The explosion shattered the night like a fist through glass.
“Attack!” The war horn screamed across the fortress as I burst from my chambers, still pulling on armor. “All hands to battle stations!”
The corridors erupted into chaos—soldiers running, weapons clanging, the acrid smell of smoke pouring through cracks in the ancient stone. I took the stairs three at a time, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Kieran!” Astrid’s voice cut through the din like a blade. She stood in the main courtyard, blood already streaking her face, sword gleaming in the firelight. “Eastern perimeter is breached! They’re inside the outer walls!”
“How many?” I shouted back, drawing my own weapon.
“Too many to count!” She pointed toward the burning treeline. “But they’re organized. This isn’t random—it’s coordinated.”
Before I could respond, Lilith appeared at my elbow, her healing robes replaced by battle leathers. “We’ve got wounded streaming in from six different outposts,” she reported, her usually calm voice tight with urgency. “Someone knew exactly where to hit us.”
“Six outposts?” Nyx materialized from the shadows, her dark cloak singed at the edges. “Simultaneous strikes on our weakest points. This was planned.”
“By who?” Astrid demanded, wiping blood from her sword. “Who has that kind of intelligence on our defenses?”
“Someone who’s been inside,” I said grimly. “Someone who knows our patterns.”
The sound of clashing steel echoed from the eastern wall, punctuated by screams and war cries. A runner stumbled into the courtyard, clutching a bloody message.
“Report!” I barked.
“The enemy’s using flanking maneuvers,” he gasped. “Classic pincer movements. They’re driving our forces toward the center, then—”
“Then crushing them with superior numbers.” The words came out cold, certain. “I know that tactic.”
“You know it?” Nyx’s storm-gray eyes fixed on me with laser intensity. “How?”
“Because I created it.” The admission hit the courtyard like a physical blow. “Three years ago. Advanced cavalry tactics for the Ironfang campaign.”
“Who else knew those tactics?” Lilith demanded.
“My command staff. All dead in the southern siege.” I paused, my blood turning to ice water. “All except—”
“Except who?” Astrid’s voice cracked like a whip.
“Fenric.” The name fell from my lips like a curse. “My former lieutenant. He vanished during the siege. We found his armor, his blood, but never his body.”
“You think he’s alive?” Nyx stepped closer, her hand moving to her weapon. “You think he’s leading this attack?”
“I think we’re about to find out.” I turned toward the sound of battle. “Because if Fenric is alive, he knows every weakness we have.”
“Then we’d better find some new strengths,” Astrid snarled, raising her sword. “Fast.”
“Agreed.” I looked at my three mates, these fierce women who’d stood by me through prophecy and politics and now war. “Lilith, can you hold the medical center?”
“Give me twenty soldiers and enough supplies, and I’ll save every life that can be saved.”
“Astrid, I need you on the front lines.”
“Where else would I be?” Her grin was savage. “Time to remind these bastards why they should fear Ironheart steel.”
“Nyx—”
“I’ll coordinate intelligence and supply lines.” Her voice was ice and authority. “And if we have a traitor problem, I’ll find it.”
A massive explosion rocked the fortress, sending debris raining down on the courtyard. Through the smoke, I could see enemy forces pouring through the breach in our defenses.
“They’re making their move!” Astrid shouted. “Whatever we’re going to do, we need to do it now!”
“Then let’s show them what three united territories can accomplish.” I raised my sword, and my mates moved to flank me. “For the prophecy!”
“For the territories!” Lilith’s voice rang with power.
“For our people!” Astrid’s battle cry echoed off the stones.
“For our future!” Nyx’s words carried the promise of storms.
We charged into battle together, four people bound by something stronger than blood or tradition or politics. We were bound by choice, by shared purpose, by the unshakeable conviction that some things were worth fighting for.
The enemy had numbers. They had surprise. They had our former tactics.
But they didn’t have what we had—the kind of unity that can only be forged in fire and tested in war.
Hours later, as dawn broke over the battlefield, we regrouped in the war room. The attack had been repelled, but barely. Bodies littered the courtyard, and smoke still rose from a dozen fires.
“Casualty reports,” I demanded, studying the blood-stained maps spread across the table.
“Forty-three dead, seventy-two wounded,” Lilith reported, exhaustion clear in her voice. “But we saved more than we lost.”
“Enemy losses?”
“Higher,” Astrid said with grim satisfaction. “But they’ll be back. This was just a probe.”
“Agreed.” Nyx slammed a piece of parchment onto the table. “And I found proof of what we suspected.”
“Which is?”
“Intelligence reports from our outer scouts. Someone’s been feeding information to the enemy for weeks.” Her eyes blazed with cold fury. “Location of patrols, guard rotations, supply movements. Everything.”
“Who?” The word came out as a growl.
“That’s what we need to figure out.” She pointed to specific entries on the reports. “But whoever it is, they have access to our highest-level strategic meetings.”
“The Council,” Lilith breathed. “It has to be someone on the Council.”
“Or someone close to us,” Astrid said darkly. “Someone we trust.”
Before anyone could respond, the war room doors burst open. A figure stepped through the smoke—tall, scarred, wearing armor I recognized from a dozen battlefields.
“Hello, my prince.”
Fenric smiled, and my blood turned to ice.
“Miss me?”