The dust from the tunnel ceiling didn't just fall; it screamed.
As the brassy roar of the Imperial Vanguard’s horns echoed through the subterranean labyrinth, the rebel camp transformed into a slaughterhouse. Rocks the size of wagons tumbled from above, crushed by the weight of Imperial drakes landing on the surface ruins.
"They found us!" Silas screamed, his voice barely audible over the sound of crumbling stone. "The wards—how did they bypass the wards?"
"They didn't bypass them," Valerius growled, his hand already reaching for Lyra’s waist. He pulled her flush against him, his eyes scanning the collapsing shadows. "My father used the blood-link. He tracked my signature. He doesn't care about the rebels; he’s here for us."
From the main tunnel, a new sound emerged—a rhythmic, he
