Morven sighed softly. "Miss Janis, why make this hard? We serve the Sky Dragon n. Our search concerns the Draconians, not The Janis Family. Give us his location and your father will let you go."


    Vivian answered with a thin sneer. "Since you were lurking the whole time, why didn''t you chase him yourselves?"


    Morven shook his head. "He carries draconic aura, yet we cannot lock onto him. Some artifact must be smothering the trail."


    He let the pause stretch, then fixed her with his gaze. "You, however, touched him. His aura clings to you. Through you, we can reach him."


    Color leeched from Vivian''s cheeks.


    Morven extended a hand, fingers hooking toward her.


    She stepped back, but the two guards behind her snapped their arms out and blocked the retreat.


    "Please cooperate, Miss Janis," Morven said, wearing a smile that refused to warm. "It will be quick and painless."


    His palm settled on her shoulder.


    An uncanny current rushed into her body. Vivian''s frame shuddered as though something alien burrowed beneath her skin.


    The force carried a mmy rot that churned the stomach.


    She shut her eyes and mped her teeth together, refusing a single sound.


    After a moment, Morven withdrew his hand, a faint crease cutting his brow.


    "Odd... whatever masks him is stronger than I expected. I can sense only a rough direction," he muttered.


    Turning away, he started toward the doorway.


    At the threshold he paused, nced back at Vivian, and let the silence hang for a beat.


    Morven''s hoarse voice drifted back through the doorway. "Miss Janis, you''re certainly brave. Just remember-bravery can be the very de that cuts you down."


    He turned on his heel, ck robe sweeping the floor. His two followers fell in behind him, and the three figures melted into the night.


    Vivian''s legs buckled. She hit the floor on her knees, mmy sweat already soaking through her clothes.


    The invasive power from a moment ago still prowled inside her meridians, as though a cold hand refused to let go.


    Demonic aura that was what had just crawled through her body.


    Those so-called Draconian Envoys carried demonic aura on their skins.


    They... they were traitors to the Draconians!


    A tremor rippled through her shoulders, the air leaving her lungs in uneven bursts.


    Jared...


    Soft, almost soundless words slipped past her lips. "Please..... watch yourself."


    *****


    Under the cover of night, Jared, Luther, and the woman beside him raced along the mountain path, feet drumming against loose stone.


    Jared suddenly skidded to a stop, brows knitting hard enough to carve lines across his forehead.


    "What is it?" Luther asked, still half bent for another leap.


    Jared pressed two fingers against the Binding Cor at his throat.


    "The cor just twitched."


    Luther''s face drained of color. "They''re on us already?"


    Jared gave a short shake of the head. "Can''t be sure. Either way, we move faster."


    The three tightened their formation and sprinted toward the outskirts of Cloudhaven City.


    Far behind, three dark silhouettes carved quick arcs through the night sky.


    Morven led the pack.


    With his eyes shut, he sifted through the faint thread of aura drifting on the wind.


    He snapped his eyes open and pointed. "That way. He''s over there."


    The trio vanished, streaking toward the indicated slope.


    The night grew even heavier, swallowing shapes and sound alike.


    A silent hunt unfolded beneath the stars.


    *****


    Janis Manor, Ancestral Hall


    Vivian knelt before the ancestral tablets. Tears slipped down her cheeks without a sound.


    The question of right or wrong pounded at her skull, and no answer came forward. She only knew one thing-she would not allow Jared to die.


    That man, cheeky beyond measure, forever spouting reckless talk about sleeping next to her...


    Yet he wasn''t a bad man.


    He had helped The Janis Family and had nearly been killed for it.


    And she had stood on the wrong side of that de.


    She closed her eyes. The image of Jared''s parting nce red in the dark behind her lids.


    The look he cast at the world was ice,


    yet when it slid over her, a faint thread of warmth lingered.


    He had said, "Miss Janis, no need to apologize. None of this is your fault."


    He had spared her from me.


    Even though she had lied to him, even though her hand had almost pushed him toward death, he still refused to me her.


    Vivian''s eyes snapped open, the world beyond hershes smeared by tears. "Jared..."


    Her voice cracked in a whisper. "You''d better survive..."


    *****


    Deep in the forest, Jared and hispanions had been running for two full hours.


    Pale light bled into the horizon; dawn hovered just beyond the ridgeline.


    Far ahead, the walls of Cloudhaven City stood ghost-gray against the sky.


    If they could clear the gate and vanish into the Wastnds, they might truly shake their pursuers.


    "Move!" Jared hissed.


    The three of them lengthened their strides and sprinted toward the city gate.


    Suddenly Jared''s expression shifted.


    Behind him, three distinct auras raced closer.


    Those auras...


    Draconic energy?


    No, something else tangled with it.


    It was demonic aura!


    Jared''s gaze sharpened.


    Traitors among the Draconians?


    "They''re on us," he said in a low voice.


    Color drained from Luther and Grace''s faces.


    "You two go on ahead," Jared said. "I''ll draw them away."


    "Mr. Chance!" Luther''s voice came out rushed. "You''re already hurt so badly—"


    bet


    "Enough!" Jared cut him off. "The Binding Cor is on me; it lets them track exact spot. If you


    me you''ll be dragged in Stay with


    He looked at both of them. "Leave the city first and wait for me in the Wastnds if I''m not there in three days, head for the Luminouso


    Sanctuary and stop waiting."


    Luther opened his mouth to object, but Grace tugged on his arm and held him back.


    "Young Master Chance, take care."


    Jared gave a short nod, pivoted, and sprinted down a different path.


    Behind him, three dark silhouettes streaked forward.


    Morven opened his eyes, and a thin smile hooked the corner of his mouth:


    "He''s split off. Go after the one wearing the cor."


    All three of them pivoted and shot after Jared.


    Jared ran as if chased by lightning, every step tearing at the wounds inside him, the


    damage worsening with each burst of speed.


    Yet he could not stop.


    Stopping meant death.


    The trio of auras kept closing the gap.


    He could sense their cultivation; every one of them sat above High Immortal Realm Level Nine. Their power felt strange-Draconian majestyced with the chill demonic aura.


    They would be hard to handle.


    Still, Jared''s eyes stayed steady.


    He drew a deep breath and kept sprinting.


    Dawn cracked open the sky.


    Golden light poured across thend.


    The walls of Cloudhaven City now loomed a short distance ahead.


    If he could just burst through the gate...


    Suddenly three figures dropped from the heavens and blocked his path.


    Morven stood in the center, a smile still on his face:


    "Young Master Chance, you run quite fast."


    Jared skidded to a halt, studied the trio, and then, unexpectedly, let out augh.


    "Gentlemen, you''ve chased me all night. Must have been exhausting."


    Morven lifted a brow. "You aren''t afraid?"


    Jared shook his head. "Afraid of what? Worst case, I die."


    He paused, swept his gaze over the three of them, and added, "But before that


    happens, I have a question."


    Morven nodded. "Ask."


    Jared fixed his eyes on them and pronounced each word carefully: "Who are you,


    and why are you hunting me?"


    Morvenughed.


    Theugh carried an icy edge sharp enough to cut bone.