Chapter 4The Hollow Path

The trees blurred past as Renna ran, her boots sliding on wet leaves. Behind her, the hounds' howls grew sharper—closer. Kael led them through the darkness, his torch the only light, and the rebels followed in a ragged line.

"The pass is half a mile ahead," Kael shouted back. "We make that, we've got a straight shot to the Wastes."

Renna's lungs burned. Beside her, Darian kept pace, but she saw the tightness in his jaw, the way his hand kept drifting to his empty belt. He'd surrendered his blade to Kael after the confession. *He's unarmed because of me.*

They broke through a thicket and the land opened—a narrow gap between two cliff faces, barely wide enough for three people to walk abreast. But as Kael reached the entrance, he stopped.

The tree lay across the path. Massive, its roots torn from the earth, its trunk splintered as if struck by a giant's fist. Fresh-cut. No rot, no moss.

"Sabotaged," Kael said. "Someone got here before us."

The hounds howled again. Closer.

"We can't go back," Renna said. "Is there another way?"

Kael's face hardened. "There's a ravine to the east. Steep, but it connects to the Wastes. We'll be exposed for a while."

"Do we have a choice?"

He shook his head and veered right. The rebels followed, their footfalls echoing off stone as they descended into a narrow cut between cliffs. Renna's instincts screamed. *This is a trap.*

The first arrow hit the man beside her.

He went down without a sound, an Order shaft through his throat. Then the night exploded—soldiers poured from crevices in the rock, their soulforged blades glowing blue, and the ravine became a slaughterhouse.

"Form up!" Kael roared. "Protect the wounded!"

Renna grabbed a fallen rebel's sword and parried a strike, the impact jarring her arm. Her eyes flickered. *No. Not now.* She shoved the soldier back, but another took his place, then another. They were surrounded.

A bow clattered at her feet. Dead rebel. His soulforge, a carved longbow, pulsed faintly in the mud.

She reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the wood, the black sun erupted in her chest. Power flooded her veins—the dead man's skills, his muscle memory, his final terror—and she *knew* how to draw the string, how to lead the target, how to kill.

She rose, nocked an arrow, and shot the scout from his perch atop the cliff.

The body tumbled into the darkness. For a heartbeat, the ravine fell silent.

Then the Order horn sounded in the distance. The main battalion had heard.

"We're dead," someone whispered.

"Not yet." Renna turned to Kael. "Which way?"

But before he could answer, a scream cut through the chaos.

Lena had Darian pinned against the rock, a knife pressed to his throat.

"You lied to us," she hissed. "You led them here. You're still one of *them*."

"Lena, stop." Kael stepped forward. "Put the knife down."

"He doesn't deserve to breathe!" Tears streamed down her face. "Do you know what he did? Do you know who he *was*?"

Darian's eyes met Renna's. Silent. Begging.

"I was an enforcer," he said quietly. "For the Order's death squads. I burned villages. I killed families. I did it for six years before I found the courage to run."

The rebels stared. Some drew weapons. Others backed away.

"You burned *my* village." Lena's hand shook. "You killed my mother. My father. My little brother." She pressed the knife harder, and a thin line of blood appeared on Darian's throat. "I joined the rebellion to find you. To make you pay."

Renna's heart pounded. *He killed her family. He—*

But then she saw it. The knife's tip. Dark, oily. *Poison.*

"Lena, the blade—"

"Stay back!" Lena screamed. "Or I swear, I'll—"

She stabbed.

The blade sank into Darian's side. He gasped, crumpling, and Lena raised the knife again, her face twisted with hatred. But before she could strike, Renna's hand shot out and grabbed the ring on Lena's finger.

Her soulforge.

The black sun flared.

Lena's memories flooded Renna's mind—her childhood, her mother's laugh, the night the world turned to ash. And then she saw him. Darian, younger, in black Order armor, a torch in his hand. He stood before a burning house while a woman screamed inside. He didn't flinch. He didn't look away.

*He watched them burn.*

Renna released the ring, gasping. Lena collapsed, unconscious, her soulforge drained.

The ravine went silent.

Darian lay on the ground, blood seeping between his fingers, his face pale. He looked at Renna, and she saw the shame in his eyes—the same shame she'd felt in the memory.

"You saw," he whispered. "You saw everything."

"I saw a murderer." Her voice came out cold. "I saw someone who enjoyed it."

"I didn't enjoy it. I was good at it. That's worse."

Kael grabbed Renna's arm. "We don't have time for this. The Order is coming. We need to move."

"Where? We're trapped."

He pointed to the far end of the ravine, where a gaping hole split the earth. "The sinkhole. It leads into the Wastes. It's unstable, but it's our only way."

Renna looked at Darian. He couldn't walk. The poison was spreading, black veins already crawling up his neck. *If I leave him, he dies. If I save him, I'm saving a monster.*

The hounds howled. The Order horns blared.

She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet.

"Help me," she said to Kael. "We're taking him."

"Why? He killed—"

"I know what he did." Renna met Kael's eyes. "But he also saved my life. More than once. I'm not leaving him to die in a ditch."

Kael held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. "Fine. But he answers for his crimes when we're safe."

They descended into the sinkhole, the darkness swallowing them whole. Loose rocks crumbled beneath their feet, and Darian's weight dragged on Renna's shoulder. His breathing was shallow. His pulse weak.

*He's dying.*

At the bottom, he collapsed. The poison had reached his heart.

Renna knelt beside him, pressed her hand to the wound, and *pulled*. The black sun roared, and she felt the poison enter her own bloodstream—a cold, oily sickness that made her stomach lurch. But Darian's color returned. His breathing steadied.

Above them, the sinkhole's entrance collapsed, sealing them in with a thunderous roar. They were in the Wastes now. There was no going back.

Renna sat back, her body trembling, and looked at Darian.

"You didn't just serve the Order," she said, her voice raw. "You were their executioner. How many families did you destroy?"

His face went pale. He opened his mouth, but no words came.

"I never told you because I was ashamed," he finally whispered. "Because I knew you'd see me the way I see myself."

The hounds howled in the distance. Closer now.

Renna turned away.

"Get him on his feet," she told Kael. "We're not done running yet."

But in her heart, she knew the truth.

They had escaped the Order. Now they had to face what Darian had left behind.