Annette dove lower, not floating close to the wall but not quite far from it either. She spread both arms into the air, and for a moment the world seemed to hold its breath as an undulating heat warped the surrounding air.
The heat invisibly slammed against the wall, as if wanting to test its resolve one more time, but it was merely shrugged away by the gargantuan silence of the formidable wall.
Yet the space around her crackled with terrifying pressure, sparks of flame flying wildly around. Behind the wall, more soldiers were rising. Annette could see their armor, which was different from the usual black and red the Empire wore.
These ones wore brown leather armor, seemingly cut from solid slabs of leather instead of sewn together. They wore no helmets, but instead bore hardened, defiant faces and long vermilion hair that flowed down their backs, bearing an uncanny resemblance to hers.
She stared down with deep hatred brimming in her eyes.
'They came after all.'
