The crowd broke around him like water around a boulder, streaming past us, their eyes wide and unseeing.
I felt a pang of sympathy, sharp and unwanted. These weren't warriors. They were the gardeners, the musicians, the cupbearers. They were just people who happened to live forever, now faced with an end they couldn't comprehend.
"Focus, Aria," Kaelen said, grabbing my arm and pulling me through the throng. "They are not your concern."
"They're terrified," I whispered.
"So are we," Flynn muttered, shouldering a panicked centaur out of the way. "Difference is, we have a plan. Sort of."
We broke through the crowd and turned a corner, emerging into a vast, open square dominated by machinery.
And there it was.
The Red Tower.
It wasn't a building; it was a volcano contained in iron. A massive, conical structure of red brick and black metal rose hundreds of feet into the smoky air, venting plumes of fire that licked at the bruised sky. The heat radiating from it was intense enough to dry the sweat on my skin instantly.
"The Forge," Elias breathed.
But between us and the massive iron gates of the tower lay a wasteland of discarded experiments. Automatons that hadn't worked right, piles of celestial bronze scrap, and pools of waste that bubbled with toxic colors.
And standing in front of the gates were the hounds.
Not flesh and blood dogs. These were metal. Automatons shaped like wolves, but the size of horses, crafted from bronze and silver. Their eyes were rubies, glowing with internal fire. There were six of them, pacing back and forth in front of the entrance, steam venting from their nostrils.
"Hephaestus’s guard dogs," Flynn said, appreciating the craftsmanship even as he drew his daggers. "Clockwork hellhounds. Lovely."
"They will not let us pass," Kaelen said, drawing his sword. The blade ignited, but the fire looked dim compared to the inferno of the tower behind the dogs.
"I can't fight them," I said, leaning against a pile of scrap metal. I could feel the runes on my arm, a tickling, burning sensation, diving deep under the muscle, aiming for the chest cavity. "I'm... heavy. Kaelen, I feel so heavy."
Kaelen looked at me, then at the hounds.
"We clear the path," he ordered. "Thane, stay with her. Flynn, Elias, on me."
"Try not to get chewed on," Flynn said, rolling his neck.
They charged.
The hounds reacted instantly. Gears whirred and the metal beasts lunged with a speed that defied their weight.
Kaelen met the leader of the pack in mid-air, a clash of sword against bronze teeth that sent sparks showering like fireworks. Flynn slid underneath another one, his daggers seeking the gaps in the plating, severing parts of it in a way that made black liquid spray across the pavement. Elias used his gravity magic to slam two of the hounds together, crunching their metal frames.
I watched, my vision blurring.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart beat against my ribs, terrified, as the golden lines drew closer.
"Thane," I rasped.
The Bear Prince turned from watching the fight, crouching beside me. "I am here, Little One."
I looked at Thane, and over his shoulder I saw Kaelen decapitate one of the hounds, kicking the carcass aside. He was standing at the massive iron gates of the Forge, pounding on the metal with the pommel of his sword.
"It's sealed," Flynn shouted, kicking a limping metal wolf away. "It’s high-grade wards, Kaelen! We can't break it!"
I pushed myself off the scrap pile, mentally preparing to slowly get myself across the empty area to the door that Kaelen was pounding on.
