Jett moved through the winding marble stairwell, flanked by Mia, Noctlisa, and Eleonora. Mia's fingertips glowed with emerald light as she summoned shoots of ivy and thorned vines beneath the flickering torchlights. Noctlisa's greatsword—its blade nearly as tall as she was—rested heavy on her shoulder, each breath steady and measured.
Eleonora's rapier, long and slender, gleamed like a silver thread in her gloved hand. Its tip clicked against the stone at each step. The quartet ascended toward the upper keeps of Castle Thornwall—the fortress of Duke Eren of the Northern Wall.
The corridors thrummed with humming wards Jett had ignited and unraveled with a crackling snap of lightning.
