"Don't worry," Kel said calmly. "We won't make you do the dangerous work. The three of us will face them head-on and you stay behind and finish any wolves that slip through."
Dominic nodded, understanding the intent even if his chest still felt tight. "Can you give me a weapon? Anything will do."
Kel glanced toward Riven and called him over. He asked for a spare sword.
Riven reached into his gear pile inside the wagon, pulled out a simple blade, and walked back.
He placed it into Dominic's hands. The weight was unfamiliar, too heavy, but this was what he got for now.
"You've trained in fighting before?" Riven asked.
Dominic shook his head. "No."
Riven's jaw tightened. "Then it'll be hard. Just use your abilities as best you can. And if you think you can't win, just run."
There was weight in his voice. If there had been any other choice, he would not have let a kid stand anywhere near this fight. But there wasn't.
"We'll do everything we can to keep them from reaching you," Riven added, his tone firmer now.
Mara let out a slow breath, eyes still fixed on the approaching pack. "I still can't believe we're letting a thirteen-year-old fight."
"It can't be helped," Riven replied quietly. "And this boy isn't simple. He killed that thing last night."
A faint smile tugged at his mouth.
"Hmm." Mara only grunted in response. Dominic wasn't sure what it meant. Maybe she still wasn't sure that Dominic was really able to kill that monster last night, despite the evidence. But Dominic didn't really care.
His gaze drifted past them to Alaric and the other two nobles. They were huddled behind a cluster of guards, gripping their clothes and weapons with pale knuckles. Fear was written plainly across their faces.
Something cold glinted in Dominic's eyes.
Then he turned back toward the wolves.
"They're close enough," Kel said. "Mara, you move first. I'll support you."
"Alright," Mara replied.
The three of them moved together.
Mara stepped forward and thrust her hand out. Ether flared to life around her, spreading into a translucent green barrier that shimmered like glass made of leaves. It expanded outward in a wide arc.
The charging wolves slammed into it.
Their momentum stopped. Snarls turned ragged as their bodies slowed, limbs dragging as if wading through thick mud.
Kel placed both hands against Mara's back. His ether surged forward, feeding into her body.
The green light brightened sharply.
The wolves were no longer slowed.
They were stopped completely.Pinned in place in the middle of their charge, muscles straining uselessly against an invisible wall.
That was Riven's cue.
He surged forward. Shockwaves rippled just faintly with each step he took, but he held back, choosing speed and precision over the explosive force of his Signature power.
His sword flashed as he slashed into the trapped wolves, one after another, using his strength and conditioned body instead of unleashing everything at once like last night.
Blood sprayed and the first wave of the wolves fell one by one.
But the next wave was already advancing.
More wolves burst from the brush, their snarls overlapping as they rushed forward without hesitation.
Riven did not move from his position. He stood ready, eyes sharp, body coiled in stance, waiting for the moment they entered the killing range.
However, Kel's expression tightened.
He narrowed his eyes, his Bloodmark sensory ability flaring as he examined the pack more closely. Something was wrong.
"Those wolves carry denser Labyrinth-corrupted ether," Kel shouted, pitching his voice so Riven could hear over the noise.
Riven clicked his tongue. "Damnation."
He turned sharply toward the guards lining the caravan and raised his voice.
"Move in here and help! Leave the civilians where they are. They'll be safe as long as we kill the wolves!"
The guards hesitated.
Their hands tightened around spear shafts and sword hilts, but their feet stayed rooted. Fear showed openly across several faces. None of them had signed up to charge corrupted beasts head-on.
Riven growled, frustration bleeding into his voice.
Kel let out a sharp breath and stepped forward.
"We have a barrier holding them back!" he shouted. "You only need to finish them off, just like my partner did!"
The guards glanced at one another. Murmurs spread quickly.
"It might not be that dangerous…" one of them said uncertainly.
"We're not facing them directly, right?" another added, eyes still glued to the glowing barrier.
But not all of them were convinced.
Then, Alaric's voice cut through the noise, sharp and offended.
"Don't move!" he snapped. "Stay here. Let the Arcanists handle it."
Several guards turned toward him.
"You're here to protect me," Alaric continued, chin lifted. "Do you know who I am? I'm your priority."
Some of the guards frowned openly. Dislike clearly crossed their faces after they heard his words.
But the others straightened instead.
"We'll stay," one said stiffly. "Someone has to guard him and the caravan, right?"
A few guards stepped closer to the nobles, positioning themselves defensively.
But not all of them stayed.
Several guards broke away and moved toward the Arcanists, weapons raised. Some did it because Kel's words had steadied their nerves. Others moved simply because they did not want to remain anywhere near Alaric.
The line split.
The wolves snarled and strained when they hit the barrier.
Suddenly, Mara let out a strained groan.
"I can't hold it much longer," she said through clenched teeth. "That ether… it's eating my barrier."
Kel placed his hands against her back again and pushed more ether forward, but his eyes stayed fixed ahead.
He could see the dark, oily strands of corrupted ether were seeping into the green barrier. The glow flickered where the two forces met, the surface of the barrier thinning as if being slowly dissolved.
This was not good.
Kel's thoughts raced ahead, pieces falling into place too quickly to ignore. If the barrier collapsed outright, the wolves would surge through in a single wave.
Riven and the guards could handle some of them, but not all. Not before blood was spilled behind the line.
He turned his head.
His gaze locked onto Dominic.
Nothing needed to be said.
Dominic felt it immediately. His look, the timing, and the unspoken expectation.
His stomach tightened and he bit his lower lip feeling sharp anxiety in his chest.
This was it.
He tightened his grip around the sword, knuckles whitening as he steadied their breathing.
He really had to fight now.
—