Chapter 48
Phoenix
We broke through into a large chamber. It was cavernous and empty, save for a steady drip, drip, drip of a small spring bubbling through the crack. With my fire I lit the space, bringing shadows to life around us.
“Where are we exactly?” I asked Rigg.
“We are currently a floor above Vael’s sanctum.” Rigg gestured to the river. It flowed freely down through a crack in the rock.
“His sanctum is behind that wall, fifteen feet down. The river feeds straight through it.” She said, “The tunnels veer in, deeper into the mountain.”
“Why can’t we break through from here?”
“You see this?” Rigg gestured to a light shimmering on the cave wall. “It’s warded. Stronger wards than I’ve seen.”
“So if we can’t get in from here, why did we come here?” Leo asked, sounding frustrated.
“We need the tower, not the sanctum,” Lia said. She crossed to the opposite wall and ran her hand along the stone like she was feeling for a pulse. “There are people down there. Caged. Used in the worst ways,” Lia said, voice low. “We free them first. Then we move.”
Slade stepped forward. “What about Elira?”
“She is not our mission right now,” Lia said quietly. “She has to follow a different path.”
“Not our mission?” Caelen’s hand slid to his sword hilt. “I thought—”
“I told you,” Lia snapped, “this mission was set long before Elira returned. Vael has been stealing people—children—from towns, markets, villages. He’s been using them. Sacrificing them to his gods.”
“But Elira is trapped with him—” Leo growled.
“And girls younger than her are facing worse!” Lia’s voice cracked like a whip. “I know it’s hard. But you need to trust what the fates have decreed—”
“What is that?” I cut in. “That we just leave her? That we let him have her again?”
“She won’t die,” Lia said, breath sharp. “I know that. But she’s about to face a choice. One that can’t be interfered with. Not yet.”
Slade’s voice dropped. “Thorne. He’s here.”
Caelen went still. “He’ll kill her.”
“No,” I said before anyone else could. “He won’t. Not if there’s still any of him left.”
Lia looked at me, something old and sad in her eyes. “Then you better pray she reaches him before the other part does.”
Rigg stepped to the wall. “Ready when you are boss.” He said to Lia.
She paused, taking in each of us in turn.
“Do it.”
**
Elira
Thorne’s grip was cold around my arm as he led me deeper, down into the bowels of the dungeon. Through one door, then another, down, down, down into the darkness. The tower seemed very far away.
Our footsteps slapped against stone with every step.
The monks glided ahead with a kind of malicious grace, their robes brushing the ground like shadows. They moved as if making way for a storm.
Vael walked in front, dragging Maddie behind him like she was nothing but a burden. I followed, head high—but my heart was buried in my boots.
A light appeared ahead, faint at first, then growing brighter with every step. And a sound—soft, broken. A whimper, maybe. Faint. Too faint.
Water, too. I could hear it running now, steady and close. A stream… or a spring. And beneath it, a rhythm that sank into my bones.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
My stomach turned.
We reached a wide chamber carved from the mountain’s rock. At its centre stood a stone slab, marked with ornate symbols and deep, blood-dark grooves.
And above it—
Gods. No.
A woman hung suspended from a star-shaped frame bolted to the ceiling. Her arms were bound. Symbols had been carved into her flesh.
And her blood—
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Even Thorne stopped beside me. His breath caught—like even he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“What the hell…” he muttered.
Without a word, the monks glided forward and formed a circle around the stone slab. Two broke off and returned with a long, silver-white robe embroidered with symbols that shimmered faintly in the low light.
They held it out for Vael. He slipped it on with a majesty that made my blood run cold.
He released Maddie with a shove. She hit the ground hard, crumpling into a heap of torn skirts and shallow breaths.
I moved to go to her.
Thorne’s hand locked around my arm like iron.
Don’t. Not yet.
The word wasn’t spoken—but I felt it. In the grip. In the flicker of power between us. A warning. A plea.
Blood from the woman above dripped steadily down onto the slab, filling its carved grooves and spirals with sickening precision. It followed the path like it had been made for this. At the base, it pooled into a silver bowl—filling it like wine.
Beyond the circle of monks, I saw the cages.
Shadowed figures—men, women, children—pressed to the bars. Hollow-eyed. Silent. Resigned. Like they’d seen this before. Too many times.
One of the monks stepped forward, dipped his fingers in the bowl, and smeared the blood over his face, turning the blue of his sigil a sickly crimson. Another followed. Then another. Preparing.
