"Hold it right there, land crawler!" Kaelen barked, forcing his way through the crowd alongside five of the formidable Black Eagle warriors. They flared their soot-black wings, eyes flashing with the raw, violent urge to fight that ran deep in the primal races. "Balthazar might be a weak, underhanded loser. But we aren't just going to hand over the Eagle Tribe throne to some outsider without seeing if that fancy shield of yours can weather a real storm. Come on, boys—let's see what this ground-dweller is made of!"
Kaelen's challenge instantly lit a fire under the other eagle warriors, their racial pride deeply stung. Ignoring Leonidas's standing orders, eight elite fighters from the allied clans surged forward in unison, diving at Ryker from all angles with terrifying speed.
"Ryker!" Cor
