Upon the walls, soldiers pressed shoulder-to-shoulder. Behind them were others — young boys barely into manhood, older men whose eyes still burned with loyalty. The gate below was fortified, archers' bowstrings drawn, every man and woman waiting for the signal.
King Derek reached the high ground, his gaze scanning the field. A general at his side muttered, "This is what the depths of hell looks like."
Derek's eyes hardened — but behind that steel was a flicker of worry. He looked down at Virvo's army. The Venomids waited in perfect silence, twisted and monstrous. Some had barbed tails coiling behind them, others had too many eyes, too many teeth. And at the front, towering above them all, Virvo himself stood like a shadow given form.
The first impact was like thunder.The Venomids charged.
The field became chaos in a heartbeat — arrows streaked down, shields clanged, screams and roars filled the air. The ground shook under the weight of the onslaught.
Thalia reached the lower wall just as the first Venomids scaled it, their claws biting into stone. She slammed into one, axe-first, splitting its skull. Another lunged — she ducked, swept its legs, and crushed its throat with a downward strike. Blood, black and steaming, coated the stone beneath her feet.
She didn't slow. She climbed higher, fighting her way toward the high platform where she thought William might be.
At the highest point of the wall, King Derek and Lord Alric fought like a storm given flesh. They didn't need to speak — Alric's shield slammed into an enemy's chest, Derek's sword slid past him to take its head. Derek pivoted, Alric ducked, their movements in perfect sync.
But in war, even perfection falters.
She came for them — Virvo's left hand. A Venomid woman taller than any man on the wall, her skin white as bone, her eyes a deep, venomous gold. Her hair, black and jagged, seemed to move with the windless air.
Her claws tore through Alric's guard in a blur — the War Chief's eyes went wide as a gash opened from shoulder to hip. He staggered, blood spilling fast. Derek roared and caught him, but Alric's knees buckled.
He was gone before he hit the stone.
Derek's face twisted in fury — but in that moment, his guard dropped. The white-skinned Venomid lunged with inhuman speed. Her clawed hand speared clean through his chest.
The King gasped — blood filling his mouth. His sword fell from his hand, his knees hitting the stone. She ripped her arm free, letting him collapse.
Thalia reached the top just in time to see it.
Her eyes locked on Lord Alric first — his body already still, eyes open toward the heavens. She knelt beside him, her breath sharp and uneven. She had never lost someone like this before. Her fingers trembled as they brushed his shoulder.
Then she heard it — the low growl.
She lifted her gaze… and saw her. The white-skinned Venomid turning, revealing what was behind her.
King Derek — her father — on the ground. A massive hole in his chest.
For a heartbeat, there was no rage. Only silence.The battle faded from her ears. The world was still.
Her eyes fixed on her father's slowing breath. One. Two. Stop.
Then her gaze rose to the Venomid.
"I'm going to kill every single one of you," she said. No shout, no scream. Just flat, certain death in her voice.
The Venomid charged.
Thalia moved, sliding behind her, pulling her axe free. As the Venomid lunged, Thalia sidestepped — and in that moment, time slowed.
She planted her foot and kicked, hard. The Venomid flew across the wall, smashing into stone. Dust and splinters exploded outward.
Thalia walked toward her, each step deliberate. The Venomid coughed black blood, growled, and roared. Thalia's eyes stayed low, her red hair shadowing them.
She vanished in the space of a blink — reappearing at the Venomid's side. One slash took its leg clean off. A backhand sent it crashing through the wall, tumbling into the mud below. It rolled until it came to a stop at Virvo's feet.
Virvo looked down at one of his strongest soldiers, then up at Thalia standing above. He smiled.
Without hesitation, he leapt into the air.
Thalia leapt from the wall to meet him, axe drawn, eyes burning with unchained fury, her red locks flowing like fire mid-air.
Below, the battle raged. In the chaos, William ran through the smoke and broken stone, searching desperately. He rounded a corner — and collided with a boy he had never seen before.
Vincent.
The boy from the mountains, the one who lived with the blind man. Their eyes locked, neither knowing that this meeting would change everything.