When the celebrations had finally calmed down, the wondering fangs began to take stock of what they had on hand. Tents were set up for those that had just arrived and hot pots of food were put on.

  Those who were not part of their group remained to themselves and the guards from the city found their own spot at the edge of the camp.

  Emily had found Ashe, and according to her story, they had left the city long before their group did.

  Those left behind with the ravens had waited for an opening, flown further down the gire, and emerged far from the battle.

  This meant that the camp was filled with mounts of all kinds. Galendmares and dusk Ravens littered the space as people tended to them. Emily even saw Gerade and Loch quietly dealing with them. The large man still had a distant look in his eyes but the warm glow appearing in his eyes as he brushed their mains was encouraging.

  Cupcake was resting near one of the fires and to Emily's surprise another Rimewolf was laying next to her.

  Cocking her head Emily squinted at the beast and a familiar sensation came over her.

  That patch of faded red fur made Emily aware of the faint connection between them.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” She muttered as her eyes began coldly searching the face around the camp.

  Mist sat calmly licking the side of Cupcake's face and if the Rimewolf was here that could only mean one thing.

  Emily began to stalk through the crowds as Alex glanced over at her.

  “What’s going on?” he asked but Emily was too focused on finding her prey to answer.

  The crowds had melded and it was only when her eyes had fallen on Kael that she found who she was looking for.

  Emily made a beeline for him, her blood bubbling to the surface as she approached.

  The man in question looked up from talking to Kael and saw her, there was a look of surprise, and then resignation.

  When she was close enough Emily let a cord of blood drop onto the stone and snaked it forward to wrap around his ankle.

  Yanking the man upside down into the air made him yelp, drawing every eye in the camp toward them.

  Silence fell, thick and heavy, as Emily brought him to eye level.

  “It’s good to see you, Atticus,” she said, her lips curling into a cold smile. “I’m ecstatic you’re still alive.”

  The man grimaced but didn’t struggle. “I’m glad you’re alright, Emily,” he said softly.

  Her expression darkened. “Are you? Because it sure didn’t feel like it when you left me there.”

  Atticus exhaled a weary breath, his body limp as if he’d already resigned himself to her anger. Thin and battered, with fresh scars crisscrossing his arms, he looked like a man who had been through hell. “I regret leaving you there,” he admitted, “but you know as well as I do—” he met her gaze, his voice heavy with regret—“you’d have done the same in my position.”

  Emily’s eyes flashed, her grip tightening. She didn’t respond immediately. When she’d first arrived in the city, she’d replayed what had happened a thousand times in her head, turning over every decision, every moment. In the end, she had come to the same conclusion. He’d taken his best shot at survival, just as she would have.

  That didn’t make it any less infuriating.

  “I should beat you right here,” she muttered, but the fire in her voice had dulled.

  Kael chose that moment to step in. “Emily,” he said firmly, his hand resting on the hilt of his spear, the silent threat unmistakable, “whatever your issue with my subordinate, we can discuss it later. Let’s not make a scene.”

  Emily let out a sharp breath through her nose.

  “Fine, Kael. I’m letting it go—for now. But Atticus has something of mine, and I want it back.”

  Atticus looked confused for a moment, Kael’s glare sharp on him, but then realization dawned. Awkwardly patting his pockets—no easy feat when blood was still rushing to his head—he rummaged until the sound of clinking gems broke the silence.

  “Here,” he muttered, pulling out a small bundle. The sight of the Cardinex—its polished surface catching the light—made Emily’s expression soften.

  “Good,” she said, snatching it from his hand and letting him drop.

  Before she left she stared at the man lying in a heap.

  “I meant what I said Atticus, we’re even, but if you ever do something like that again I’ll gut you and throw in the gorge.”

  Atticus glared up at her. She doubted that he would make it easy on her, but she meant every word she said.

  If it came to a fight they would be evenly matched.

  Emily left Kael and Atticus behind to find a place to stay for the night. She hadn’t gotten far when she felt someone trailing her.

  Turning, she saw Alex closing the distance, his steps casual but his expression curious. He didn’t say a word, but his intent was clear.

  Emily glanced at the Cardinex resting in her palm. A fresh scratch marred its surface, but otherwise, it was intact.