My stomach twisted. I bent over and vomited hard onto the stone floor. Acid scorched my throat.
Behind me, Thorne’s hand moved. Just once. He rubbed my back—subtle. Quiet. Human.
“Please, Thorne,” I whispered. “If you’re in there—if any of you is left—please. Help me. Help Maddie. I can’t… I can’t do this—”
Vael stood at the altar now, brandishing a long, slender blade.
His zealots moved toward me.
Rough hands yanked me away. They tore at my clothes—ripping, dragging, indifferent to the way I shook. They pulled a thin ceremonial robe over my naked, shivering body. The fabric clung like shame.
I didn’t fight.
On the ground, Maddie whimpered. I caught the twitch of her fingers. She was still fighting.
Vael smiled at me, serene. “It’s time, Elira.”
“Time for what?” I spat, twisting against the monks’ grip.
He raised the blade.
“For our wedding night.”
**
Leo
We crashed through the first floor, splinters flying—desperate, furious, out of time. Outside, Bomber struck the tower again—another explosion of light and sound. The stone beneath us groaned, a low, ancient cry that echoed through the bones of the keep.
Cracks were spreading across the walls. Deep ones. Our window was closing—fast.
Then the enemy hit us.
A wave of Crown troops surged in, swords and daggers flashing with reckless fury. Snarls filled the air as a few wolves dropped into their shifted forms—thick muscle, snapping teeth cutting through the smoke.
One of them locked eyes with me—dark, feral, hungry.
And just like that, I felt the lion rise.
I shifted instantly, tackling the beast as it lunged for me. My claws ripped through flesh, pulling out chunks with each swipe.
Lacey, Caelen and Rigg fought at my side—Rigg opening sinkholes with a swipe of his hand, swallowing soldiers whole. Caelen’s blade flashed in the haze, cutting down anything that moved. Lia, Phoenix, and Toma pushed ahead, searching for the entrance to the dungeons.
“Keep them back—we’ll find the door!” Phoenix shouted.
We hit the Crown troops hard—fast—driving them through the ruined hall and toward Ashton’s advancing army.
The city was burning. Orange light spilled through shattered windows, smoke curling like serpents. If Ashton had his way, there’d be nothing left by sunrise.
We’d gotten most of the servants out—at least the ones we could find. But the Sentinels didn’t care. They weren’t here to protect. They were here to erase.
I pushed forward, blood roaring in my ears, heart hammering with one name—one vow.
Elira.
Magic slammed into me—hot and sudden. I crashed to the ground, dazed. Through the blur I saw an acolyte step from a hidden passage, blue flames churning in his hands. He threw them at me again—searing heat that knocked me into the wall.
“Leo!” Slade’s voice rang out. Silver shrapnel flew past me, one burst after another slamming into the monk.
There’d be more. There was always more. But Phoenix needed to reach that room.
I pulled myself up, pain radiating through my ribs. I was burned badly. It didn’t matter.
This was my path now.
I lunged. Sank my teeth into the monk’s arm. He was thin—bony—and he screamed as I tore in.
Good.
Let them know we were coming.
The building rumbled again—deep and angry. Somewhere overhead, stone cracked like bone.
Out the shattered window, I saw the wards.
Fracturing.
We had minutes.
Minutes before Ashton breached the tower.
Minutes before we were overrun—torn apart—burned alive.
I looked down at Ashton standing before the tower like a god come to collect. Then back at the others—Phoenix, Lia, Slade, Caelen, Lacey, Tom, Rigg. All fighting. Bleeding. Trying to save everyone.
It wasn’t going to be enough.
I had to buy them time. I had to do something.
Ashton had ruled with unchecked power for too long. The way he tore through this city. The way he pulled people with power off the streets like collectibles. Like property.
I had to stop him.
I shifted, the lion rising in my chest. My sword felt heavy in my hand—but right.
I turned back. One last look at them.
Slade met my eyes.
“Leo, no.” He shook his head, a plea in his voice.
I gave him a tired smile.
“Someone’s got to do the hero thing, right?”
Slade stepped forward, closing the distance between us.
“Then we do it together.”
“Slade—”
“Brothers to the end, Leo. Even if that happens to be tonight.”
He smiled—fierce, steady—and reached for the door.
Outside, an army waited. And we would meet them.
We would hold as long as we could.
I’d faced death before. Many times.
But this time?
This time, I would make it count.