I woke up to loud knocking on my door. It was noon, sunlight filling half the room.

  "Vera! Open up!" The voice sounded worried.

  Jorik? Why is he here?

  I quickly put on my clothes.

  My hands shook as I got dressed.

  I walked to the door, fixed my hair, and opened it.

  "What's wrong?" I asked, noticing Jorik's pale face.

  "It's Emil," Jorik said. His voice was low.

  “What happened?”

  "He's missing."

  My stomach tightened with dread. "What?"

  Missing? Why?

  My mind raced with terrible possibilities. Emil was just a child and after everything he had been through, this was the last thing we needed.

  "Leah checked on him early this morning, but when she brought breakfast, his room was empty."

  Jorik continued, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

  I grabbed my cloak from the hook by the door. "Let’s go."

  We found ourselves in Emil's bedroom in the clinic. The small space felt hollow without him there.

  Ever since we arrived here at Oakenford, this has been Emil's home. The healers had insisted he stay where they could watch over him, especially with his condition.

  "Did anyone see him leave?" I asked, scanning the room for clues.

  "He might have climbed out this way."

  Jorik nodded grimly. "That's what I thought too. No one saw anything."

  A darker possibility suddenly gripped me. What if he hadn't left on his own? What if he was taken? But by whom?

  Then a terrible thought rose in my mind, making my blood run cold. Was it the knights? Was it possible that their target all along was Emil? But why? What would they want with him?

  I remembered Henrik's strange protectiveness over Marta and Emil when we first arrived, the way his eyes would darken whenever the knights were mentioned.

  "I need something with Emil's scent," I said, moving toward the bed, my mind still racing with possibilities and fears.

  I brought Nox with me, keeping him just outside the clinic where his massive form wouldn't frighten the other patients. The giant wolf would be a huge help finding Emil, due to his exceptional sense of smell.

  Jorik handed me a small shirt. "Will this work?"

  I took it carefully, the tiny garment a painful reminder of just how young Emil was. Too young to be caught in whatever dangerous game might be playing out around him.

  "This will do," I said, heading back outside where Nox waited. "If he's anywhere near Oakenford, Nox will find him."

  The wolf perked up at the mention of his name, his golden eyes alert and questioning. When I held out Emil's shirt, Nox sniffed it carefully, his posture changing immediately as he recognized the scent.

  "Find him," I whispered, a silent prayer mixed with command. “Please.”

  With a simple gesture from our bond, Nox nodded and started sniffing the shirt. After a while, he growled, his fur standing up. He had found the scent.

  "Stay here," I said to Jorik, knowing he would be unable to keep up with what might come next. If I was right in my hunch, he would be a liability—one more person I'd need to protect instead of focusing on Emil.

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  Jorik nodded reluctantly, but I didn't miss the tightening of his grip on the dagger at his belt.

  "Bring him back, Vera," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Whatever it takes."

  "I will," I promised. The unspoken part hung between us—I would do whatever necessary, use whatever power I had, become whatever monster I needed to be.

  We couldn't rely on anyone else. The local militia would take too long to organize a proper search, and by then it would be too late. We could only rely on ourselves to find Emil—on my monsters and whatever more I could create.

  Time was working against us. Every minute Emil spent missing was another minute he could be moved farther away, another minute of danger for a child who had already suffered too much.

  I had already called Fei with our bond, and the massive eagle was waiting for me high in the sky, circling patiently above the clinic.

  As Nox took off, his nose to the ground following Emil's trail.

  I climbed onto his back, my hands finding the familiar grip in his feathers. "Follow Nox," I commanded, both with my voice and through our mental connection.

  Fei screeched in response and launched us into the air, his powerful wings beating against the wind. From this height, I could see Nox moving swiftly through the town's outskirts, heading toward the eastern forest, deeper into the wilderness.

  Emil was out there somewhere. Alone or taken, scared or unconscious—it didn't matter. I would find him.

