Chapter 29 – Light Over the Broken Ridge
The sky above Luthmere Ridge was red.
Smoke churned in heavy spirals, and the banners of House Luther—Jean's banners—were torn and half-buried in the mud. War drums pounded like distant thunder as Sylas Luther's forces stormed the outer bastions.
Jean's heart thundered as she crested the ridge. Behind her, Whitney leapt onto a boulder, howling into the wind.
Cassien's voice came through the whisperstone again, panicked but resolute:
> "Jean! They've breached the second ring. We can't hold much longer."
Jean turned to her riders. "We strike from the rear. Fast. Hard. We break his flank and buy time for the second ring to hold."
They nodded, no questions.
She lowered her visor, drew Radiant Fang, and whispered, "For Luthmere."
The charge began.
They rode like lightning across the blackened slope, through broken palisades and scattered embers. Jean's blade was first to strike—cleaving through Sylas's rear guard like sunlight through fog.
Whitney, in full divine form now, crashed through siege weapons and flung soldiers aside like leaves in wind. Her elite companions flanked her, blades and spells flashing in coordinated arcs.
At the center of the chaos, Jean saw Commander Ralvik, Sylas's brutal siege master, issuing orders.
She rode straight for him.
Ralvik turned too late. Jean's aura exploded in a brilliant arc, Radiant Fang cleaving his weapon in two and sending him crashing through a pile of burning crates.
The backlines shattered.
Cassien's voice cut through again:
> "That did it! We're holding the second wall!"
Jean raised her sword high, aura flaring like a beacon across the battlefield.
"All units! Press forward!"
Her forces surged behind her—Kael, his arm in a sling, returned to the field to lead a squad of archers. Silvia descended from the inner gate with her silver blade flashing, joining the push with divine elegance.
By dusk, the tide had turned.
The invaders were routed.
Sylas's forces fell back to the outer woodlands—but not before torching what they could. Jean stood among the ruins of the supply camp, ash in her hair, watching the flames die.
Whitney stepped beside her. "A hard victory."
She nodded. "Too hard. He was baiting me. This was never about breaking Luthmere."
She turned, eyes narrowing toward the distant mountains.
"He's heading for Gildcrest. The border fortress. If he takes it, he controls the northern gates—and cuts me off from the sanctuary."
Silvia approached. "Then we ride again. Tonight."
Jean looked down at the golden scabbard still strapped to her side.
"No," she said. "We fly."
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