Tony POV

  The bonfire cast a flickering glow across the clearing, painting the darkness in restless patches of gold and black. Tony looked down at his ration of mushrooms and boar jerky, served on a sal leaf. Naga’s team prepared these individual leaf-wrapped packets, which everyone had to collect from the pantry for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  Two weeks ago, Tony would have complained about the lack of carbs. He knew that—regardless of what influencers claimed—carbs were brain food, essential for functioning at one’s best. The current Tony, however, didn’t care. He had bigger problems to worry about.

  He glanced at the makeshift water tank. A massive hollowed-out log resting near the pond. He would have to haul it to the center of camp the following morning, but couldn’t do it alone. George was the only one capable of helping; Enhanced Strength was a rare skill among goblins, and he hadn’t seen the skill drop from any other monster yet.

  Tony wished another member of the family possessed the skill, which would allow them to move the tank without relying on him or George. Still, the current arrangement was a significant step up from their previous struggles.

  He would not easily forgive Naga for running his family ragged with water collection duties. During his four-day absence, they had spent entire days shuttling between the pond and the camp, leaving them no time to gain a single skill. They had since established a better system: one tank remained at the pond to be filled and was only moved to the center of camp to replace the active tank once it ran dry.

  Tony sighed. It wasn’t the looming physical labor that troubled him, but the man who had watched him earlier with an unreadable expression. He never would have noticed the stare had his Trait not flared to life; reacting either to hostile intent or the proximity of a target. He couldn’t be sure which; the ability remained a mystery even to him. But without it, he was certain he never would have picked Sid out of the distant crowd. It was like finding Waldo in under five seconds.

  “I was hoping some monsters would have killed them by now.” Sunny’s tone was far more bitter than his words suggested.

  “I wouldn’t have found any peace in that,” said Tony, his voice cold. “I’d always wonder if he was still out there. No, this is better. I get to kill him myself.”

  Sunny turned his gaze to his son. There was a lot to unpack in that look, but mostly, it was disappointment—though whether it was directed at Tony, himself, or the situation remained to be seen. “Is that really what you want? We finally have the camp’s support. We have influence...”

  Tony cut him off. “What popular support? People fear me. Even Ishan left before we could build any real rapport.” He shot an accusatory glare at his second uncle, who had accompanied him on the trip around the lake.

  “I stand by what I said,” his second uncle responded on cue. “You needed to show your strength in a positive light after that rampage at the gate. If you hadn’t pulled that stunt, we could’ve kept your power a secret.”

  “I had no choice,” Tony said, staring into the flames as he relived the memory. “He insulted my fiancé right to my face.”

  Aditi was his first girlfriend. He thought he’d have a string of girlfriends after her, before settling down in an arranged marriage. That was not how things worked out in the end, though. Their relationship withstood the tests of time and distance, remaining unshaken even when massive tusks protruded from his jaw.

  She rushed to him after healing his father, whom she’d only seen in photos, only to be met with cold rejection. The monstrous tusks jutting from his face obliterated his self-worth, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her seeing him that way. Terrified that she would recoil in disgust, he decided it was better to push her away first.

  But Aditi was relentless. Sticking to his family like butter, looking for a chance to meet him alone. Tony managed to keep her at a distance until the death of his mother finally shattered his defenses. When she finally found him, broken down, a shadow of his former self, instead of rejection, he found only love and acceptance in her eyes. She became his rock in this god-forsaken place, and Tony wouldn’t tolerate anyone disrespecting her.

  “Think before you act. Revenge is a slippery slope that ends in your own destruction.” Sunny’s tone carried the weight of a thousand past lectures. “Is killing them with your own hands truly necessary? With Naga’s support, we can turn the camp against them and drive them out. Let the monsters in the wild finish them.”

  Tony felt a part of him change after he gained his trait. It was as if the power had rewired his psyche, amplifying certain instincts while suppressing others. Gone was the patient mediator; the friend who always diffused the tension. Now, his temper was volatile. He found himself unable to let things slide. Any slight against him, any unsettled debt, gnawed at him until he acted on it.

  He sometimes wondered if his obsession with revenge was a symptom of the trait, or if the trait was a manifestation of his rage. The timing suggested a link. After all, he’d unlocked the trait when he warned Sid to stay away from his family.

  “Naga?” Tony’s face twisted into a scowl. “He’s a snake, just like his implies. He and George both. They’re just waiting for an opening to stab us in the back. George tried it once already.”

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  He took a deep, steadying breath, forcing his expression back to neutral.

  “You underestimate Sid. He won’t die easily, not with that skill.” Tony held his father’s gaze. “He will survive. And when he returns stronger, your precious public opinion and all your ‘new friends’ will flip sides in a heartbeat.”

  Tony had always been a dutiful son, never once raising his voice against his parents. Because their father was constantly away on business, he and his younger brother, Joe, naturally grew closer to their mother. Tony knew Joe was her favorite, even if his brother bristled at overt displays of affection. Joe often teased their mom, claiming he loved their dad more just to get a rise out of her. Tony never resented their special bond; his family was his entire world.

