I stood at the back of Malzaun’s protective formation, watching our forces flood into the city proper, and felt the weightof what came next settle onto shoulders already buckling under accumulated pressure.
The gates were only the beginning.
The throne room waited beyond miles of hostile territory, defended by soldiers loyal to a corrupted king, all of it wrapped in the Devourer’s spreading influence.
And I had to walk through every inch of it.
By the time I passed through the gates, Daemon, Kane, and Kael were already waiting, clearing any immediate threats.
“Seris.” Daemon appeared at my side, breathing hard, blood spattered across his face and armor. Not his blood. It never seemed to be his blood. “The tunnels are three blocks east. We move now while they’re focused on the main assault.”
It was time to come face to face with the Devourer and King Aeron Thorne.
I looked at the burning capital, the resistance pouring through the gates, those holding back reinforcements outside. Before I could get lost in the sheer destruction of battle, Daemon’s steady gaze found mine, reminding me of the promise he’d made earlier. We’d face the end together.
I reached for his hand, squeezed, and started moving.
Toward the tunnels.
Toward the throne.
Toward the choice that would either save the world or condemn it.
There was no longer any room left for doubt. Forward momentum was all that remained.
The world was burning, but it was up to us whether it would begin anew or cease to exist.
CHAPTER 26
SERIS
The resistance flooded through the gates like water breaching a dam, unstoppable, furious, and hungry for justice. I stood rooted as warriors streamed past me, their war cries splitting the smoke-choked air. Boots hammered against cobblestones. Steel rang against steel. Somewhere behind me, the massive iron gates groaned shut with a finality that reverberated through my chest.
“Seal it!” Kaelen’s voice cut through the din. “Lock them out!”
Fae soldiers moved with practiced efficiency, dropping the reinforcement bar into place and wedging debris against the mechanism. Outside, voices erupted in fury. King Aeron’s reinforcements, which had approached from both sides during the assault, pounded against wood and iron that had turned against them. They’d reach the secondary entrances eventually, but precious minutes had been bought.
Minutes that might be all we had.
Kaelen turned, her face streaked with soot and blood that wasn’t hers. She caught my eye across the chaos, and her expression hardened with singular purpose.
“Battalions two and three! Hold the perimeter! Four, clear the western approach! One, you’re with me!” She closed the distance to me in a few strides. “You need to move. Now.”
I opened my mouth, but the words tangled in my throat. Around us, civilians scattered like startled birds. Some fled, while others turned on each other with the violence and corruption in their eyes. A woman screamed as her neighbor dragged her toward a burning storefront. Two children crouched in a doorway, filthy and wide-eyed with terror.
“Seris.” Daemon’s voice settled against my ear, low and urgent. “Look at me.”
I did. His face was spattered with blood, shadows coiling restlessly at his shoulders, but his eyes held mine steady.
“This won’t stop until we reach the source. Every second we delay, more people die.”
My stomach twisted. He was right. I knew he was right. But knowing didn’t make it easier to turn away from the woman being dragged past me or the children who flinched at every shout.
“The throne,” Daemon said. “End this at the throne, and you save everyone left.”
Kaelen’s hand landed on my shoulder, firm enough to anchor. “We’ll hold the streets. That’s our fight. Yours is below.”
I dragged in a breath that tasted of smoke and copper, held it, hoping it would solidify into resolve, and nodded once.
