Thalia looked at Elena, "I will do what your father asked of me."
Elena looked back at her aunt's foxlike eyes, sharp but weary. "You really plan to do it?" she asked, voice soft but edged.
Thalia didn't turn. "Your father gave the order."
"That's not what I asked."
Thalia faced her niece. Their amber eyes met as the wind whipped her dark green robes around her — firelight danced in her eyes, alive and hungry. "Yes, fox," she said, her tone cutting through the twilight. "I'm going to bring Borris Dale to his knees before your father. Whether he walks or burns is his choice."
Elena sighed. There was no stopping her aunt once her fire caught hold. "Fine. I'll stay out of it. I have Leo. If things turn, I'll head for the safe room."
Thalia's lips curved into a smirk. "Do what you want, but keep the knight close. He's the only one I trust to keep you breathing."With that, Thalia ran off, making sure no one was around as she jumped; flames erupted beneath her feet. The marble cracked as heat flared, wings of fire blooming behind her like the wrath of a phoenix.
Elena shielded her face as her aunt leapt into the twilight sky, leaving a trail of burning embers across the city's dark canopy.
"Gods above," Elena muttered. "She and Jake share the same dramatic streak."
~~~~~
The gates of the Dale estate exploded inward.
A monstrous bear crashed through, roaring loud enough to shake the ground. The beast's fur shimmered with a strange dull sheen, half-covered in battle armor. Dan's roar sent guards scattering like leaves.
Beside him, shadows moved like living things. From their depths, a striped form emerged — a Mare Tiger, void-like tendrils from his stripes, the tendrils lashed outward, slicing through armor, biting deep into flesh, leaving only silence behind. Where they touched, men collapsed, thrashing in nightmares that clawed at their minds.
Teris was no mere summon — he was fear incarnate, bound to Audrey's will through ink and blood.
Behind the chaos strode Jake, the snow-white mask of a bunny gleaming beneath the torchlight. His golden eyes burned beneath it, sharp and alert, scanning every angle. Shawn followed with an axe in hand, grin feral and teeth bared as if the blood and screams were nothing more than a rhythm to fight by.
He threw a knife at a charging guard, the knife sank into the man's throat as Jake muttered, "I hate you."
Shawn laughed, "Hey, it was your idea to raid the place, but my idea to keep the Lockvry name out, best way, an innocent snow bunny," he quipped.
Jake ignored him, his voice steady even as chaos raged. "There's a secret exit near the gardens — keep it open."
"Aye," Shawn said, rolling his shoulders. "I'll watch it. Go play villain."
Jake gave him a dry look through the mask. "You're a real bastard, you know that?"
"Love you too, snow bunny."
Jake walked next to Dan as he stood tall above the rubble. Dan, in his bear form, stood over 13 feet tall on all fours, from feet to shoulders.
"Thanks for the entrance," Jake muttered, patting Dan's thick foreleg before running deep in the manor.
Jake's boots were silent on the marble floors. His wolf ears twitched, picking up every whisper, every heartbeat through the stone walls. The flickering light of chandeliers danced across blood-slick tiles, and through the halls came the sound of breaking glass and distant roars.
Then came the boom — a detonation so fierce it rattled his bones. Heat rolled through the manor, followed by a bellow that could only belong to Dan, "Shit," he cursed.
He stopped as he listened to their roars. Then froze as a man in armor crashed through multiple walls leading from outside. He peeked out to see flames rising, Dan roaring at the skies.
Heat flooded through the manor as he saw the fire did not singe Dan's fur, but a sudden fireball rocked his form, yet he still stood tall, as void ribbons shot to the skies.
He continued. Teris would recover — the summon's body was shadows and whispers — but Dan was mortal. Every second mattered.
Another crash — stone splitting. Then a roar of pain that made his blood boil. Jake gritted his teeth, sprinting up a grand staircase two steps at a time.
At the top, a door slammed open. He saw them — Borris Dale, drenched in sweat, his servant struggling under the weight of a heavy chest.
Borris spun, wild-eyed. "Who—what do you want?!" he sputtered, fumbling for a blade. His voice cracked with fear, sweat dripping through his matted brown hair.
Jake threw a knife at the servant's knee, hitting his mark. The servant toppled over the chest, pinning the man to the ground.
