The Ambush Of The Blackthorn Pass
384 Words
The battle that changed everything took place beneath a sky bruised purple with dawn.
Seraphina’s troops had marched through Blackthorn Pass, a narrow, jagged corridor of stone known for ambushes and avalanches. Her scouts reported silence — too much silence. She sensed danger, but retreat was impossible; they had to secure the pass for Ravenna’s main force.
She rode in front, crimson plumes dancing from her helm, her sword glinting like a sliver of vengeful moonlight.
But Prince Adrien was already waiting.
The attack came like a tidal wave.
Arrows rained. Boulders crashed down. Valerian soldiers surged from hidden alcoves.
Seraphina’s horse was struck, collapsing beneath her. She rolled with the impact, sprang to her feet, and fought with the brutal grace of a demon unleashed.
Adrien saw her — not her identity, but her presence.
The Crimson Hawk.
Her movements were poetry set aflame.
Her swordplay was a challenge written in silver arcs.
Her voice — low, focused, sharp — carried through the chaos without fear.
Adrien had faced countless enemies, but never one who drew his breath away even as she sought to carve it from him.
He needed her alive.
He wanted — inexplicably, illogically — to know who she was beneath that mask.
The Capture
When the last of Ravenna’s troops fell or fled, Seraphina stood alone, surrounded.
Her sword was knocked from her hand.
Her helm was dented, her chest heaving with fury.
Adrien stepped forward, removing his own helm. His golden hair was damp with sweat, his blue eyes bright with something she could not name.
“Yield,” he commanded softly.
Seraphina spat at his feet.
But five soldiers pinned her arms. One ripped her helmet free.
Her long, dark hair spilled out like ink across her shoulders.
A collective gasp rose.
Adrien froze.
A woman.
A woman was the feared Crimson Hawk.
No — not just a woman.
A stunning one, fierce even in defeat, eyes blazing like molten garnet.
Their gazes clashed — hatred from her, fascination from him.
“Take her prisoner,” Adrien ordered, voice calm despite the fire spreading through him. “Harm her, and you’ll answer to me.”
For the first time in her life, Princess Seraphina felt fear — not of death, but of being unmasked in every sense.
- Writer
