Page 96 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

“If we kill them all, we will have to rescue four prisoners,” Rain warned. “There are young children in that one.” He pointed to the third tower.

“Bloody hell, we can’t travel with kids,” Vass muttered.

Rain suspected they’d have no choice.

“Can we kill ten and knock out five?” Glass suggested, her energy practically vibrating with blood-lust.

Rain sighed. He would never grow accustomed to the feeling of death. But if they were doing this, they needed to move.

“I’m sick of standing around. Captain, you’re with me.”

Short nodded, tossing fruit peel aside and rising to her feet.

“We’re going to walk in from the southwestern corner. They’ll see us; that’s the point. We want them to react. We are the distraction. The bait.”

He turned to Glass.

“Find the best vantage point. If any of them move toward the alarm, you kill. Do not deviate.”

“Yes, sir.” She hid her smile poorly.

“Vass and Hamish take the northern point. Run in hot and heavy. Intent to kill. Renn, hold back until we’re in position. Come in from the east. Think stealth with the intent to subdue. Preferably we leave five breathing, but our priority is that we all return alive. Understood?”

“Understood, sir!”

“Good. I’ll feel your energy signatures even from here. Once everyone is in position, Short and I will make our entrance. Do not compromise your positions. Wait for chaos, then take advantage of it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“As soon as we secure the area, I enter the building alone and retrieve our charge,” Rain reminded them.

“And we secure the remaining guards and hold the perimeter until you return,” Short added.

“Perfect. Let’s do this.”

Rain clapped Renn on the back, giving him a quick, meaningful look as the Sergeant peeled away from the group and vanished into the trees.

The squad dispersed like a ripple of wind; quiet, controlled, rustling through the foliage with the subtlety of seasoned predators. Rain and Short remained crouched in the shadows, waiting. Listening. Rain tracked each of their energy signatures, monitoring their progress as theyslipped into position. His awareness stretched thin across the clearing, a web of sensation woven through every heartbeat, every flicker of intuition.

If anyone so much as felt something was wrong, Rain would know before they did.

Renn finally settled into place; focused, steady, waiting for his cue.

Rain rose abruptly, brushing dirt from his pants and adjusted the straps of his pack.

“Are you ready, Captain?”

“I couldn’t be more ready, Your Highness.”

She stood tall, chin lifted, every inch the soldier she had trained her entire life to be.

Rain dipped his head in acknowledgement and strode into the clearing.

His posture was relaxed, hands loose at his sides, boots crunching over dry mud. The air was thick with heat and dust. The rust-red towers loomed ahead like ancient sentinels.

They made it halfway across the field before a guardian finally noticed them.

The man blinked, squinted, shook his head, as if trying to convince himself he wasn’t hallucinating. Then panic erupted in his aura, sharp and frantic. He stumbled backward, shouting for the others.