Hungry , the serpent whispered.
Maren’s pale eyes flickered. “The Empire wants you dead.”
The wind over the Skyfall Ruins tasted like rust and ozone. Kaelen’s fingers traced the scar on his left palm—a crooked “T” burned into the flesh. Tamer . A death sentence in the Empire. adventure of the outlawed tamer with beautiful explorers raw
Kaelen ducked behind a collapsed pillar as a trio of Imperial Seekers swept their mana-lanterns over the chasm. Their cloaks bore the Golden Scale—the guild that had branded him for the crime of taming a “Grade-S” beast without a license. The beast, a juvenile Void Serpent named Vesper, currently coiled around his ankle in the form of a silver bracelet.
“Yes.” He turned to leave.
Sera slashed a vine clean in two, but two more took its place. “Lira! The western route!”
Pretty , the serpent thought. Trust?
“Wait.”
But Lira was already staring at his palm. “That brand. You’re Kaelen the Viper. You tamed a Void Serpent.” Hungry , the serpent whispered
Kaelen looked at her hand. Then at Vesper, who had returned to bracelet form and was pulsing warm.
Sera lowered her blades. “You… tamed them?” Kaelen’s fingers traced the scar on his left