  Without hesitation, Alex plucked it from her hand.

  “You know,” he said, holding the jewel up to the morning light, “I was pissed when I realized I’d lost my pack. But if this ended up in your hands, I guess I’m okay with that.”

  Emily frowned. “That’s mine. Give it back.”

  Alex snorted. “I tried to give this to you once, but I believe your exact words were, ‘I don’t care what you do with it, Alex.’”

  Emily groaned, the sound low and frustrated. “That was before I knew it was a gift for my Awakening. Come on, don’t be like that,” she said, reaching for the Cardinex.

  Alex grinned, his arm shooting up to keep it out of her reach.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Emily scowled. She was tall, but Alex towered over her by almost a head. Realizing she couldn’t reach it, she pouted.

  Amusement danced in Alex’s eyes as he hummed thoughtfully. “Alright, you can keep it—but on one condition.”

  Emily stilled, her lips pressing into a firm line. “Fine,” she ground out. “What is it?”

  “You tell me more about where you’re from.”

  Emily blinked, caught off guard. A list of possible demands ran through her mind, but she would never have expected something like that.

  Alex had a warm light in his eyes so Emily took advantage of it and snatched the Cardinex with a little jump.

  When she had it she cleared her throat.

  “Fine, I’ll tell you some stories, but not tonight. I’m exhausted and frankly, I could use some time away from you.”

  Alex hummed.

  “Even after you go weeks away from me?” he asked rolling his eyes.

  Emily shook her head.

  “And what a peaceful few weeks they were.”

  Alex’s mocking smile faded.

  “I’ve already said my thanks, but I want you to know I have your back… Now I’m going to leave before you say something to ruin my sentiments. Kael is gathering everyone for a meeting later today. I’m going to be there, you should too.” he said as he began to walk off.

  Emily didn’t like the fact he got the last word in but as she glanced down at the sparkling bracelet she couldn’t seem to find any words.

  She stood there for a long while when she heard movement to her side. Glancing over she saw Tehila standing in the shadow of one of the tents.

  Emily’s eyebrows rose when she recognized the Bard. In all honesty, Emily had completely forgotten about the woman, but with everything going on, she couldn’t be blamed.

  “Well, I didn’t expect you to be still tagging along”

  The woman’s brow rose.

  “And my alternative would be what? Stay tapped in another settlement? No, thank you. I’ve had about enough religious sermons to last a lifetime.”

  Emily bit her bottom lip and nodded.

  “I can imagine…”

  Tehila’s brow lifted and a mocking smile appeared when Emily didn’t say anything else.

  “Not the most comforting response, but I’ll take it,” she said with a tinge of shadow in her eyes.

  “I wanted to thank you for saving us… me back there. From the looks of things, you don’t have a place to rest. I’ve got a tent set up if you want to join me.”

  Emily stared at the woman. She was tired but had still come to extend the offer. The alternative was to set up her shelter, but that was too much effort right now.

  “You’re welcome… I guess. I’m exhausted and I could use the shut-eye, so I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  Emily followed the woman towards her tent and saw that she crawled into one with heavy pelts strewn over it.

  The moment she crawled in she was hit with the scents of lavender.

  Undoing her travel clothes, Emily crawled into the bundle of blankets and pulled Tehila into her chest. She could hear the woman mumbling a hymn quietly to herself but Emily was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  Stars ignited around her, lighting up the void. They caressed her in greeting and lowered her onto the familiar grass, but something was different about this place.

  All around her small weeds had poked up out of the grass.

  As she turned her focus on them she saw that they weren’t weeds but saplings. The interesting thing was their bark was a deep crimson, even the leaves that reflected the star’s light glowed a beautiful red.

  They were still young but Emily got the feeling they had infinite potential.

  Smiling at the change Emily searched the skies for one star in particular. When she found it she beckoned it with a smile and it shot down to hover in her hand.

  Happy that she didn’t have to destroy the title Emily let it move back into place. As the stars began to arrange themselves.

  Rank fifty was achieved, opening the third bridge.

  Skill threshold released!

  Title mantle expanded - You may don 1 additional active title.

