Elias didn’t wait for questions. He and his brother moved through the forest with a precision born of years spent navigating danger. Nathan and Cass flanked them, alert and tense, but Elias could feel the rhythm returning to his mind—the rhythm of control, of strategy, of anticipation. The storm Mara had predicted wasn’t coming; it was already here, and they had to act before it consumed them.His brother led them to a clearing where a small, unmarked vehicle waited. “We can’t go back the way you came,” he said. “Helstrom’s operatives are already scanning the area. They know the forest routes better than anyone. But I’ve prepared a path—one few would expect.”Elias glanced at the others. “How long?”“Three hours, maybe more,” his brother said. “And we’ll have to move quietly. Every step, every breath, every shadow could be monitored. Mara’s successors are thorough. They don’t leave things to chance.”Elias climbed into the vehicle’s driver side. His brother took the passenger seat, wh

Elias woke before dawn, long before the camp around him began to stir. He lay still for a moment, staring up at the canvas roof of his tent, feeling the heaviness of the night still clinging to him. Sleep had been shallow and fractured—haunted by voices he could not fully chase, and shadows that refused to settle.He pushed himself upright, inhaling deeply, grounding himself in the faint scent of dust, worn leather, and the dying embers of last night’s fire. Another day. Another weight on his shoulders. Another choice he wouldn’t be allowed to run from.When he stepped outside, the world was quiet but not peaceful. The air held that familiar tension—like the land itself was holding its breath. A few early risers moved around the camp, whispering to one another, their eyes flicking toward him and then away just as quickly. Respect. Fear. Expectation. He had learned to read all of it in a single glance.“Didn’t sleep again,” Mara said from behind him.Elias didn’t turn immediately. Her

The moment Elias said the words, the air around the team shifted. Not from shock—none of them were strangers to impossible choices—but because they all understood exactly what it meant. A direct assault wasn’t bravery. It was a promise: people would bleed before the hour ended.Mara’s jaw tightened. “Straight through,” she repeated quietly, as if tasting the danger in the phrase. “Then we don’t hesitate.”“We can’t,” Elias said.Roan grinned, cracking his knuckles. “About time.”Jalen looked less thrilled, but he steadied his breathing, tightening the strap on his device. “I just need thirty seconds with the tower’s core. No more.”Faris spun a dagger between his fingers, eyes already scanning the terrain. “Thirty seconds bought with a lot of noise.”Elias stepped forward, gaze locked on the cluster of tents around the command tower. Soldiers patrolled in staggered lines, heads turning, weapons ready. They were well-trained. Alert. Prepared for infiltration—but not for a frontal recko

The moment the riders emerged from the northern ridge, Elias’s blood went cold. They moved with a precision and discipline that was foreign, almost unnatural. Their blackened armor caught the dim light in glints that seemed too sharp, too deliberate. Horses thundered across the plain, hooves striking dust in perfect cadence. The banners they carried were stripped bare of symbols, yet there was an unspoken terror in their presence that made even the hardened soldiers around him falter. This was not a force he recognized. This was something else entirely—something that had arrived at the worst possible time.Elias gritted his teeth, his mind racing. The camp was in chaos already, partially from the collapse of the communication tower and partially from the direct assault his team had launched. Now, with these mysterious riders barreling down the field, the balance had shifted dangerously against them. Mara’s grip tightened on his sleeve, and for a fleeting second, he saw fear in her eye

The dawn broke over the ridge, casting a pale light across the battlefield. Elias stood at the edge, surveying the aftermath. Bodies of men and horses lay scattered, twisted forms frozen in the final moments of combat. Smoke rose from small fires sparked by overturned carts and stray torches, curling into the morning sky. The camp below was alive with activity, soldiers moving cautiously among the ruins, tending to the wounded and securing their positions. Despite the victory, the weight of the battle pressed on him like a living thing.He moved down the ridge, Mara close behind, careful with each step over loose stones and debris. Roan had already begun organizing patrols along the perimeter, ensuring that no stray riders or scouts could return to strike again. Faris disappeared into the shadows periodically, moving like a ghost to check vulnerable points in the camp, while Jalen continued to work on communications, tapping into remaining channels to confirm that no further enemy for