POV: Ravenna
The attack came on the third day of travel.
We'd been following the coastline north through Earth Kingdom territory. Rocky terrain. Sparse vegetation. Not many settlements. Good for avoiding attention but bad for finding help when you needed it.
I was walking beside Theron, Morgana and Saren ahead discussing the best route through the mountains. The sun was warm. The ocean breeze pleasant. Everything felt safe.
I should have known better.
The first attacker came from behind a rock formation. Fire magic—a blast of flame that would have hit me square in the back if Theron hadn't sensed it and pulled me down.
"DOWN!" he shouted.
More attackers. Six. Eight. Maybe ten. Coming from all directions. Dressed in dark clothing with no identifying marks. No house sigils. No kingdom colors. Just black fabric and cold intent.
"Protect Ravenna!" Saren yelled. He was already shifting, becoming Abyss. The deep indigo water dragon materialized and roared challenge.
Theron shifted too. Havoc appeared in a rush of heat and fury. The massive red-black dragon positioned himself between me and the attackers.
Morgana grabbed my arm. "Stay close to me."
I wanted to shift. Wanted to fight. But Solace was still adjusting to her increased size, and I'd never fought as a dragon before. I'd be more liability than help.
The attackers used coordinated elemental magic. Fire blasts from three of them—different kingdoms working together. Water attacks from two more. An earth wielder made the ground beneath us unstable, trying to separate our group.
And one air wielder created wind so strong it nearly knocked me over.
"They're from all kingdoms," Morgana said. Her voice was tight with fear. "Fire, water, earth, air. This isn't random. This is organized."
Theron—Havoc—breathed fire. Superheated the air until two attackers screamed and retreated. His claws tore through another who got too close.
Saren fought with water magic in dragon form. Creating ice projectiles. Using moisture in the air as weapon. Defending while also attacking.
But there were too many. They kept coming. Coordinated. Trained. Professional.
One got past Havoc. Past Saren. Came straight for me.
Morgana stepped between us. "Not today, asshole."
She fought with fire magic and a short sword she'd grabbed from our supplies. Competent. Fierce. But the attacker was better trained. Stronger. He disarmed her in three moves and kicked her aside.
Then he was on me.
I tried to use my fire magic but panic made me clumsy. The flames sputtered. Went out. Useless.
His hand closed on my arm. Yanked me close.
"The Eclipse knows what you are," he whispered. His breath hot against my ear. "They're coming for you. All of them. You can't hide."
Then Theron was there. Havoc's massive jaws closing on the attacker. Ripping him away from me. Killing him in one brutal motion.
The sight of blood made something inside me snap. Made power flood through me without permission.
Healing magic. Water element. Both surging at once.
I didn't know what I was doing. Didn't know how to control it. Just felt power explode outward in a wave of blue-white light.
Every attacker within twenty feet dropped. Screaming. Clutching their chests. Their hearts—I'd felt their hearts—and done something to them. Stopped them? Changed them? I didn't know. Didn't understand what I'd done.
But they weren't getting up.
The remaining attackers saw their companions fall. Saw me standing there with power still crackling around my hands. Saw Havoc and Abyss and Morgana rallying.
They ran. Just turned and fled into the rocks.
Silence.
Just our heavy breathing. The ocean crashing. Wind through sparse vegetation.
"Ravenna." Theron shifted back to human form. Ran to me. "Are you hurt? Did he—"
"I'm fine." My voice came out shaky. "I'm—what did I do? What did I DO?"
I looked at the three bodies on the ground. The ones I'd dropped with that power surge. They weren't moving. Weren't breathing.
"I killed them," I whispered. "I didn't mean to. I don't even know what I did. But I—"
"Hey." Theron cupped my face. Made me look at him. "You defended yourself. That's all. They attacked us. Tried to kidnap you. You did what you had to do."
"But I don't even know HOW. Don't know what magic that was or how to control it or—"
"Which is why we're going to Skyreach." His voice was firm. "To learn. To understand. To get control."
Saren and Morgana approached. Both bloody but alive. Morgana had a nasty cut on her forehead. Saren was limping.
"Everyone okay?" Saren asked.
"Define okay," Morgana muttered. She looked at the bodies. "Professional fighters. Trained. Coordinated. Not random bandits."
"No." I took a shaky breath. "The one who grabbed me. He said something. He said 'The Eclipse knows what you are. They're coming for you.'"
All three of them went still.
"Eclipse." Saren said the word like a curse. "The organization Kael warned us about. The ones hunting gift-bearers."
"They know." My voice was hollow. "They know I have healing gift. They sent assassins. This was—this was an organized hunt."
"Then we need to move." Theron was already checking weapons. "They'll send more when these don't report back. We need to be long gone before that happens."
"Wait." Morgana crouched beside the bodies. Started searching them. "Let's see if they left any clues. Any identification. Anything."
We searched together. Three bodies. All the attackers we'd killed.
Nothing. No house sigils. No papers. No coins with kingdom marks. Not even personal effects. Just weapons and dark clothing.
"Professionals," Saren said grimly. "This was planned. Funded. Organized."
"The Eclipse." I looked at the bodies. At people who'd tried to kidnap or kill me just for having a gift. "They really are hunting us."
"Not just hunting." Theron's voice was dark. "This was a coordinated strike. Multiple kingdoms working together. That takes organization. Resources. Power."
"Lady Seris," I said. "She watched me heal that servant in front of the court. Saw the gift awaken. Then she left Cindravale immediately. No explanation. No formal goodbye."
"You think she's connected?" Morgana asked.
"I think she was there. Watching. Calculating. And then she left right after seeing what I could do." I looked at each of them. "We have no proof. But my instinct says yes. She's connected to this. To the Eclipse. To whoever's hunting gift-bearers."
"Then we need to be very careful in Skyreach," Saren said. "If Seris is involved, if she has connections there, we're walking into her territory."
"We don't have much choice." Theron helped me to my feet. "We need answers. Need to understand what we're facing. Skyreach is still our best option."
"Then we go carefully." Morgana wiped blood from her forehead. "Trust no one. Watch everything. And assume everyone's a threat until proven otherwise."
We gathered our scattered supplies. Left the bodies where they fell. Moved quickly away from the attack site.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the whisper. "The Eclipse knows what you are."
They knew. They'd found me. Sent assassins.
And this was just the first attempt. There would be more. More attacks. More close calls. More people trying to capture or kill me just for having my mother's gift.
Mother had died for this gift. Had been assassinated while weak from childbirth because someone knew what she could do.
I'd thought I understood the danger. Thought I'd known what I was risking.
But feeling assassins' hands on me. Hearing that whispered threat. Killing people in self-defense with magic I didn't understand.
That made it real. Made it visceral. Made it terrifying.
"We'll protect you," Theron said quietly. Like he could read my thoughts. "All of us. Whatever it takes."
"I know." But I also knew protection wasn't enough. Mother had been protected. Father had done everything he could.
She'd still died.
And now I was walking the same path. Same gift. Same target. Same danger.
The only difference was I knew what was hunting me. Knew they were organized. Knew they were called Eclipse.
And I was going to Skyreach to find out everything I could about them.
To understand the enemy. To learn how to fight back.
To survive what had killed my mother.
We walked through the day and into evening. Putting distance between us and dead bodies. Between us and the Eclipse's first attempt.
But I knew—we all knew—it wouldn't be the last.