The Sovereign captain's shout split the air.
"Forward! Drown them!"
Another wave surged into the square. Fresh soldiers, their armor still unblemished, their blades glinting in the torchlight. The villagers screamed as the tide of steel rushed against the barrier.
Serenya staggered, her knees buckling under the strain. The cracks across her shimmering shield pulsed brighter, like veins of lightning ready to explode. She clutched her staff with both hands, knuckles white, sweat and blood dripping down her chin.
"Not… yet," she gasped.
Her voice was a whisper, but Kael heard it.
He lunged forward, his crimson blade flashing arcs of destruction. "Keep it up, Serenya! Just a little longer!"
Black-red lightning sparked from his strikes, searing through the front line of soldiers. Bodies fell in halves, steel melted under the force of his rage. He was no longer fighting to kill—he was fighting to buy seconds.
Ronan, barely standing, braced his shattered shield and let out a war cry. His axe swung in wide circles, knocking men back, carving space where none existed. Blood dripped from his beard, his breaths were wet, but his defiance lit the air like fire.
"Come then!" he bellowed. "If you want my blood, you'll drown in it!"
Lyra was everywhere and nowhere, slipping through the chaos. Her laughter had grown hoarse, edged with exhaustion, but her daggers still struck true. She darted up the captain's blade, sliced at his face, and landed in a crouch with a mocking grin despite her limp.
The captain roared, his sword shattering stone as he swung. Lyra spun away, barely alive, her breath rattling but her eyes burning.
The clash thundered on. Steel rang, lightning snapped, blood painted the stones.
And Serenya's barrier cracked again.
This time the sound echoed. A thunderclap that silenced the square for half a heartbeat. The web of fractures crawled across the dome, glowing so bright the villagers covered their eyes.
"Serenya!" Kael turned—just in time to see her spit blood onto her hands, her body trembling like a leaf in a storm.
"I can't—" she whispered.
The soldiers slammed into the barrier again.
It shuddered.
The air screamed.
And then—
A blinding flash.
The barrier shattered.
The protective dome exploded outward in shards of light, ripping through the first ranks of soldiers, tearing open armor and flesh. The villagers shrieked, exposed at last to the endless tide.
Kael's heart dropped. His grip tightened on his sword.
Now there was nothing left between his people and annihilation.