The first shot shattered the silence.
A guard's rifle discharged, its bolt slamming into the marble floor near Kael's feet. Sparks burst upward, the smell of scorched stone filling the chamber.
"Seize him!" Venra barked, her voice like a whip.
The guards surged forward.
Kael drew his blade in a single motion, steel singing in the charged air. Rhea's rifle snapped up, spitting precise bursts that sent two guards sprawling. Joran charged like a storm, his armored bulk smashing through their formation.
The councilors scattered, some screaming, others frozen in their seats. The chamber became chaos—shouts, gunfire, steel.
Kael's heart pounded. Not here. Not like this. Havenreach was supposed to be their last bastion. Now it was tearing itself apart from within.
A guard lunged at Kael, blade raised. Kael parried, sparks flying as steel met steel. He twisted, drove his elbow into the man's jaw, and sent him crumpling.
Another rushed from the side—Kael ducked, sweeping the guard's legs, then slammed his blade's hilt into his helmet.
Joran roared, ripping a rifle from a soldier's hands and hurling him bodily into two others. "You'll need more than this rabble, Venra!"
Rhea's voice was calm amid the storm. "Left flank! Kael, three incoming!"
Kael turned just as three guards converged. His blade blurred, deflecting one strike, slashing another's arm, spinning to kick the third back. His movements were imperfect, unorthodox—just as they had been against the reflections. That unpredictability saved him now.
Still, there were too many.
Venra rose from her seat, her uniform immaculate despite the chaos. Her hand rested on the hilt of a ceremonial sword, its edge glinting like liquid silver.
"You see?" she shouted to the council. "This is who he is! A weapon. A danger. He brings only war to our halls!"
Her eyes locked on Kael. Cold. Certain.
"You are no leader, Ardyn. You are a curse."
She drew her blade and advanced.
Kael's grip tightened. "Then face the curse yourself."
Darius stepped between them, his old blade raised. His voice was thunder. "If you want my son, Venra, you go through me."
Venra sneered. "You've grown soft, old man. Loyalty to blood blinds you."
"Perhaps," Darius said, steel steady in his hands. "But I'd rather bleed for my son than choke on my pride."
Their blades clashed. Sparks burst, steel ringing. Darius fought with a veteran's precision, each strike measured, controlled. Venra countered with speed and fury, her blade darting like a serpent.
Kael wanted to join the fight, but more guards pressed in. Every strike he parried felt heavier, every breath tighter.
Joran smashed through another squad, but even he was slowing. Rhea reloaded with clinical precision, but the tide pressed harder, more guards pouring in from the chamber doors.
"Kael!" she shouted over the roar. "We can't win this here!"
Kael's jaw clenched. She was right. They couldn't turn the council chamber into a grave.
He cut down another guard and shouted: "Fall back! To the east wing!"
Joran grunted, clearing a path with his bulk. Rhea covered their retreat, her shots clean and merciless. Darius disengaged from Venra with a final sweeping strike that forced her back.
They ran.
The corridors of Havenreach became their battlefield. Guards thundered after them, shouts echoing. Kael led, cutting down those who barred their path. Joran was the shield, smashing through barricades. Rhea was the scalpel, every shot dropping pursuers.
Darius kept pace despite his age, his eyes burning with resolve Kael had never seen before.
"Where are we heading?" Joran barked.
"The hangar," Kael said. "We need the Ark."
"And if Venra locks us out?"
"Then we carve our way through."
B
As they rounded a corner, more soldiers blocked the hall. But among them stood a familiar face—Councilor Elira, the pale woman who had spoken of using the clones.
She raised a hand. "Stop! Hold your fire!"
The guards hesitated.
Elira stepped forward, eyes gleaming. "Commander Ardyn. You don't have to run. We can use what Taren built. Together, we can control it. We can make Havenreach invincible."
Kael's stomach turned. "You sound just like him."
Her lips curved. "Then perhaps he is right."
She gestured—and the guards raised their rifles.
Kael cursed. "Move!"
The corridor erupted in fire.
They dove into cover, bolts scorching the walls. Kael's blade deflected shots as he pushed forward. Rhea laid down covering fire, forcing the guards back.
Joran roared, ripping a steel door from its hinges and using it as a shield. He barreled down the hall, smashing through the firing line.
Kael and Darius followed, blades flashing. Elira fled back into the shadows, her voice trailing: "You'll regret this, Kael Ardyn!"
The path opened—toward the hangars.
They burst into the hangar, its vast space filled with fighters and transports. Soldiers swarmed the platforms, weapons trained on the entrance.
At their center stood Venra, her blade dripping with blood. Her voice boomed across the chamber.
"End this madness, Ardyn. Surrender, and perhaps your friends will live."
Kael stepped forward, chest heaving. "You call me a curse. But the only curse here is your hunger for power. You would rather fight me than fight Taren. That makes you no better than him."
Venra's eyes narrowed. "Then you leave me no choice."
She raised her blade. The soldiers advanced.
The hangar shook.
From above, the air shimmered as the Ark decloaked, its alien hull gleaming with shifting light. Its cannons hummed, targeting systems whirring.
Lyra's voice boomed from the comms, firm and unyielding: "Step away from him."
The soldiers froze, caught between fear and duty.
Kael's chest surged with relief.
Venra snarled. "Traitors. All of you."
The Ark's cannons pulsed, ready to fire.
Kael raised his blade, voice like iron. "Last chance, Venra. Stand down—or fall."
The hangar trembled with tension. Venra's soldiers waited for her command, the Ark's cannons locked on them, Kael's team bloodied but unbroken.
One word would decide Havenreach's future.
And Kael knew Venra was not the type to surrender.