Jacob moved before the guards could react. He covered the distance between them in two steps, grabbed the lead guard's weapon, and used it as a lever to throw the man into his companions. The element of surprise bought them maybe three seconds before the guards recovered and reached for their own weapons.But three seconds was enough. Commander Chen and Thomas hit the guards from different angles while Sarah went for their key rings. The fight was brief and brutal—four half-starved prisoners against four armed guards, desperation against training. Jacob ended it by slamming the last guard's head against the stone wall hard enough to render him unconscious.They stripped the guards of weapons, armor, and anything else useful. Not much—these were dungeon guards, equipped for supervising chained prisoners rather than full combat. But better than nothing."Anna has been moved," Jacob said, forcing himself to focus despite the rage burning through him. "We need to find where Verons took he

Thirty minutes. Anna processed the information with growing horror. The palace was a massive structure housing thousands of people—guards, servants, nobles, prisoners. If it collapsed, most of them would die in the rubble."We need to warn people," Anna said immediately. "Help them evacuate before—""We need to escape," Chen countered. "We are armed prisoners in the heart of enemy territory. Staying to help is suicide."Anna knew he was right tactically, but the thought of letting innocent servants and staff die without warning made her sick. "At least open the other prison cells. Give those people a chance to run."Marcus nodded agreement despite his frailty. "The reactor sabotage has a secondary effect. As mystical power fails, all the enchanted locks throughout the palace will stop functioning. Prison cells, storage rooms, restricted areas—everything sealed by magic rather than mechanical means will open."That changed the tactical picture dramatically. Hundreds of prisoners sudden

Jacob set Marcus down carefully and turned to face Bishop Nico, mystical energy already gathering in his hands despite his exhaustion. Behind Bishop, Verons approached with his remaining elite guards, clearly coordinating their attack to ensure no escape."Two artifacts," Anna said, studying Bishop's hands. "He has numbers three and four. Where are the others?""Verons has one and five in the palace mystical core," Marcus replied weakly. "Your artifacts—one and two—were confiscated when you were captured. All five pieces are in this compound somewhere."Anna felt her mystical senses expanding involuntarily, pushed beyond normal limits by desperation and the proximity of multiple artifacts. She could feel them now—distant signatures calling to her Chen bloodline like beacons. Two in Bishop's hands, two somewhere deep in the collapsing palace, and one closer than she expected."Jacob, your boot," Anna said urgently. "The first artifact. It is in your boot."Jacob felt a surge of hope. W

Anna finally managed to break the blood curse after twenty minutes of sustained effort that left her drained and shaking. Jacob's wounds stopped bleeding, and his breathing stabilized into something that might actually sustain life. But he remained unconscious, and moving him would risk reopening everything she had just sealed."Watch him," Anna told Commander Chen, standing on unsteady legs. "Keep pressure on the worst wounds if they start bleeding again. I will be back.""Where are you going?" Chen asked, though his tone suggested he already knew."Bishop Nico is wounded but alive. He has artifacts three and four. I am not letting him escape with them." Anna retrieved a sword from the pile of weapons they had taken from the armory. "If I do not return within an hour, assume I failed and get Jacob out of the city.""Anna, you are exhausted," Marcus protested. "You just burned through most of your mystical reserves keeping Jacob alive. You are in no condition to fight Bishop alone.""

Anna burst through the warehouse door expecting the worst. She had been gone for over an hour, and Bishop's final warning suggested time was running out faster than anyone realized. If Jacob had died while she hunted his murderer, all of this would have been for nothing.But Jacob was still breathing. Barely. Commander Chen knelt beside him applying pressure to wounds that had started bleeding again, while Marcus monitored his vital signs with mystical senses. Sarah stood guard at the window, watching for threats from the chaotic streets outside."He is fading," Chen said without looking up. "Whatever you did to stop the bleeding is failing. Another five minutes and he will be past saving."Anna did not waste time with explanations. She placed the two artifacts she had taken from Bishop directly on Jacob's chest, then added the ring artifact from her pocket. Three of the five pieces together, their combined mystical resonance creating harmonics that filled the warehouse with golden li