Outside, the ridge echoes with brutal sounds—bones snapping, silver slicing through the air with a hiss. Inside the lodge, the battle is quieter but just as intense.
My fingers are smeared with indigo paint as I lean over the oak table. Kieran’s scent—smoke from wood and that familiar protective musk—lingers in the air. Through our bond, I feel him moving like a raging storm. Each strike he lands sends my heart pounding.
“Keep your focus,” Elara orders sharply. Under the harsh lighting, she looks ghostly pale, but her hands are steady as she fits the data chip into the sensors. “If they get past the outer wards, the walls won’t save us unless we shut down their gas.”
Isla adjusts her slipping glasses at the main console. “I’ve locked onto the Architect frequency. Their encryption’s toug
