Seris POV
The ground splits open beneath my feet.
I scream and jump back as a massive crack tears through the fortress courtyard. Warriors stumble and fall. The walls shake so hard that stones rain down from above.
"SHIELDS UP!" Vaelor roars.
His warriors snap into formation, raising shields just as arrows darken the sky. The attack has begun.
But I can't look away from Morgana. The blood witch stands at the front of the army, her hands glowing with dark purple magic. She's CONTROLLING the earthquake. Every time she moves her fingers, the ground shakes harder.
"Seris!" Vaelor grabs my arm. "I need you to counter her magic. Fire against earth. Can you do it?"
"I—I don't know how—"
"Yes, you do." His eyes burn into mine. "You've been training for this. Picture the fire in your chest. Let it flow through your hands into the ground. Push back against her magic."
Another tremor nearly knocks me over. Warriors are screaming. Part of the eastern wall collapses.
I close my eyes and reach for my power. It's there, burning hot and ready. I picture it flowing down through my legs, through my feet, into the earth itself.
Fire meets dark magic underground.
The shaking stops.
I open my eyes. Morgana is staring at me in shock. "Impossible," she hisses.
"Not impossible," Vaelor says with a fierce grin. "Just very, very rare. ARCHERS! FIRE!"
A wave of arrows launches from our walls. The enemy army raises shields, but not fast enough. Dozens fall.
The battle explodes into chaos.
Warriors pour toward our gates. Our defenders meet them with swords and claws. The sound of metal on metal, of wolves snarling and dying, fills the air.
I stand frozen on the wall, watching the carnage. This is real. People are actually dying.
"Seris, focus!" Kael appears beside me. "We need you on the eastern wall. They're trying to break through with a battering ram."
I run after him, my heart pounding. The eastern wall is under heavy attack. A massive log suspended between poles slams into our gate over and over. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The wood is splintering.
"Burn the ram!" Kael orders.
I raise my hands and send a stream of fire at the battering ram. The wood catches instantly, flames spreading fast. The warriors carrying it drop it and run, screaming as their clothes burn.
"Good!" Kael claps my shoulder. "Keep it up! Don't let them get close to the gates!"
For the next hour, I move between wall sections, burning anything that threatens our defenses. Ladders. Battering rams. Warriors who get too close. My power flows easily now, fueled by adrenaline and fear.
But I'm getting tired. Each burst of flame takes more effort than the last.
"INCOMING!" someone screams.
I look up just in time to see a massive ball of dark magic hurling toward me. I throw up a wall of fire on instinct.
The two forces collide in mid-air. The explosion throws me backward. I slam into the stone wall hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.
"SERIS!" Vaelor is there instantly, helping me up. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." But I'm not fine. My head is spinning. My hands are shaking. "That was Morgana, wasn't it?"
"Yes. She's targeting you specifically." Vaelor looks out over the battlefield. "We need to take her out. As long as she's alive, she can keep throwing magic at us."
"So what do we do?"
Vaelor's expression turns dangerous. "We bring her to us. Kael!"
Kael appears, covered in blood that I hope isn't his. "Your Majesty?"
"Take twenty of our best warriors. Circle around through the forest. Come at their rear flank. Create chaos. I want Morgana to focus on defending her army instead of attacking us."
"And if she comes at the fortress herself?" Kael asks.
"Then Seris and I will be waiting." Vaelor looks at me. "Can you fight? Truly fight? Not just defend, but attack?"
I think about what Morgana wants to do to me—drain my power, kill me slowly. I think about Corwin leading this army to take me back. I think about Lyria standing beside him, probably smiling.
"Yes," I say firmly. "I can fight."
"Good." Vaelor turns to Kael. "Go. Now. We'll hold here."
Kael and his warriors slip away through a side gate. Minutes feel like hours as we wait. The main army keeps attacking, wave after wave crashing against our defenses.
Then I hear it—shouting from the rear of the enemy lines. Kael's surprise attack is working.
Morgana spins around, distracted. She raises her hands to send magic at the warriors attacking from behind.
"NOW!" Vaelor grabs my hand. "We're going down there. Together."
"What? But—"
"No time to argue!" He pulls me toward the stairs. "While she's distracted, we strike. Hit her hard and fast before she can defend herself."
We race down from the walls and out through a side gate. Vaelor shifts mid-run, his massive black wolf form appearing in a blur of power. I run beside him on two legs, flames already gathering in my palms.
We burst through the enemy lines. Warriors try to stop us, but Vaelor tears through them like they're made of paper. I throw fire left and right, clearing our path.
Morgana doesn't see us coming until it's too late.
"WITCH!" I scream.
She spins around, her eyes going wide. "You—"
I don't let her finish. I throw every ounce of power I have straight at her. A massive column of silver fire erupts from my hands.
Morgana throws up a shield of dark magic just in time. My fire crashes against it. The two forces fight for dominance, pushing back and forth.
"You're STRONG," Morgana says through gritted teeth. "Stronger than Ellara ever was. Such a waste to kill you. But orders are orders."
"What?" My concentration breaks for just a second. "What do you know about Ellara?"
Morgana smiles. "Everything, child. I'm the one who killed her."
The world stops.
"WHAT?"
"Did the Ash King not tell you?" Morgana's smile widens. "Ellara didn't die in childbirth. I poisoned her. Slowly, carefully, over months. Her own husband never suspected a thing. He thought she was just having a difficult pregnancy."
Rage like I've never known explodes through me. My fire turns from silver to pure white, burning hotter than anything I've created before.
"YOU KILLED HER!" I scream. "YOU KILLED VAELOR'S WIFE!"
"And I'll kill you too!" Morgana's magic surges.
But my rage is stronger. My fire breaks through her shield and wraps around her body. She screams.
"SERIS, STOP!" Vaelor's human voice shouts behind me. "Don't kill her! We need information!"
But I can't stop. The fire is pouring out of me like a flood. All the pain, all the betrayal, all the grief—it's all burning through Morgana.
She falls to her knees, still screaming. The dark magic around her starts to crack and break.
"SERIS!" Vaelor grabs me from behind, trying to pull me back. "CONTROL IT!"
I finally pull the fire back in. Morgana collapses on the ground, breathing hard. Her clothes are burned, her skin blistered, but she's alive.
"Bind her!" Vaelor orders. Warriors rush forward with silver chains.
As they drag Morgana away, she looks at me and laughs weakly. "You think you've won? Foolish child. This was never about capturing you."
"What are you talking about?" I demand.
"Look around." Morgana's smile is bloody but triumphant. "Where's your precious Alpha Corwin?"
My blood runs cold. I scan the battlefield.
Corwin isn't here. Neither is Lyria. Or half of the army that was here before.
"No," I whisper.
"YES!" Morgana cackles. "While you were fighting me, while all eyes were on this battle, Corwin took five hundred warriors and rode for Thornvale. By now, they've already reached your old pack."
Horror washes over me. "Why would he—"
"Because someone in Thornvale has something I need. And Corwin is going to get it for me." Morgana's eyes gleam with malice. "Something that will make your power look like a candle compared to the sun."
"What is it?" Vaelor demands. "What's in Thornvale?"
Morgana's smile is the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.
"The Fire Goddess's heart. And once we have it, little Flamebinder, you'll wish you died on that pyre."