Thalyn’s breath steamed in the cold night air, each exhale lost in the whispering wind that swept the highlands. Below, the river roared, a hidden giant in the deepening shadows. The ground squelched underfoot, the scent of wet earth and burnt wood clinging to her senses. Her fingers tightened around the cold metal of the rifle, its weight familiar and reassuring.
Ahead, the stronghold loomed, a jagged silhouette stitched together with rust and regret. It stood silent, a testament to forgotten sorrows. Thalyn’s pulse quickened. Inside, the Faen warlord and his tribe waited, the echoes of their recent raids still smoldering in villages turned to ashes. Anger simmered in Thalyn’s belly, tight as a coiled spring.
She glanced at her team, a quartet tonight.
Commander Darius Vance stood a few paces ahead, staring at the castle with that calm, focused look. Broad shoulders, iron-gray beard. His voice was always half a riddle, the answers making sense when it mattered. There was a strange charm in his enigma—something that made people listen.
Beside him, Nira Thal flexed her fingers, sharp eyes hunting. Her frame was small, wiry, built for the high branches where she’d learned to kill. Honey-brown skin, fiery hair tangled over her shoulders like a flame in the night. She moved with the grace of a shardwing, every step a calculation, every motion pared down to what was needed. Her smile was thin, a sliver of some private joke. Thalyn had seen her take down men from distances that seemed a lie to believe. Knives too. The blade always knew its mark like it had a mind of its own.
Tarn Greeves crouched low, fiddling with the scanner. His mutterings were a soft, anxious buzz. Thick glasses magnified his eyes, making them dart like a trapped creature. Tarn was their techie—able to hack anything, yet always on the edge of bolting.
Kalir Yeugh—silent, dark-eyed, hulking—stood apart. His massive frame merged with the shadows. He spoke little, but when he did, his words fell like stones in a still pond.
“Let’s begin,” Darius muttered. “Nira, left flank. Thalyn, take the right. Tarn, keep scanning. Kalir, you’re with me.”
Thalyn nodded, her gaze meeting Kalir’s unreadable face. An unease crawled up her spine, but there was no time for reflection. The stronghold awaited.
They moved forward, the wind moaning through cracks in the walls, the scent of decay mingling with smoke. Tarn’s scanner beeped softly. “Two guards… eastern watch. One more by the gate,” he whispered, his voice a quiver in the dark.
Thalyn spotted them, shadowy figures against the stone. She signaled Nira, who drew a knife with practiced ease. A blur of red hair, a flash of steel. The guard by the gate fell, blood pooling silently.
Cold air seeped through Thalyn’s jacket as they approached, the stone walls towering. Hairs prickled on her neck. Darius signaled Kalir. The big man moved to open the gate. It creaked, and they slipped inside.
The interior was dim, narrow corridors twisting into darkness. Shadows danced under flickering torches, casting broken specters on the stone. Strange symbols clawed at the walls. The air was thick with sweat and smoke, tinged with a cloying sweetness, like fruit rotting in the sun.
The scanner beeped again. Tarn muttered, “Three bodies… moving west.”
They crept deeper, each step a soft echo swallowed by the dark. The stronghold seemed to breathe, dust swirling in the beams of light like lost souls.
Darius halted, his gaze fixed ahead. “Wait for me,” he said, flatly. Without waiting, he slipped into an alcove, vanishing into shadow as if he had done it a thousand times. Thalyn exchanged a look with Nira, a silent question hanging between them.
“What’s he up to?” Nira whispered, her voice barely more than a breath. Thalyn shrugged, eyes narrowing as she scanned the corridor.
Time stretched in silence. Then Darius reappeared, calm, unhurried.
“Let’s move,” he said. “We’re done here.”
Thalyn blinked. “That quick? What about the captives?”
Darius shook his head. “Make your way out. Now.”
Thalyn caught a flicker in his eye, something unreadable. Before she could speak, a low rumble reverberated through the walls. The floor trembled, dust drifting from the ceiling in lazy swirls.
“What in the hells…” Tarn’s voice cut in, but Darius’s sharp turn silenced him. “I said move. Now!”
A deep boom echoed from behind, the ground quivering. Thalyn felt it in her bones. The air shifted, heavy like the breath of some ancient beast awakening.
Nira’s eyes widened, panic flaring. “Did you—”
“Move!” Darius barked again, urgency slicing through his tone.
They ran, the walls shuddering as another explosion rocked the corridor, closer this time. A roar of collapsing stone filled the air, followed by the crack of metal giving way.
Kalir stumbled, a beam crashing down near him. “Go!” he shouted, waving them on. A section of ceiling gave way, burying him to the waist in rubble. A pained scream tore from his throat.
“Kalir!” Nira spun, rushing toward him.
Darius grabbed her arm, hard. “Leave him.”
Nira’s eyes blazed with fury. “No, we don’t!” She jerked free, knife flashing as she hacked at the debris. “He’s one of ours!”
Thalyn hesitated. Darius’s face was like stone, but his hand slipped into his pocket, fingers closing around something small and metallic. Her heart lurched, understanding dawning. “Darius, don’t—”
A split second later, another detonation. The world erupted in a blinding flash, searing heat washing over Thalyn’s face. She was thrown against the wall, pain exploding through her legs, her vision blurring. Smoke roiled in the chamber, mingling with screams and the acrid bite of burning.
Through the haze, she saw Darius moving away with cold efficiency, stepping over the rubble with mechanical precision. Without looking back, he was gone.
Thalyn gasped for air, the ground shifting beneath her. She struggled to rise, clawing at the debris. Nira was beside her, hands gripping her arms, pulling her up with urgency. “Stay with me!” she shouted, her voice barely cutting through the chaos.
Kalir’s voice cut through the noise, strained and desperate. “Thalyn!”
Thalyn turned to see him half-buried under a collapsed beam, his face twisted in pain. He was pushing against the rubble, but it was clear he was trapped. Nira's face was set in determination. “We have to go! There’s nothing we can do!”
The walls trembled, and another explosion rocked the chamber, sending more debris crashing down. Thalyn glanced back one last time. Kalir's figure was barely visible, the rubble collapsing around him.
Nira’s grip tightened. “We can’t stay,” she urged. “If we don’t move now, we’ll be buried too.”
Thalyn stumbled, anguish clawing at her heart, and legs, as she let Nira pull her toward the exit. The chamber was swallowed by dust and fire as they limped away, Kalir’s desperate cries fading into the chaos.
Outside, they emerged into the bitter, smoky air, breathless and shaken. The stronghold blazed, flames reaching skyward. Thalyn stared at Nira’s furious face, guilt and resolve battling within her.
Whispered Arvie’s playful voice, edged with concern. "She was a good friend."
Thalyn coughed, throat raw. “No kidding,” she said as she woke up.132Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTge1G78Ghl