Jake's tail lashed as he drew his dagger.
"Does it matter, Borris?"
The man froze, eyes widening in terror as Jake advanced—but an explosion shattered the air. A figure wreathed in fire burst through the window, glass scattering like embers.
"Borris Dale!" the figure thundered. "You shall answer for—" the figure began, before one of Jake's knives whistled past, forcing her to duck.
Thalia glared at the masked intruder, flames flickering around her. "Who are you?"
"I'm here to get rid of this bastard," Jake snarled.
She studied him, her gaze calculating. The set of his shoulders, the predatory calm—wolf lycanthrope. Even through the snow bunny mask, she could tell he was dangerous. "He wronged you as well?" she asked, her tone even, eyes flicking between the masked intruder and Borris, who trembled beside an overturned chest, a servant trapped beneath it.
Jake hesitated. The voice, the fire — it clicked in his head. "Thalia Falmil," he muttered, lowering his blade a fraction.
Her eyes narrowed. "You know my name."
"I know enough." His stance shifted, ready to bolt or fight. "You're the Flame of Helver."
Thalia's flames dimmed as she landed lightly, eyes narrowing. "If you know my name. Then you know I don't repeat myself. Answer the question—are you with the bear and the dwarf?"
Jake chuckled as she mistook Shawn for a dwarf, but he asked without mirth, "Are they dead?" His golden eyes glared at her.
"The bear still fights. The dwarf bleeds but stands." Her words were curt, clipped—the rhythm of command, as she ignored the pain on her side, which she had gotten from the bear. A mistake, she had gotten too close, and the bear got lucky.
Borris stumbled backward, eyes darting between them. "Thalia, help me! This man's the criminal! He—he broke in—"
Both turned their gaze on him.
"You're the criminal," Thalia hissed, advancing, her hand igniting in flame. "You attacked my niece."
Jake glanced at her as he asked, "So who is gonna have him? You or me?" as he raised his dagger, she stopped.
Thalia's eyes hardened, her presence heavy with command. "I will take him. You've got your own vendetta, I can smell it. But this hunt ends here."
Jake nodded once. "Yeah. I've already lost this fight." His grip tightened on his dagger; he knew without his shadow magic, she would burn him to a crisp. "Just wanted to deal with him myself. Will you let me walk, or do we see how much blood this place can hold?"
Thalia's eyes narrowed, searching his eyes, and they slightly widened as she saw something in them. "Does his fate matter to you?"
Jake looked at her, his eyes curious, "He wronged me, and he should be punished, as long as he is, no, his fate does not matter."
Thalia nodded, "You can leave. I'll take him. But next time, you won't be so lucky."
Jake gave a slight nod as he inclined his head, scanning the room. The only way out that wouldn't expose him if she spoke falsehoods was the shattered window.
He sheathed his dagger and glanced toward the shattered window. Outside, the night was alive with battle. Dan's fur burned in patches, his armor scorched, yet the bear still swung his claws, scattering guards like toys. Shawn stood on his back, roaring curses between axe swings in the air. Teris had vanished — likely recalled to Audrey's ink.
He looked back at Thalia and nodded before he leapt through the window and landed atop Dan's broad back in a crouch, the bear grunting at the sudden slight weight. "Move!" Jake barked, and the Dan roared as he charged through the broken gates, tossing men aside.
Thalia watched him jump, a faint smirk curling her lips. Those golden, cunning eyes—she'd seen them before.
The Whispering Shadow. A woman who could silence a kingdom with a whisper, whose words bent lords to their knees, and whose silence cut deeper than steel. When her shadow stirred, even kings forgot how to breathe. And now, her son bore those same eyes.
Thalia exhaled slowly, the battle-fire fading from her veins.
She turned to Borris, who lay trembling amid the wreckage, the servant groaning beneath the chest beside him.
"You should have run when you had the chance," she said softly.
He whimpered. "Please… mercy—"
"Mercy's for the innocent."
She grabbed him by the hair and dragged him through the hall, boots echoing across scorched marble. Smoke curled from the edges of her cloak as she walked, her expression cold as the stone around her.
She would say nothing of the masked wolf. If he carried her eyes, he carried her legacy. She knew if he had those eyes, then it was best to leave his schemes undisturbed.