CHAOS GRIPPED THE HALLS OF the gentry, crowds of noble men shouting at the guards that attempted to keep them within the castle as they demanded to be let out. Many carried weapons. Aldeern scowled as a Hotorethite soldier energy shouted, shunting the crowd back. It did little to calm them down. They needed every fighter they could get, but the Sorceress wanted none of the nobles involved. An idea occurred to him. Watching the crowd and knowing the need for more help, Aldeern made an executive decision.'House Lhr'yne! Return to your rooms!' Startled faces amongst the crowd gaped at him. Nobody moved.'NOW!' he bellowed.With hesitant looks to each other, six men and a number of helmet wearing servants started to move toward their assigned rooms.'All others follow me!' Aldeern turned, marching toward the turret. Though she mightn't be happy, the Sorceress needed the extra help. The best he could do was see the traitors to their rooms. As he started down the stairs a figure runni

THE RENEWED NUMBERS OF SOLDIERS, even if the nobles had second-rate skills compared to the actual soldiers, gave rise to hope.Sunrise is only four hours away, Elena thought. Just have to hold it in place till then.Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath in, mind reaching far beneath the surface of the planet, linking with the white-hot life flame at its centre. Her gift swelled at the extra energy, pouring out from her own centre, her hope and determination helping to grow and enhance the energy.A massive CRACK rang out, hurling Elena face first to the ground.Ears ringing, she gasped as pain reverberated across the back of her head, mind echoing with agony. Strange sounds around her made no sense. The world seemed to swim before her eyes as she pushed, trying to get to her hands and knees, body and mind swaying.Another blow smashed her to the cobblestones, breaking her jaw. Some portion of her mind recognized that someone had struck her. Clinging to that thought, realizing w

HUDDLED TOGETHER ON THE SETTEE in the sitting area of the Griffon Guard quarters, Citaan, Vesbel, and Ada sat silent. At their feet Audi let out a sigh, her ears perked as she listened. The heavy blows still occurred but didn't seem to shake the building any more.Perhaps I'm just used to it now, Citaan thought to herself, rocking Rirae who fussed quietly against her shoulder. The baby wouldn't feed, too distracted by their anxiety, and wouldn't sleep either.Perched on Vesbel's shoulders, the jybois hummed softly, large triangular ears twitching.Long minutes had passed since Nnelg unexpectedly vanished. Citaan couldn't imagine what he might be up to. Had he tried to attack more of those monsters? Emboldened by his kill? Had he heard something they hadn't? Breathing in through her nose and exhaling slowly, she calmed herself as much as possible. Stress made it feel as though she wore a tight headband, pressing against the back of her skull.Nnelg blinked in. Both women gasped, sta

WITH ALDEERN AND THE ASSISTANCE of the Lieutenants, Elena was able to get a semblance of order back to the courtyard. The Cavalry had entered with much pomp and ceremony only to be ordered around, clearing bodies out into the space between the inner and outer gates. A quick fix till the morning.Elena clarified that a proper receiving ceremony for all those involved in the battles would occur. Just not right now. Right now, she needed to present their monarchs, squashing any inclination of civil unrest back into those stubborn nobles' stone-like brains. Though Cat had healed her skull, the knowledge that someone had tried to crack it open to allow Jenviet the castle rankled. Elena wasn't about to let the memory go to waste.'Call out the nobles, call out everyone! Now!' At her snapped order Patel made a gesture, sending a troop of centaurs into the castle. Almost ready?The unexpected voice in her mind made her jolt in shock. Aldeern looked at her, concerned. She waved a hand at

THOUGH THE ROOM SHOULD FEEL familiar it felt more like a distant dream, the one you caught snippets of throughout the day that left you wondering about it. I knew these rooms. I knew this space. But it wasn't home yet. Walking past the double doors to the enormous wardrobe, I entered the bathroom with a sigh of relief at the sight of the beautiful mosaic door that led to the shower. This was something I remembered well.Movement made me jerk around, and then laugh at my sheepish expression in the mirror. After expecting to be attacked so often in the last couple of months, I could imagine I'd be jumpy for a while. Watching myself, I reached back to straighten the chain mail at the back of my neck then getting the angle right, drew open the seam. With a jiggle I dropped the top to the ground, glimpsing my bandaged breasts. The bras Ada had created were great, but hadn't held up to the extreme treatment of war. I couldn't wait to burn the horrid bandage, but it had lasted surprisingly w