The King Of Warriors novel (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6112

Morven sighed softly. "Miss Janis, why make this hard? We serve the Sky Dragon Clan. 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 clammy rot that churned the stomach.

She shut her eyes and clamped 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, glanced 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 blade that cuts you down."

He turned on his heel, black 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, clammy 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 Collar at his throat.

"The collar 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 blade.

She closed her eyes. The image of Jared's parting glance flared 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 blame.

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