Chapter 23 : the father's mark

The night had settled thick around us. We had taken shelter in a hollow between jagged rocks, where the wind hissed through cracks and the smell of damp earth clung to everything. A small fire sputtered at our feet, its smoke curling weakly toward the starless sky.
Lara sat across from me, her knees drawn close, her eyes distant—staring into the flames but not really seeing them. Her breath came shallow, her back stiff with pain she refused to name.
“You need to eat,” I said quietly.
I broke a piece of the hard bread we’d carried from the last village and held it toward her. She didn’t reach for it. Her hands rested on her lap, limp, as though even lifting them was too much.
So I leaned forward and pressed the bread into her fingers, waiting until she blinked, slowly, and let me guide it to her mouth. She chewed mechanically, her thoughts clearly elsewhere, her gaze fixed on the fire as if it were pulling memories from her.
I watched her in silence, the glow of the flames painting her face in bronze and shadow. I had seen her angry, sharp, even mocking. But this—this quiet unraveling—was new.
I still can believe it.Seven black marks burned into her flesh—three on the left of her spine, three on the right, and one directly in the center. Thin, branching veins spread from the middle one like cracks in dark glass.
Lara gave me back the bread to put the fabric of her dress fall back into place, fastening it quickly, I should've done it myself but...
That's why she was so special, let me take your place, you are overwhelmed.
“Since when?” the beast asked, his voice lower than it maybe intended.
She didn’t answer right away. Her eyes followed the road ahead, though her steps faltered. “ it's not him... you are the one who defeated storm, right ?
Interesting 
To answer your question, since I was a child.”
The words chilled 
“Who cursed you?” it asked,
Her lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile, wasn’t quite grief. “My... own father.”
“What?”
She didn’t slow. “He was a king—respected, admired. To his kingdom, he was a man of honor. And then he changed” She drew a shaky breath. “He became obsessed with dark magic and started to teach it to me. When I tried to escape him the first time, he feared what I might have become, a traitor. So he marked me himself. Seven seals carved with his own hand, using blood and mana”
I hurriedly took my place to hug her, my thoughts twisting.
I could sense her smile, but I know it's not a happy one.
“He...he said the marks would keep me bound to him.
“And now?”
“if I don't go home before the last dot spread his veins... I'll die for sure.”
I glanced at her, at the shadows beneath her eyes, the stiffness in her steps. It wasn’t just pain—it was the weight of chains no one else could see.
“Every mile we walk, every ration of mana we carry,” she whispered, “I feel the seals becoming more and more strong. My father’s curse wasn’t meant to last forever. It was meant to end me,
A silence fell between us, heavy and sharp. Somewhere in the distance, the faint clang of armored knights echoed through the trees.
I swallowed hard, the truth pressing against my ribs. Deliveries, wars, borders—they were nothing compared to this.
---
The road home was never quiet anymore.
By the time Lara and I reached the old cobblestone streets of Ember field, Aldah and her healer, Vix, were waiting at the gate. Aldah, still chaotic as usual. Beside her, Vix walked lightly, one hand on his satchel of herbs and charms, his eyes sharp in the twilight.
Not far behind trailed Mona and Stellar. Mona waved happily when she saw us, Stellar followed her as always, silent and watchful.
“Ryo, guess what !?” screamed Aldah , “this time we will go altogether and... What happened to Lara ? Lara are you ok!?”
I glanced at my healer; her face looked normal, yet it was as if Aldah could detect the inner sorrow inside of her.
Vix took me aside.
From within his pack, he drew a leather-wrapped case, sealed in wax. When he pressed it into my hands, I felt the chill immediately—not from the air, but from the gravity of it.
“A ledger,” he continued. “Sealed. From Ardenport in the West to Ironhold in the North. Trade routes, supply chains. If it falls into the wrong hands…” His eyes narrowed. “They’ll control more than borders. They’ll control every smuggler’s breath between Geneva’s coasts”
I nodded 
“ don't know why, but Keller wanted you to be the one carrying it”
I nodded again.
"We have a mission again, I want you to stay here, I'll... ”
“ I'm coming with you” she punched my chest “ I'm your healer” she smiled.
Her hand brushed mine as I tucked the ledger into my satchel. Her skin was clammy, her face pale, though she tried to hide it. I could still see her father’s curse burning beneath her dress, seven marks seeping their poison.
We were given a caravan and two horses. Since the road is very long, we must first leave Ember Field for Ardenport to register the city’s seal, passing through Briswell and finally taking a boat to reach Ironhold.
The city rose along the river like a patchwork of timber and stone, alive with the pulse of trade. Ships creaked against the docks, their sails snapping in the wind, and the smell of salt, fish, and burning wood hung thick in the air. Merchants shouted from stalls piled high with goods from across the continent, while gulls wheeled overhead, daring to snatch unattended fruit from baskets. Lanterns swung from every pier, their reflections flickering across the dark water. Ardenport was a city that breathed commerce, a port alive with noise, movement, and the constant rhythm of arrival and departure.
The fertile plains of Briswell stretched wide at first—rolling fields, golden grain swaying in the wind. Farmers paused from their work to watch us pass, their faces tense, aware that even peace was only a thin veil now.
We found the boat assigned to us and we boarded.
The dark-haired girl, be careful about her.

I looked at Mona

---A week later we were in Iron hold, the city was carved from stone and frost. Snow clung to rooftops and piled against the high, jagged walls, turning streets into narrow, icy alleys. Smoke from chimneys hung heavy in the frigid air, offering little warmth as wind howled down the passes from the north. People moved quickly, their breath visible in the air, faces pale and tense against the cold. Ironhold was a city of endurance, where every step required effort and every moment outside demanded caution—a place as harsh as the mountains that protected it. And again the agency had provided warm clothes and food supply for a while.
The road climbed steadily, and snow began to cling to our boots. The passes ahead loomed like jagged teeth against the horizon.
Lara stumbled once, her breath catching. I steadied her with an arm. She didn’t speak, but her silence said everything—pain tightening her lips, her curse gnawing deeper.
Mona slowed, watching her, then shook her head. “You won’t last the climb if you keep her pace. I’ll take the ledger.”
Her words stung, though I knew she wasn’t wrong. Lara was already walking on borrowed strength for a reason we both can't understand.
Before I could answer, Lara’s voice cut through the cold. “No.” She straightened, wincing. “It was given to Ryo. He will see it through.”
Mona arched a brow, but her smile was thin. “As you wish. Then I’ll leave you to it.” She tugged Stellar’s reins and turned off onto a narrower path, vanishing into the dark with barely a sound.
The snow thickened. Our breaths became clouds. Each step was a test of will, the road narrowing into cliffs where wind howled like wolves. And then—movement.
Figures emerged from the white, cloaks tattered, blades drawn. Bandits.
Their leader grinned, his teeth flashing. “Hand over the package, courier. The mountains are unforgiving. Better we carry it than your frozen corpse.”
My hand tightened on the satchel. Behind me, Lara shifted, her back arched in pain—but her eyes were sharp, unyielding. Aldah was just staring at them while grinning madly, Vix in the other end whispered something into the wind, charms glowing faintly in his palm.
The bandits know something they're not just after trade routes. 
I could feel the beast’s surprise when Lara starts whining behind me. It wasn’t just pain now. It was something alive, coiled deep within her.