1 week later
Ashton's POV
The night was too still. Ravensreach rose like a blackened crown against the sky, its towers jagged, its walls alive with shadows. My hand hovered over the hilt at my hip as the hunters crouched low behind me, thirty men breathing as one, hearts hammering like war drums.
We moved in silence, our boots muffled by the moss and stone. Just as I had promised them, the gate was lit by torches and heavily guarded, vampire sentinels pacing like predators. Their eyes burned red even from this distance.
But we did not head for the gates.
I gestured sharply, leading them along the cliffs until we reached the brush-choked entrance of the forgotten service tunnel. A stench of earth and mildew clung to it, the stone sagging inward.
"Here," I whispered. "Steel ready. Once we're inside no turning back."
Garrick tightened his grip on his axe. "We'll make it quick."
