Just moments before, the Great Hall of Ice-Vein Keep had been warm and quiet. Now, it echoed like a drum.
BOOM.
The heavy oak doors, strengthened with iron bands as thick as a man's arm, shook hard. Dust fell from the stone archway.
BOOM.
The wood groaned and split down the middle.
"Back!" Revas shouted, shoving Mirabelle behind him. His coat of shadows swirled around his body, hardening into a defensive carapace. "Get behind the pillars! Ghosts! Shield wall!"
The fifty elite soldiers of the Iron Legion, called the Grey Ghosts, didn't hesitate. They dropped their bedrolls and card games right away, put on their helmets, and formed a crescent in front of the Queen and the hearth. Their Star-Metal shields locked together with a deep, ringing sound.
"Oric," Mirabelle commanded, gripping the old castellan's shoulder as he cowered. "Get down. Cover your head."
CRASH.
The doors fell apart completely.
