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And they had failed.

The scent of burnt hair was nearly choking, and the hissing of the attacking creatures set Thea’s teeth on edge, even as she raised her blade again, her arms aching. Darkness swept across the fortress in a heavy fog —

A horn blasted through it, echoing off the remaining walls and rubble, followed by the thundering sound of hundreds of hooves.

‘What the fuck…’ Thea craned her neck, blood roaring in her ears.

The riders bore no sigil she recognised, their armour foreign and strange to her. More of Jasira’s forces from beyond the Veil? Her throat constricted as she saw their flag dancing in the savage winds. She didn’t know it.

Clutching her sword so hard her knuckles threatened to split, Thea dug deep. She could rally her power once more, enough to give the allies a fighting chance against the fresh wave of enemy forces spilling into Thezmarr. Storm magic gathered beneath her skin, surging to her fingertips, ready to be weaponised once more —

Horses flooded the courtyard, breaking through the deluge of shadow, their riders wearing full armour, their swords gleaming in the flickering light of the moon.

Thea whirled around, trying once again to find a banner she could recognise, a marker of some kind as the warriors stormed towards the monsters, shouts of triumph and determination on their lips as they cleaved through the enemy.

And then, Thea saw her at the helm.

Audra.

With a warrior’s cry, the older woman raised her blade and split a howler in two, blood spattering across her pristine armour and shield.

A strangled sound escaped Thea. Audra was here, and she had brought the former women warriors of Thezmarr with her. They moved as one unified, disciplined unit, a force to be reckoned with. Thea gaped as Audra led her army in an assault on the first line of monsters, beating them back, slicing them open, trampling them beneath warhorses.

A fresh burst of lightning coursed through Thea as she witnessed history in the making. Here, in the face of unending darkness, the laws of old men meant nothing. Their words and rulings held no weight.

At the sight of their new allies, the remaining Warswords, the shadow-touched and their comrades rallied, gathering together. With another bone-chilling battle cry, Audra raised her sword and led the charge from the perimeter, the army of women warriors at her back.

Thea joined the fray, and from above, Cal rained arrows down on the enemy charging at them, fire bursting to life before them. Thea became one with the force of women, charging their steel with her lightning, blasting monsters from their path —

Vines shot out from the ground and the surrounding rubble.

Screams of agony pierced the air.

The vine blight roared to life, its arms surging forward for new hosts. Thea’s heart leapt into her throat. Another wraith advanced on Audra. Without thinking, Thea let the jewelled hilt of her ceremonial dagger leave her fingertips in a blur of silver. She watched as it soared through the air, spiralling towards Audra —

It embedded in the monster’s face, mere inches from the former librarian, who didn’t hesitate. She wrenched the weapon from the wound and grinned wildly as the creature disintegrated before their very eyes.

Audra’s warriors had seen it too, and looked from their fearless leader to Thea, understanding something that she herself did not.

Audra fought her way to Thea’s side and handed the jewelled dagger back. ‘You’re not done with this,’ she said.

Bewildered, Thea took it and sheathed it at her belt, just as a swell of howlers came forth.

The women warriors rallied, not to Audra, but to Thea.

‘Shield wall!’ she bellowed over the mayhem, praying to the Furies that the women would —

Metal flashed in Thea’s peripheral vision, followed by countless rhythmic thuds and the scrape of steel.

Dozens of shields slid into place around her, one after the other.

And across the blood-soaked battlefield, an impenetrable wall of steel formed.

‘Brace,’ Thea cried, lightning surging at her fingertips as she charged the metal with her power. ‘On my count, raise and bring them down hard.’

No one questioned her. No one flinched at the magic pouring from her and into those shields.

‘Raise!’ she shouted.