The forest did not care who started it.
It swallowed orders, banners, and loyalties the same way it swallowed sound. Steel rang from every direction. Men shouted commands that no one heard. What was meant to be a controlled strike had become something else entirely.
A mess.
Lunara moved fast.
She cut through the confusion, not toward the enemy, but toward her own soldiers. "Fall back!" she shouted. "Form on me—now!"
Some obeyed. Some didn't. Vaelis's men were still pushing forward, driven by anger more than reason.
"Vaelis!" Lunara called again. "This isn't defense anymore. This is chaos."
Vaelis blocked an incoming strike and shoved the attacker back. "Chaos is what forces change," he snapped. "You wanted to wait behind walls forever."
Before Lunara could answer, an Aethros horn sounded again closer this time.
Reinforcements.
Too many.
Across the clearing, Kael saw it clearly. Nyvoria's formation was breaking. Vaelis had courage but not control. If this continued, Rhaegor's forces would arrive next—and then no one would stop the slaughter.
"Shield line," Kael ordered sharply. "Push them away from the center. Do not pursue."
His soldiers hesitated.
"They attacked us first," one said.
"And if we crush them here," Kael replied, "we'll never stop crushing them."
That was enough. The unit moved.
Blades locked. Bodies collided. The forest filled with breath, sweat, and fear.
Lunara and Kael found themselves closer than either intended—separated by only a few paces of chaos. An Aethros soldier lunged toward her flank.
Kael reacted without thinking.
He intercepted the strike, blade flashing, knocking the attacker aside.
Lunara turned instantly, sword raised—then froze.
"You?" she said.
"No time," Kael replied. "Your men are being boxed in."
She followed his gaze. He was right.
For one brief moment, they stood on the same side of survival.
"Signal your unit," Kael said. "Pull back toward the river. I'll hold this line long enough."
"You don't give orders here," Lunara shot back.
"No," he agreed. "But I can buy you time."
Another clash cut off further argument.
Lunara made the choice.
She turned and shouted commands, redirecting her soldiers away from the center of the fight. Slowly—painfully—the line began to move.
Vaelis saw it and cursed. "You're retreating?"
"I'm saving them," Lunara said. "Whether you like it or not."
Vaelis hesitated.
Just long enough.
An explosion of movement tore through the trees as Aethros forces surged forward—this time bearing Rhaegor's mark burned into their shields.
Kael felt it in his chest.
Too late.
"Fall back!" Kael shouted to his men. "Now!"
The forest answered with screams.
When the dust finally settled, the border lay scarred with bodies from both sides. No victory. No triumph.
Only loss.
As night fell, the survivors withdrew—Nyvoria pulling back behind its lines, Aethros regrouping under darker banners.
Lunara stood at the edge of the trees, breathing hard, hands shaking despite her control.
Across the clearing, Kael met her gaze one last time.
No words.
Just the shared understanding that something irreversible had happened.
The border had been crossed.
And it would never be the same again.