The impact came without warning.
THOOM.
The sound rolled through the castle like a blunt instrument, deep and heavy enough to rattle bone. The roots of the dome vibrated violently, several strands splintering under the strain before Karon reacted on instinct.
He raised one hand and tore a section of the living barrier apart.
Roots unraveled and withdrew, opening a wide breach to the outside. Cold rain and ash-laced air rushed in, along with the noise of the battlefield, sharper now, closer. What lay beyond made the breath catch in Trafalgar's chest.
A root unlike any other pierced through the structure of the castle.
It was massive, so thick that its surface looked less like wood and more like a living wall, its bark ridged and ancient. It rose at an angle that suggested impossible scale, disappearing upward beyond sight, as if it had grown straight through stone and tower alike without resistance.
And standing on it—
Kaedor.
