Soldiers poured through Vaelthorne's streets like a plague. Royal colors mixed with unfamiliar armor, mercenaries hired in bulk to supplement the king's forces. They cut down anyone in their path: Fae fleeing with children, craftspeople grabbing weapons, healers trying to organize defense.
Blood painted the white stone streets.
I watched a family I'd shared meals with die together, parents covering their daughter's body until blades found them all. Saw the baker who'd taught me to braid bread murdered while defending his shop. A musician I'd danced with during the festival fell clutching his throat, music silenced forever.
They weren't soldiers. They were people. My people.
And they died because of me.
"Move!" Lyralei shoved me toward the central plaza, where Daemon and his team fought back-to-back against overwhelming numbers. Zephyr's wind magic deflected arrows while Kael and Kane held the ground, their coordination perfect even in catastrophe.
Daemon saw us coming. Shadows exploded outward, carving space through the attacking forces. "The eastern passage!" he shouted. "Get civilians out!"
"They're everywhere!" Kane’s hammer crushed the skull of a mercenary who dared to come within his reach.
“We need to split up!” Kael grabbed Zephyr’s shoulder. “Hold them back here! Zephyr and I’ll go make sure the civilians get out safe!”
Kane and Daemon didn’t reply, but began to move forward into enemy lines, forcing retreat. Zephyr and Kael, carried by Zephyr’s magic, headed off to the eastern passage.
A fresh wave of soldiers crashed into the plaza. Not advancing randomly. Moving with purpose.
Converging on me.
"The girl!" someone shouted. "Take the girl alive!"
Lyralei's magic flared, reality itself bending as she warped space between us and the advancing forces. But more kept coming. Too many. An organized assault planned to overwhelm through sheer numbers.
"They're not here for conquest," I realized aloud. "They're here for me."
"Then we deny them." Daemon materialized beside me, shadows wreathing his form like living armor. Blood streaked his face, not his own.
Lyralei deflected incoming arrows with casual gestures, but strain showed in her luminous features. Somehow, she was fighting back, defending those in sight, and transporting those who reached the eastern passage simultaneously. "We need time to, "
A building collapsed, crushed by concentrated magical bombardment. Screams cut short as stone buried the people inside.
My hands clenched. The Veil stirred in response, hungry and vast, ready to erase everything in reach.
"Don't." Daemon's voice cut through the rising power. "Not here."
He was right. I knew he was right. But watching my people die while I stood paralyzed by fear of my own magic felt like torture worse than anything Blackstone Keep had offered.
Zephyr, carried by his wind, returned next to us. "They've breached the southern quarter. Casualties mounting fast. We can't hold them."
"We must!" Lyralei's expression hardened with terrible resolve. "We just have to give the others time to reach the deep Veil anchors in the eastern passage. They have been specifically created to serve as escape routes in a situation like this. Once they're through, any magical connection will be severed, and Aeron's forces won't be able to follow."
"And us?" Kael asked, already knowing the answer.
"We fight." Lyralei's magic swelled, ancient and powerful, beautiful in its fury. "We buy them time. Whatever it costs."
“Kane. Zephyr. Go help Kael.” Kane picked up a spear as he began to take off in Kael’s direction. Zephyr blasted a volley of arrows before using his magic to return to Kael with Kane in tow.
The soldiers closed in, a tightening noose of steel and sorcery. They knew what they were doing. Knew how to coordinate, how to overwhelm, how to leverage numbers against superior individual power.
They'd planned this. Studied Vaelthorne's defenses. Waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Because they could track me. Because my mother's own research, twisted and perverted, had given them a beacon leading straight to the last sanctuary of my people.
I'd brought this death to Vaelthorne's door.
