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A blade comes toward my face. I roll. Barely.

Get up.

Blood Echo. Open. World red. Pulse. Movement. Threat.

The Hollowborn who hit me—left leg weak. Old injury. I see it in blood. Kick there. He drops.

Blade through throat. Nyra gets free. Cassian kills hers. Fourth runs.

"Don't chase." I say automatically.

Cassian laughs once. Breathless. "Wasn't planning to." Good.

Then horns. Not ours. Different. Distant.

Outside the walls. One. Then another. Then dozens.

Everyone freezes. No. Not everyone. People who can afford to.

"What is that?" Nyra asks.

I don't know. Then Professor Vayne appears from the smoke. For once, his face contains something almost like relief. "Reinforcements."

What?

Another horn. Closer. Then a roar from outside the southern wall. Human voices. Hundreds. Maybe more.

The kingdom.

Elarion.

They came.

The outer courtyard explodes with movement. Not magical explosion. People. Soldiers pouring through what remains of the gate. Fae fighters. Ward specialists. Riders overhead. And— Chiefs.

Dax is the first one I see. Blood across his armor.

Sword in hand. He hits the first Hollowborn in his path hard enough to spin the body. Soren behind him. Maelis. Lyss. Third-years. Fourth-years. They came back. All of them.

My heart jumps.

Caelen.

I search.

Smoke.

People.

Fire.

There.

My brother.

Alive.

Running toward inner defense.