The fleet of the Shardborn was a sight beyond comprehension. Thousands of living ships, each shaped like a crescent of crystal and sinew, glided through the void, their hulls refracting starlight into shimmering spectrums. But to Kaelen, they looked less like vessels and more like predators lurking in a silent ocean.
"They're beautiful," Lyra whispered, standing on the observation deck of the flagship.
"They're watching us," Rhyss muttered. "And not all of them are friendly."
Indeed, as they passed through the corridor leading to the command chamber, Kaelen noticed the hostile stares of Shardborn warriors—creatures of glassy skin and bladed limbs. Whispers followed them, though the words were in an alien tongue.
At the heart of the chamber stood Captain Veyric, a tall, angular Shardborn clad in dark, jagged armor. His eyes, unlike Veilara's golden ones, burned cold blue.
"You brought them aboard?" Veyric's voice was a low snarl directed at Veilara herself. "This is folly. They will betray us, as all flesh-bound creatures do."
Veilara remained poised. "And yet they hold the Seed, Captain. Without them, we cannot hope to reach the Forge before the Echo-Lord."
Kaelen stepped forward, jaw tight. "If you've got something to say, say it to me."
Veyric tilted his head, amused by the defiance. "Very well. If you falter, human, I will see your heart cut from your chest and hung in the void. Consider that… motivation."
Kaelen didn't blink. "You'll have to catch me first."
Before the tension could escalate further, alarms blared through the chamber. A holographic display flickered to life—showing a massive swarm of biomechanical vessels dropping out of subspace ahead of them.
"Echo-Lord's hounds," Ceyra cursed. "How did they find us so fast?"
Veilara's expression hardened. "Because there is a traitor among us."
The deck shuddered as the first blasts struck the fleet. Lyra's stomach knotted as she felt a presence—cold, invasive, familiar—slithering into her mind:
You cannot hide from me, spark.
She gasped. "He's here."
Kaelen drew his blade, eyes locking on the viewport where the black swarm approached. "Then let's make sure he regrets coming."
The battle for the Shardborn fleet had begun.