exactly when he wanted to.