All of them.
She felt them thundering closer.
Hold on,she told herself.Just hold on—
The throne room doors detonated inward.
Stone exploded. Old tapestries shredded in the blast of magical pressure. Guards were flung backwards like children’s toys tossed aside.
Dust engulfed the room.
She could barely see—shapes in the haze, silhouettes rushing forward—but she could hear.
“Esther!” Lucy called.
“Nythir—stop—Ny—wait—Nythir!” Basil coughed. “Irene, donotgo first—Irene—stop—” Basil’s voice became more forlorn with each word.
“For Queen Estella!” the Baroness wailed.
“Vorrik, put that man down!” Lyssara shouted.
Esther blinked against the sting of debris as the dust parted just enough to reveal them—her mismatched army, her impossible, ridiculous collection of allies.
Kraggmar orcs barreled through the haze.
Valedaran knights cut down guards at her flanks, led by her father and brother.
The Baroness glowed like a judgmental star, swinging her purse with righteous fury.
Basil ran after her with the energy of a man watching his entire life unravel.
Sable strode forward like the final page of a prophecy no one wanted to read.
Sylva moved low and lethal, tail lashing, eyes glinting.
Lyssara’s feral snarl echoed off the walls.
Vorrik swung a halberd backward—backward, why backward?—with catastrophic confidence.
Farmers and refugees stormed behind them, wielding brooms and iron pans like weapons forged for gods.
But leading them—
At the very front—
Was Nythir.
Silver magic coursed up his arms like molten starlight, bright enough to cut through the chaos. His eyes locked onto her with such fierce, unbearable desperation that her breath caught.
He looked like he was breaking.
The Draewyn king jerked her closer, pressing the dagger harder until pain flared and warm blood slid down her neck.
“Stay back!” he roared. “Valedara bows or this girl dies!”
The Valedaran knights froze. Even the orcs hesitated. Even Lucy made a strangled noise of helpless fury.
Her father stumbled into view at the doorway, horror carved so deeply into his expression she barely recognized him.