  Tony blamed his dad for letting Aditi go with Sid that day. More than that, he blamed himself. It was his own crippling insecurity that had driven him to push her away, creating the very opening Sid needed to abduct her. If not for that fatal mistake, he never would have lost the two closest people in his life.

  “I spoke to Rohan today.” Aditi’s voice cut through the silence, drawing every eye in the clearing towards her.

  She waited for the murmurs to die down, choosing her next words with agonizing care.

  “He claims it was an accident. He said Joe tried to drug and kill them.” She winced as a wave of fury swept through the room. “He insists Sid was only trying to protect his team, and that the death... was a mistake.”

  Sunny’s jaw clenched tight. “So they admit it? They confessed to killing my boy?”

  Aditi swallowed hard, her gaze drifting away as if debating whether to deliver the rest of the message before deciding to speak. “He said they were sorry. To make amends, he offered... some uncommon-rank skill crystals.”

  Tony surged to his feet, hurling his dinner into the bonfire. The flames roared up, matching the fury in his voice. "Does he think he can buy my brother’s life with a bunch of crystals?"

  No one dared to speak, stunned by the violence of Tony’s outburst. A heavy silence settled over the clearing, broken only by the popping of the firewood and the crunch of approaching heavy boots.

  A guard, distinguished by a silk sash across his chest, stepped into the light. He swept his gaze from one face to another before locking eyes on Tony. “It’s silent hours now. Could you talk in a low voice?”

  Tony swallowed his rage, biting back a retort. Naga’s response to the rising number of monster attacks at night was to enforce a strict silence policy after dinner, ordering guards to suppress any noise within the camp. The man standing before him, however, looked terrified; clearly wishing he were anywhere else but enforcing rules on Tony. Deciding not to torment the poor man further, Tony simply nodded in agreement, dismissing him with a look.

  Tony caught Aditi’s eye, signaling her to continue.

  “Rohan claims it was Bunty and George who instigated it,” she said. “That they pushed Joe to attack Sid’s team.”

  “They didn’t kill my brother. Sid did. And he is going to pay for it. Did Rohan give you anything else? What about their skills?”

  “No, he was evasive on that front. It was as if he had been instructed to keep his mouth shut. However, I gathered that everyone on their team has filled their skill slots; except for Sid.”

  “See?” Tony swept his gaze across his kin. “We can’t afford to delay any longer.”

  Tony’s youngest cousin jumped to his feet, eager for action. “Why don’t we just go over there and crush them right now? No one in this camp is strong enough to stop you, big brother.”

  Tony placed a steadying hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “We can’t. Sid has a skill called Sixth Sense. It warns him of incoming danger. If we march over there with hostile intent, he’ll know before we even arrive. We can’t ambush him or catch him off guard. He’ll run the moment we make a move, just like last time.”

  Tony stepped into the gap in their circle, turning to address the entire group. “That is why we must kidnap his team. We need to force him into a stand-off where he can’t run. His friends are the only means to get to him.”

  “And if he abandons them?” Sunny asked, his voice laced with defiance that made his disapproval clear. “If he runs even with his friends in our custody, what will you do then?”

  “I’ll let Rohan go. But the others will pay for what they’ve done to our family.”

  A dark pleasure coiled in Tony’s mind as he envisioned slaughtering his enemies. People often claimed that vengeance left a man hollow, stripping him of his purpose. He knew with absolute certainty that he would feel no such emptiness.

  Rapid footsteps from behind drew his attention away. He turned around to see George rushing towards him.

  “They’ve taken my gun,” said George, panting.

  “What?” Sunny rose to his feet, moving towards George.

  “Sid... he stole my gun.”

  “How?” Tony’s eyes narrowed as he studied George. A surge of anger tightened his chest; while they had wasted time debating whether their enemy deserved to die, Sid had already drawn first blood.

  “I don’t know how it happened. I reached for it a few minutes ago, and it was gone.”

  “Did you lose it, or did he steal it?” Tony asked, his voice tight as he struggled to suppress his rising fury. “When was the last time you saw it?”

  “This afternoon.” Panic edged George’s voice. That weapon was his lifeline. In a country like India, where strict laws restricted firearms to high-ranking police officials, the gun was the only thing that elevated George above other uncommon skill users.

  He had guarded it with his life, keeping it on his person. Sid hadn’t just gained a powerful weapon; he had shattered George’s confidence and stripped him of his greatest combat advantage.

  “Are you certain it was Sid?” Sunny asked, glancing between George and Tony. He seemed desperate for an alternative explanation, hoping the gun was merely misplaced rather than stolen.

  “Who else could it be? It vanished the moment they arrived,” Tony snapped. He stepped away from the crowd and flared his aura, a technique he had recently mastered to command obedience. The sudden wave of pressure snapped everyone to attention. “They have already begun their attack. We need to respond immediately.”

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