  Because despite all my guilt and regret, despite the innocent blood already on my hands, there was one truth I couldn't escape: I would destroy anything that threatened what little family I had left.

  Yes, I thought of Emil and Jorik as family now. It had happened so gradually I hadn't noticed until this moment—this moment of fear and determination as I soared above the forest on Fei's back. When had these people become so important to me? When had I started caring so much that I'd risk everything for them?

  Perhaps it was inevitable. Throughout my entire life, I never had much to call my own. No immediate family as I'd grown up an orphan, bounced between reluctant caretakers who saw me as nothing but trouble. Even before discovering my powers, I'd been alone—the strange girl no one wanted to get close to.

  Now I had people who relied on me, who looked at me and saw someone worth trusting. Or at least, they accepted the parts of me they knew. The thought of Jorik discovering what I'd done, what I was truly responsible for, still made my stomach clench with dread.

  But that was a problem for another day. Right now, Emil needed me.

  Through Fei's eyes, I scanned the landscape below. The forest grew denser to the east, where Nox was heading with single-minded focus. The great wolf moved with purpose, occasionally pausing to reconfirm the scent before continuing his pursuit.

  Then another thought rose in my mind. If it was the knights who truly captured Emil, this wouldn't do. I was weak. Nox and Fei wouldn't be enough to defeat them, especially with the mage they had in their ranks. Fuck.

  I closed my eyes while maintaining my balance on Fei's back, allowing myself to slip into the creation space. The familiar void surrounded me, dark yet comforting in its potential. I brought up Virel's panel, the monster I'd been planning to make for weeks now.

  Virel was the name of the symbiote-like creature I'd designed—a being that could merge with my body, enhancing my physical abilities while providing protection. With it, I wouldn't need to rely solely on my other monsters. I could fight alongside them.

  The panel showed its requirements: 16 wild charges to create with the loyalty upgrade. But unfortunately, right now I only had 15 charges available. It was frustrating, one charge short of what I needed. I had no choice but to edit Virel's abilities and nerf her a bit.

  I began adjusting the parameters, the changes hurt to make; I'd spent weeks perfecting this design, balancing every attribute carefully. But with the situation on hand I had no choice.

  I wasn't an idiot. I couldn't half-ass a confrontation with the knights—not when Emil's life hung in the balance.

  Going in with just Nox and Fei would be suicide.

  The cost dropped to 15 charges, exactly what I had available. It would have to do.

  Even with the reduced abilities, I estimated Virel to be an A-rank monster. Stronger than the basilisk had been, especially since all 11 points were invested into her core capabilities , while the remaining 4 charges in loyalty. The symbiote would be powerful—dangerous—but I would be in control. I had to be.

  I confirmed the changes and felt the wild charges drain from my reserves, the familiar burning sensation spreading through my veins as the power left me.

  The creation space around me pulsed with energy, coalescing into a form before me—a shifting, liquid-like darkness that seemed to absorb the light around it. Virel.

  "Bond with me," I commanded, reaching out my hand. "Protect what's mine."

  The symbiote responded immediately, surging forward and wrapping around my outstretched arm. The sensation was strange—cold at first, then warming as it spread across my skin, seeping into my pores, becoming one with me.

  I opened my eyes back in the physical world, feeling Virel settling beneath my skin like a second layer. Already I could feel the changes—my muscles felt denser, my senses sharper. My skin had taken on a faint grayish hue, the veins beneath now showing black instead of blue.

  "Let's find Emil," I whispered, and felt Virel's agreement like a pulse through my bloodstream.

  Fei screeched below me, sensing the change through our bond. I patted his neck reassuringly.

  "It's still me," I told him. "Just... more."

  Whatever awaited us ahead—knights, mages, or something else entirely—I was ready now. Ready to fight. Ready to kill if necessary.

  For Emil. For my family. For the chance to redeem myself from past failures.

  Virel shifted under my skin, responding to my resolve with eager anticipation.