Because I realize what this is: an ambush.
It’s a fucking ambush.
But beneath the sound of steel, I can feel something else.
Something distant.
Something that calls to me.
Something that feels like mine.
Shadows.
The electric, charged zing of lashing shadows.
And behind me, Teddy’s voice cuts me to the bone. “Morrathys is fighting for our people. They’re in the underground bunkers.”
And then, the first blade glints under moonlight.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
ELYSSARA
And the worlderupts in light.
Light bursts from my skin, raw and untamed, searing across the square like wildfire made of Stars. The ground quakes beneath my feet as power courses through me, wild and perfect and terrible. It’s not a honed thing—it’s chaotic. I can’t see anything, but I hear the scamper of boots retreating back into hiding.
But not for long.
The light dims enough for shapes to form.
And they’re everywhere.
They drop from the treetops like shadows come to life, armored in silver and stormlight.
Others step out from behind the forges, from the shattered windows of the infirmary, from jungle paths slick with rain and earth. Their movements are precise, practiced—too synchronized to be anything but elite.
At least three dozen of them.
An emblem is carved into their chest plates—twin blades crossed into an X.
And I know this isn’t Dravara. Or The Wastes. Or Nymeris.
No. This is Caeloria’s finest.
The hiss of their blades cuts through the air, their boots striking the earth in unison. No shouts. No orders. Just a silent, disciplined advance.
Even the jungle seems to recoil.
But not me.
And not my Starbound.
“You’ve made a big fucking mistake coming to my home,” Kael snarls in a timbre so low it’s almost deadly.
One man steps forward from their ranks. His armor is darker, inlaid with thin lines of blue that hum faintly beneath the rain. A scar splits his lip, though it does little to disturb his handsome face. His expression is carved from disdain and certainty.
Kael goes still beside me. “Prince Vaelor,” he says, voice a low growl.
