Kaola walked through the center of the town with Hykee and Lokee trailing behind her. She didn't look at the crooked buildings or the filth in the gutters. Her mind was already somewhere else, further ahead, further down the line.
She could feel it.
The hunt was dragging on too long. Koma had given her this task, and every extra day Kota stayed alive made her look weaker. She wasn't going to let that happen.
They pushed into a small, crowded pub. The noise died the moment the three of them stepped inside. Kaola didn't slow down. She walked straight to the bar like she already owned the room.
"I'm looking for a boy," she said, voice flat. "White and black hair. Traveling with a girl. Have they passed through here?"
The barkeep hesitated. A man sitting nearby spoke up instead.
"I seen him," the man said, eyes bloodshot. "Two days ago. Looked half dead. Pale, shaking, barely staying on his feet. They didn't stay long."
Kaola didn't thank him. She walked over to the notice board and tore down the newest bounty. The paper crumpled slightly in her grip as she read it.
WANTED
KOTA SPEEDHARDT
2500 BLACK SHARDS OR 15 GOLD AELONS
Her jaw tightened.
Twenty five hundred?
She felt something ugly twist in her chest. This wasn't just low. It was disrespectful. Kota was still a Speedhardt, even if he was a failure.
To see their blood reduced to pocket change in some backwater town made her blood boil.
She turned back to the room and held the bounty up for everyone to see.
"Triple whatever's written on this paper," she said, voice carrying clearly. "Triple it, and I'll bring his head in three days. Anyone thinking of trying to collect before me should reconsider. You'll have to go through me first."
The room stayed silent.
She didn't wait for an answer. She turned and walked out, the twins following close behind.
Once they were outside, Hykee spoke.
"Two days is a long lead," he said. "If he's as sick as they say, he might be moving faster than we think."
"He's not moving fast," Kaola replied. "If he looked that bad two days ago, he's probably hiding somewhere nearby. Desperate people don't run far. They hide. And desperate people talk."
Hykee glanced at her.
"The man said he looked sick. Does that change anything? Koma wanted him brought back. You just told a whole room you'd take his head."
Lokee stepped forward and placed a hand on Kaola's shoulder.
"Do we really need to kill him?" she asked quietly. "If he's this sick, maybe Koma would rather have him alive. To answer for what happened."
Kaola stopped walking.
She turned slowly, her eyes cold.
"Don't try to mother me, Lokee," she said. "I don't care that you were born first. Out here, that doesn't mean anything. What matters is who's willing to do what needs to be done."
She stepped closer.
"Kota should've died years ago. He's a mistake that keeps breathing. Whether he's a threat or not doesn't matter. He's still alive when he shouldn't be. That's enough reason for me."
Hykee moved without warning.
His fist slammed into Kaola's stomach, hard and sudden. The air left her lungs in a sharp gasp as she doubled over. Before she could recover, Hykee grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close, his voice low and dangerous.
"Watch your mouth when you talk to her," he growled. "I don't care how smart you think you are or how much Koma likes you. You don't get to speak to Lokee like that. Not while I'm here."
Kaola stayed bent over for a few seconds, breathing through the pain. When she finally straightened up, her eyes were still on the ground.
She didn't argue. She didn't fight back.
She just fixed her posture and kept walking.
He's right. For now.
But once Kota is dead… things will change.
The twins exchanged a look behind her back. They had grown up understanding one simple truth in the Speedhardt family:
Power didn't come from birth order.
It came from results.
And right now, Kaola was the one Koma trusted with the hunt.
But results could change.
And when they did, so would everything else.