The silence in the chambers was worse than screaming.
Lyra stared at the floor.
Draven hadn't moved from the wall.
Zareth stood by the window, fingers tapping against the stone without rhythm.
Varkas paced back and forth.
Kára checked her runes for the tenth time.
The air felt heavy.
No one spoke.
Varkas stopped suddenly and slammed his palm against the wall.
The impact echoed through the room.
—We can't stay here. That army marches in two days. Aria gets married in two days.
—I know —Zareth replied without turning around.
—If we keep waiting, we lose.
—I know.
—Then what do we do?
Darian pushed himself away from the wall.
Vael lifted his head from the corner where he had been sleeping.
Kára stopped inspecting her runes.
—We attack —Darian said. —Tonight. Right now. Before that army moves.
Lyra raised her head.
Draven stepped away from the wall.
Zareth finally turned toward them.
—Zareth, you and your people strike the key points —Darian continued. —The armory. The beast cages. The watchtowers. Anything that causes noise.
—And we —Varkas growled— go straight through the front.
—Aria —Kára said. —We still don't know where she is.
—Then we find out —Darian answered. —We ask someone. And if they don't answer... —Nox growled inside his mind. —They will answer.
Zareth pulled his cloak over his shoulders.
Lyra and Draven were already standing.
—When the explosions begin —Zareth said—, make your move.
—You make the opening —Darian replied. —We'll follow behind you.
---
Zareth moved through the corridors like spilled ink.
His camouflage made him nearly invisible. Guards ran past him without noticing.
He reached the armory.
Two guards stood outside.
He killed them silently.
The dagger slipped in and out.
Inside waited the arsenal of a war.
Swords.
Spears.
Crossbows.
Shields.
Barrels of elven powder stacked against the walls.
Zareth removed the mana crystals.
Activated them.
Placed them between the barrels.
The fuse began to glow.
Then he ran.
---
Lyra reached the cages.
The manticores smelled her before they saw her.
They thrashed violently against the bars. Their fury shook the metal itself.
Lyra cut the first lock.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The beasts exploded out of their cages.
Guards screamed.
Manticores lunged at them.
Winged creatures shattered their chains and took to the sky. One crashed directly into a tower, splitting it apart.
---
Draven climbed the watchtower.
Three guards.
The first died without ever seeing him.
The second reached for the alarm horn.
Draven ripped it from his hands.
The third jumped through the window.
Draven crushed the horn against the wall.
Then the armory exploded.
Fire swallowed the eastern wing.
Windows burst outward in showers of splinters.
Screams filled the corridors.
Guards ran in every direction.
Some burned alive.
Others were torn apart by manticores.
Winged beasts screeched across the sky.
---
Darian felt the heat before he saw the flames.
The walls shook.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
—Now —he said.
He drew Lumine and Nox.
White light and dark mist spiraled around him.
Varkas called upon Rakshar.
His arms began to transform. Claws extended from his fingers. His eyes turned crimson.
Kára raised Kazak'Thur.
Lightning danced across the hammerhead.
They burst from the chambers.
Chaos consumed the castle.
Corridors filled with smoke.
Guards shouting.
Beasts loose.
Darian combined fire and wind. A blast of scorching air swept through the hallway, throwing three guards backward.
Kára slammed her hammer into the ground. Lightning split the stone apart and opened a massive crack beneath the guards' feet.
They fell screaming.
Varkas charged forward like a battering ram.
His claws ripped through armor.
Blood splashed across his arms.
Darian seized a fleeing guard and slammed him against the wall.
He let Nox surface.
White eyes.
Fangs.
—Where is Aria?
—I—I don't know—
—WHERE IS SHE?
—The east tower! The noble wing! The stairs in the back!
Darian released him.
The guard collapsed and crawled away.
—Move!
---
The noble wing was in disarray.
Most of the guards had rushed toward the explosions.
Darian, Varkas, and Kára advanced almost without resistance.
They found a storage room.
Crates.
Barrels.
Dust.
And in one corner—
A bundle wrapped in cloth.
Darian tore it open.
Aria's bow.
Her wolfskin cloak.
They had stored them like trash.
Kára picked up the bow.
Varkas grabbed the cloak.
Darian clenched his fists and stormed back out.
They climbed the spiral staircase toward the east tower.
Two guards stood before the door.
Varkas crushed them with his bare hands.
No Rakshar.
No claws.
Only rage.
Darian kicked the door open.
The room was spacious.
A bed.
A mirror.
A window overlooking the Great Tree.
Aria stood there.
Dressed in white.
Five elite guards surrounded her.
—We came for you —Darian said.
Aria looked at him.
Saw Varkas.
Saw Kára.
Saw her bow in the dwarf's hands.
Then she smiled.
—About time.
The elite guards moved instantly.
Darian unleashed Nox.
His eyes turned completely white.
Fangs extended beneath his lips.
Dark energy erupted around him.
Varkas roared as Rakshar fully engulfed him.
The beast filled the hallway.
Kára raised her hammer and lightning crashed from the ceiling.
Aria snatched the sword from a fallen guard.
She didn't hesitate.
She attacked from behind.
The guard screamed.
Aria drove the blade through his leg.
Then she grabbed her bow and pulled back the string.
—Did you bring arrows?
—Didn't have time —Varkas answered.
—Good. Makes it more fun.
The last elite guard fell.
Silence settled over the room.
Outside, the chaos still raged.