The sun had barely risen when Vaelor left the castle. He did not announce his departure. One moment he had been there, observing Kaelis as she trained, and the next, he had simply vanished. No doors creaked, no corridors echoed with his steps—he was gone.
For the first time in months, the castle felt… exposed. Vulnerable.
Kaelis remembered the blood from the previous nights, the massacre she could not unsee, the child who had stabbed Vaelor. She shivered slightly but forced herself to move forward. Survival required composure.
"Focus on the chores," she murmured to herself. "Keep your mind on the mundane. Nothing else matters."
The other girls were already busy. Lyra swept the training hall, her motions graceful, precise, but her brow furrowed in concentration. Elara arranged the armory, polishing weapons while her thoughts wandered—always wandering—to Vaelor. Even Ruria moved silently, preparing food, washing dishes, her calm presence grounding the castle in ways Kaelis had not thought possible.
Selindra, the demon princess, lingered near the stables, her wings folding slightly as she watched the skies outside. She had not spoken much since her arrival, but her presence radiated strength and calm. Kaelis found herself glancing at her from time to time, noting how the demon's aura seemed to bolster them all in subtle ways.
The morning passed quietly. Even Kaelis began to relax, imagining that maybe—just maybe—the castle could survive a day without death lurking in every corridor.
And then it came.
A scream from the outer wall, sharp and piercing.
Kaelis' hand went to her blade instantly, Lyra and Elara following suit. Ruria's body moved in a fluid, practiced motion, her eyes narrowing. Selindra stepped forward, wings unfurling slightly, her claws flexing.
The first wave hit like a storm. Goblins, shrieking, small but vicious, surged over the battlements. They were followed by larger, twisted forms: ogres, malformed creatures, and things that made Kaelis' stomach turn despite years of training. The castle, normally impregnable under Vaelor's magic, now felt fragile. The wards had faded with him gone.
"Defend the castle!" Kaelis shouted, rushing forward. The five of them moved as one, a blur of steel, magic, and claw.
The battle was chaotic. Goblins leaped from walls, their claws and teeth seeking flesh. Lyra's sword struck true, cutting through three before she was forced to dodge a spear. Elara spun, twin daggers flashing as she dispatched monsters with pinpoint strikes. Ruria moved calmly, raising shields of light to protect them, her aura radiating an almost imperceptible energy that stabilized the battlefield.
Selindra was terrifying. She moved with unnatural grace, tearing through ogres with her claws, claws leaving scorched marks across stone walls. The demon princess did not hesitate, did not falter. The girls followed her lead, gaining confidence as they realized that together, they could hold the onslaught.
Kaelis found herself fighting beside Selindra, noticing how the demon princess anticipated attacks with unnerving accuracy. Each strike from Selindra cleared space, buying them time. Kaelis struck at a goblin charging from behind, then turned to slice through an ogre's leg, propelling it into a wall.
Minutes stretched into hours—or it felt that way in the heat of battle. The courtyard, normally pristine, was now slick with blood and debris. Each wave of enemies seemed stronger than the last. The girls' movements became more desperate, more precise. Their backs were covered by each other, trust growing in the shared danger.
Kaelis realized something she had not expected. In the chaos, she had begun to admire Selindra—not as a rival, but as an ally. The demon princess had saved them repeatedly, and her presence emboldened the others. Kaelis' usual cold calculation was tempered by camaraderie, by the strange warmth that comes from survival side by side.
Yet the enemy seemed endless. There were too many. They were surrounded. Exhaustion clawed at Kaelis' limbs. Her arms were heavy, her legs burned with effort, yet she could not stop. The castle could not fall—not today.
A massive ogre leapt onto the outer wall, tossing a boulder into the courtyard. Kaelis barely rolled away as it shattered the stone beneath her feet. Lyra and Elara coordinated strikes, driving it back, but more creatures poured in behind it.
Ruria called out, voice calm but firm, "Focus! Protect each other! Do not let them split us!"
The words gave Kaelis clarity. Together, they could survive. Together, they could buy time. But the thought of Vaelor—gone, absent, no wards, no spells—made her stomach twist.
Then, from the far edge of the battlefield, a scream rose above the chaos.
Kaelis spun, heart racing, and saw a massive form emerging from the forest beyond the castle walls. Its wings spread wide, shadowing the courtyard. Scales glimmered in the morning light, and eyes burned like molten gold. The Dragon Lord.
The air shifted. Magic and instinct alike screamed that this was no ordinary enemy. Every living creature on the battlefield froze, even the goblins and ogres. The dragon's roar shook the stones beneath them, a sound so deep it reverberated through Kaelis' chest.
Selindra growled, claws scraping the ground. "This… this is impossible," she whispered, eyes wide.
Kaelis felt the hair on her arms rise. The Dragon Lord—the one they had only heard of in stories, the one whose presence alone had toppled kingdoms—was here.
Elara staggered back, voice trembling. "We… we can't beat this!"
Lyra's grip on her sword tightened. "We survive. That's all we do. We survive."
Ruria's aura flared, a pale glow spreading across the courtyard, but even her shields seemed insufficient.
Kaelis glanced at Selindra, then at Lyra, Elara, and Ruria. They had survived every impossible enemy, every onslaught, together. If there was even a chance, they would fight.
But the Dragon Lord's shadow spread over the walls. Its roar cut through the air again.
Kaelis' heart tightened, not with fear, but with the knowledge of the impossible:
They had fought goblins, ogres, and monsters together, survived by the skin of their teeth, but now the very stories of terror itself had arrived at the gates.
And with it came the certainty that Vaelor would not yet return.
The Dragon Lord's eyes met Kaelis', golden and intelligent. And in that instant, the courtyard, the girls, and even the castle itself felt impossibly small.
The ground trembled under its weight.
The five of them raised their weapons, readying for the fight that would decide not just their lives, but perhaps the fate of the castle itself.
Kaelis swallowed hard. She could feel Selindra at her side, Lyra behind her, Elara flanking, Ruria guarding, each heartbeat synchronized with her own.
And then the Dragon Lord leapt.