They ran.
The halls twisted, stretched, swallowed them whole. The air was thick with blood, sweat and iron. Footsteps pounded behind them. Shouts. Clashing steel. Death.
Then the horns.
A deep, gut-churning blare that made her ribs vibrate.
The whole stronghold knew.
"Faster!" Kael threw open a door. Cold air crashed into them. The night smelled like rain, heavy, waiting to fall.
And they weren't alone.
A dozen guards blocked the way. Blades glinted under torchlight.
At the front was a woman. Silver eyes. A smirk that made Sienna's skin crawl.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Sienna's chest tightened.
Darius adjusted his grip, knuckles white. "We don't have time for this."
Kael's head snapped side to side, calculating, looking for a way out.
Sienna barely saw them.
Something was stirring.
Inside her.
A pulse, deep in her bones.
The torches flickered.
The air changed.
It thickened, crackled, felt… alive.
Then the world shattered.
