Dragging her lip between her teeth, she studied the prince. “Vesryn will coordinate their arrival with his officers.”
She shared a look with Jassyn next—one Lykor ignored before her focus landed squarely on him. “And while you makeprogress crossing the Wastes, Jassyn and I can search the jungle for the other Heart.”
“Good,” Vesryn clipped, the word snapping like a blade into its sheath. “We have everything settled.” Pushing away from the table, he extended a hand and opened a portal. “I’ll confer with the rangers.” Turning sharply, he disappeared through the rift without a backward glance.
Lykor muttered under his breath, wishing he could vanish just as easily. His spine flattened against the back of his chair when Jassyn rose, trailing silently after the prince. Glaring at the portal fading behind them, Lykor ground his fangs, thoughts churning in a whirlwind he couldn’t sort.
The chamber rocked.
A tremor rattled through the stone. The walls shuddered, iron sconces screeching in their brackets.Lykor shoved to his feet, gripping the table as it shivered beneath his palms.
“Was that—” Serenna started, her words evaporating into the heavy thrum reverberating through the room.
This wasn’t an earthquake.
No one moved. Every pair of eyes locked onto him, expectant. He didn’t have the answers—but they looked at him like he should.
The realization slid through Lykor like ice, chilling his blood as dread clawed up his spine. The air vibrated with a charge that could only be one thing—a massive pulse of Essence.
Warping to the window, Lykor’s breath hitched as he scanned the valley below.
Magic spilled across the dying sky, crashing over the landscape. Portals tore open in rapid succession—gaping voids rupturing the air.
Lykor tracked the figures appearing through the rifts. White-armored ranks moved with precision, their heavy cloaks blending into the snowy backdrop. Their hands lifted in unison,Essence streaking from their palms in concentrated streams, aimed at the fortress.
Pressure mounted as their power lashed against the volcano. Each strike threatened to rip the stronghold apart stone by stone.
Then came the wraith.
They spilled from the rifts, shadows clawing their way into existence. Their snarls pierced the air, shrieking with the promise of death as they surged toward the entrance tunnels.
Lykor’s heart thundered in his chest. He turned sharply, meeting the wide, stricken eyes of everyone else.
This was no mere attack.
This was annihilation.
Their end.
CHAPTER 16
SERENNA
Joining everyone at the shielded window, Serenna squinted against the twilight veil swallowing the mountains. A tide of face-painted wraith poured from portals, a dark flood of havoc unleashed in the valley below.
“The reavers?” she whispered, dread closing her throat like a vise.But I thought Lykor put an end to them.
“Whereexactlydid you send them, Lykor?” Kal demanded, every word a stinging lash.
Lykor slammed his gauntleted fist against the shield. “Kyansari.” He spat the capital’s name through his fangs like a venomous curse.
“Are you mad?” Chest heaving, Kal’s eyes blazed as he whirled to face Lykor. “You didn’t thinkthe elves might extract our location? Your arrogance has spawned our doom!”
“I thought the reavers would take a few elves with them before the capital wiped them out,” Lykor hissed, lip curling. “But clearly I overestimated their usefulness.”
He didn’t wait for a response. Pivoting, he barked to Mara, “Sound the alarm. Prepare the clans for evacuation.” Rounding on Kal and Fenn, an inferno burned in his eyes. “Gather the warriors and collapse the tunnels. Destroy the lifts. Nothing getsthrough without a fight.” He clenched his jaw, every tendon in his neck corded with strain. “We hold the fortress until our people are beyond their reach.”
Kal crossed his arms. “I would ask where you plan to take us, but it’s a pointless question since you’re completely out of Essence.”
