Kael sat on a large stone overlooking the camp.

  The jungle stretched endlessly beyond him, layers of green swallowing the horizon. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in thin golden lines, breaking across the camp below.

  Metal scraped softly against stones.

  Leather straps tightened.

  Low murmurs drifted between tents.

  The Aqualis Revolutionary Group had grown.

  Two hundred people.

  Five years ago, they had barely survived with twenty starving fugitives hiding in caves.

  Now they were organized.

  Divided into four divisions.

  Fifty members each.

  Scouts.

  Supply raiders.

  Defenders.

  And the strike unit — the blade meant for Aqualis itself.

  It looked strong.

  It sounded strong.

  Two hundred.

  He tightened the flower bracelet on his wrist.

  Still not enough.

  Footsteps approached from behind, steady and unhurried.

  “Overthinking again?”

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  Kael didn’t turn.

  “Not really.”

  Orion stopped beside him.

  Thirty years old. Broad-shouldered. A faint scar along his jawline catching the light. His presence wasn’t loud — but it was firm, like an old tree that refused to bend.

  Below them, the camp moved with discipline.

  “You only sit up here when something’s bothering you,” Orion said calmly.

  Kael rested his elbows on his knees.

  “Just thinking about numbers.”

  “Two hundred isn’t small.”

  “It isn’t enough.”

  Silence settled between them.

  The jungle insects hummed.

  Somewhere deeper within the forest, a bird suddenly took flight.

  Another set of footsteps approached — quicker this time.

  Caelum emerged from between the tents.

  “Scouts reported movement near the eastern ridge,” he said quietly. “Royal soldiers. They’re searching.”

  The air seemed to thin.

  Kael stood slowly from the stone.

  “Let them search,” he replied. “As long as I’m here, nothing will happen.”

  Caelum’s eyes narrowed slightly.

  “You shouldn’t be so overconfident.”

  For a brief second, something flickered behind Kael’s gaze.

  Pride?

  Or fear?

  Orion stepped forward before the silence grew sharp.

  “Confidence isn’t the problem,” he said.

  His voice was steady. Unshaken.

  He looked toward the dense jungle — toward Aqualis.

  “We won’t lose.”

  There was no emotion in the statement.

  Just certainty.

  The wind passed through the trees again.

  For a moment — barely noticeable — Kael felt it.

  A faint pressure.

  Like standing too close to deep water.

  Gone as quickly as it came.

  He clenched his fist unconsciously.

  Far beyond the jungle.

  Beyond the ridges.

  Beyond sight.

  The tide was rising.