[Third Person].
Dennis inhaled again. "He doesn’t."
Which ant that the Vampires had found a way to mask themselves.
redith turned sharply to the border commander and assembled guards. "You saw what just happened."
So faces were pale, while the rest were angry.
"The vampires are already among us," she continued. "But if we abandon these borders in panic and begin to fish them out, we hand them another opening."
The commander swallowed. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"You continue guarding the Wall. Double vigilance. Watch each other. Trust no unfamiliar scent."
She then turned to the royal warriors who had accompanied her from the palace. "You will sweep internally. Fish them out quietly and execute imdiately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Before another word could be spoken, a green blur descended from the sky. redith extended her arm instinctively, and Xamira, chirping sharply—urgent, frantic.
As redith listened, her face changed. The air around her seed to grow colder. At the sa ti, Valmora surged violently.
"Our mate is in danger."
Dennis stepped closer. "What is it?"
redith’s voice ca out low and controlled. "Groups of vampires are moving toward the palace."
Dennis’s eyes widened. "Draven."
The bird lifted back into the air, circling above them.
redith’s eyes turned misty as she realized sothing that she never considered. She clenches her fist.
"Their target was the palace all along," she said.
Dennis’s breathing grew ragged. "We don’t know how many are inside. And Draven already sent all the palace warriors out. He is in danger."
"And if they seize the palace," redith finished, "Stormveil falls." Her chest tightened violently. None of them had expected the situation to turn out this way.
She had left him because she thought the danger was here.
’Grandmother’s prophecy is unfolding, despite my efforts to stop it,’ redith pondered to herself as her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. Her beloved mate was in danger.
The next mont, she turned sharply to the border commander and every warrior present.
"Stormveil is in greater danger than we realized," she declared. "The vampires are strategic. They aim for the palace. If they capture it, they control the kingdom."
An uproar began, but she silenced them with one raised hand. Then, her voice cut through the air like steel.
"Great Warriors of Stormveil... receive your Queen’s command!"
Instantly, every warrior, including Dennis, dropped to one knee, and the sound of armour hitting earth echoed.
"You will protect Stormveil with your lives. Guard these borders. No enemy enters. No enemy escapes."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" their voices thundered.
Then, redith’s gaze fell on Dennis. "Alpha Dennis, you will remain at this border and secure it for your King."
His jaw tightened, but he bowed. "I receive the command."
Next, she turned to the royal warriors who had co with her. "You ride with . We return to secure Stormveil’s heart."
They bowed deeply.
Finally, redith let her eyes sweep over the kneeling warriors. Her voice deepened with authority.
"Do you, Great Warriors of Stormveil, yield your lives this day to protect your King and your people?"
The response shook the air. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Then louder—
"Long live the King! Long live the Queen!"
redith did not hesitate. She turned towards the vehicles, towards the palace, towards her mate.
And this ti, she was not arriving to just offer protection. She was arriving to kill.
---
The first crash against the palace gates shook the floors. Then another. Then a third—louder, splintering wood and iron.
Outside, palace guards roared as steel clashed against claws and bone. The scent of blood flooded the courtyard. Screams followed, then snarls. The sickening crack of stone giving way.
The vampires had surrounded the palace, and they were no longer hiding.
Inside the Grand Hall, the doors burst open as a bloodied guard stumbled in and fell to one knee.
"Your Majesty!" he gasped. "Hundreds—hundreds of vampires have breached the outer gates!"
Instantly, the hall erupted.
"What?!"
"In broad daylight?!"
"Impossible!"
Several Alphas surged to their feet, fury blazing in their eyes. The remaining Elders shouted over one another, outrage mixing with fear.
Then, one elder slamd his fist against the table. "This is why they should have been wiped out centuries ago! Creatures like them have never brought anything but threat to our peace!"
Another voice growled, "To dare attack the Royal Palace—!"
Draven stood slowly, and the temperature in the hall seed to drop.
"Oscar," he said evenly, "remove the maps."
Oscar imdiately began rolling up the large Stormveil charts spread across the war table. Servants scrambled to clear docunts and seal sensitive information.
Then, Draven turned to the Steward. "Lock down all inner corridors. Inform every soul in this palace—they defend themselves."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"To the guards," Draven continued, voice carrying through the hall like steel drawn from a sheath. "They should kill without hesitation."
There was no debate or rcy in his tone.
Just then, another crash thundered through the palace walls. The sound of fighting grew closer.
One of the Elders stepped forward, pale. "Your Majesty... this appears to be a direct assault on you. You must withdraw. There are escape routes beneath the—"
Draven scoffed. "I am not going anywhere," he said, and slowly walked past them all. He ascended the steps to his throne and sat. The hall fell silent.
Then, his gaze moved across every Alpha and Elder present. "This," he said calmly, "is where I will remain."
Another explosion echoed sowhere deeper in the palace. Dust drifted faintly from the ceiling.
"If they dare invade Stormveil and cause such commotion without fear," Draven continued, his eyes burning, "then they will find here."
A heavy silence followed, then one of the Alphas stepped closer. "Your Majesty, we stand with you."
Draven inclined his head slightly. "And I will protect you all in return." His promise was absolute.
Just then, another Alpha added urgently, "Your majesty, we must send for reinforcents. The outer districts—"
"Reinforcents are already on their way," Draven replied as he thought of Xamira already passing the information to redith. Then, he thought of the bond humming faintly at the back of his mind.
"By the will of the Moon Goddess," he said quietly, "we will hold this ground until help arrives."
Outside, a roar of unnatural fury tore through the courtyard as another wave of vampires clashed against palace defenders.
Draven’s jaw tightened. In his mind, a different thought surfaced. ’If this escalates, if they force her hand, then this is where her fae power will be revealed. Before Alphas. Before Elders. Before the entire kingdom.’
His chest tightened briefly—not from fear for her. Because if she unleashed what she truly was, Stormveil would never be the sa again.
Just then, another impact shook the palace doors. Then, Draven leaned back slightly in his throne, eyes fixed on the entrance.
"Let them co," he murmured. Then, turning to Oscar, he passed an instruction.
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