  Gathering the deeds of Emily Hughes…

  Compiling selection…

  Titles added to selection: Betrayer, Titan feller, Liberator, Experimentee

  Innocent, Void plagued, Scarlet sister, Explorer, Performer, Swordswoman, Godstriken, Cyclum touched. Charmer, Verminbane, Runic Adept, Sovereign devourer.

  You may now alter your existing active titles and advance down a new path.

  Betrayer

  Active: Access to the Betrayer’s skill tree

  Passive: Increase learning speed when betraying or being betrayed by others.

  Titan feller

  Active: Access to the Titan feller’s skill tree

  Passive: Increase learning speed when killing those with more bridges than the wielder.

  Liberator

  Active: Access to the Liberator’s skill tree

  Passive: Increase learning speed when breaking individuals free of any Warden skill sets.

  Experimentee (Font of source)

  Active: Access to the Experimentee’s skill tree. Accelerated source purification.

  Passive: Increase learning speed when taking in source. Increase learning speed when outputting source.

  Emily was overwhelmed by the amount of information, and from the way the stars were moving it was clear there was still more to come.

  She held up her hand to stop them and they froze in place. The four new titles were interesting, but the only one she didn’t have mixed feelings over was the Titan Feller. All the others had come at a cost to her. Especially Experimentee it almost felt like she would be wearing a badge of shame if she were to slot it, but the bonuses of the Title were hard to deny.

  Even if all she did was to slot it as a passive she would get a huge boost in her ranks.

  The problem now was deciding on her Active title.

  She had a feeling she was about to get all her new skills and she had some leeway with what she got now.

  She could slot Runic Adept, but as she was finding out Scarlet sister was more than enough help with wards, and she was happy to let it remain. Picking Runic Adept would feel redundant.

  Thinking things through Emily tried to look at what she was missing at the moment.

  Her most glaring weakness was close-range defense and lack of offensive spells. The latter problem could be fixed with Ashes and Alex's help but her defense was beginning to fall to the wayside.

  That meant she needed to pick up a defensive title. And once more it looked like Experimentee filled that requirment. Swordswoman might but she was still not interested in living the type of life it demanded.

  With a grim sigh, Emily pushed the decision away. She would have to make it soon but this one did not feel as urgent as her first choice. The stars resumed their work.

  Skill threshold released!

  New features have been unlocked!

  Covenant of Life - The user may create an agreement between multiple parties linking their life sources. If either party goes back on the agreed terms their life source will be siphoned into the wronged party.

  Or

  Flase Life - The user may use a portion of their life source to create a mickey of life. This servant will exist until it has expended its source and expires.

  And

  Violent Aura - The user may entice others into extreme acts of violence, causing their blood to boil and the resulting Life source to be returned to the user.

  Curse in effect!

  Result: The feature Violent Aura has been destroyed.

  ‘56 - Forth threshold released at rank 100’

  'Skill threshold released at rank 75'

  Active slot: Scarlet sister - access to the Scarlet sister skill tree, along with the Blood Mage skill tree.

  Increased learning speed when consuming blood, this is further increased if the blood is given willingly. Increased learning speed when studying blood wards.

  Active slot: N/A

  Passive slot: Explorer - Increased learning speed when engaged with new environments.

  Passive slot: Mercenary - Increased learning speed when accepting missions for coin. This is further increased when in proximity to the sub-species[Rime wolf].

  Passive slot: Void plagued - Increase learning when one is lost.

  Without hesitation, Emily knew which one she wanted and selected Covenant of Life. She was still debating her next steps when a strange, echoing lullaby began to seep into her consciousness. The melody was hollow and haunting, its words weaving praise of gods and their glory. Emily frowned, shaking her head as if to banish the sound, but it clung to her thoughts like cobwebs. A heavy drowsiness crept over her, pulling her deeper and deeper into the folds of sleep.

  Suddenly Ruby guardian awoke and began lashing out trying to heal her body. Emily’s mind reeled from the intensity and she pushed to the surface.

  The tent’s gloom came into focus but at some point, Tehila must have turned around because she faced Emily now with a proud smile and a flickering madness that made Emily’s blood run cold.

  Her gaze dropped, and the world seemed to tilt. A dagger jutted from her chest, glinting faintly in the light.

  Blood points: 338