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We trudged through the snow toward the official building, the only structure in this godforsaken place with actual glass windows and stone walls that didn’t look ready to collapse. My feet ached, and the emotional exhaustion from earlier left me feeling hollow.

“I suppose we’ll be staying there?” I nodded toward the imposing building.

“Unless you prefer that charming patch of frozen dirt where your hut used to be,” Anderic replied, though his teasing lacked its usual bite. The events of the day had sobered him too.

A familiar screech split the air. I froze mid-step, my heart leaping into my throat.

“That sound again—”

Before I could finish, a massive golden eagle swooped down from the darkening sky, its wingspan casting a shadow over us as it circled once, twice, and then descended gracefully onto Anderic’s outstretched arm. The bird’s talons gripped him with surprising gentleness for such deadly appendages.

“Hello, old friend,” Anderic murmured, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

I watched as he untied a small scroll from the bird’s leg. The eagle remained perfectly still, its intelligent eyes fixed on Anderic as if waiting for a response.

Anderic unrolled the parchment, his eyes scanning the contents rapidly. His face transformed before me—the playfulness vanishing, replaced by something cold and dangerous. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

“Fucking hell,” he cursed, crumpling the parchment in his fist.

“What now?” I asked, dread pooling in my stomach. “More bad news to add to our delightful collection?”

He looked up, his blue eyes dark as a stormy sea. “They have joined forces. Their armies are marching toward the capital as we speak.”

“All of them? Together?” I couldn’t hide my shock. “That’s unprecedented.”

“It’s coordinated,” Anderic snapped, already turning toward the official building. “I need to speak with Commander Maxwell immediately.”

I grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Wait. Before we rush off, I need to know something.” I locked eyes with him, refusing to let him look away. “Who are you suspicious of? You mentioned someone at court—who?”

Anderic hesitated, glancing around as if the very trees might be listening.

“Chancellor Darian Thornwood,” he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

My blood ran cold. “The Chancellor? But he’s—”

“The second most powerful man in the kingdom,” Anderic finished. “Which makes him the perfect traitor.”

I released his arm, my mind racing. Suddenly, the pieces began falling into place—the sabotage, the gold smuggling, Maxwell’s accusations.

“We need to talk to Commander Maxwell,” I agreed. “Now.”

Together, we sprinted toward the official building, the eagle soaring above us like a golden harbinger of war.

Commander Maxwell’s quarters were sparse but warm, a stark contrast to the freezing hellscape outside. He stood behind a large wooden table, his weathered hands spread over a map of Aetheria. When we burst in, his head snapped up, eyes narrowing at our disheveled state.

“Your Highness,” he acknowledged Anderic with a slight bow before his steely gaze fell on me. “Lady D’Arcane.”

Anderic tossed the crumpled message onto the map. “The traitors have united. Chancellor Darian is the mastermind. He joined forces with that ragtag gang and Prince Callum.”

Maxwell’s face remained impassive as he unfolded the parchment, but I caught the slight tightening around his eyes as he read. “Fifteen thousand men.”

“How many defend the capital?” I asked.

“Seven thousand at most,” Maxwell replied, tracing a line on the map with his finger. “My forces here in the north number six thousand.”

I did the quick math. “So if we combine—”

“We’d match them,” Anderic finished. “Barely.”

Maxwell’s jaw set in a hard line. “According to Lord Lennox, the enemy was a day’s march from the capital when he sent this. The bird took eight hours to reach us.”

“Which means we have less than two days before they reach the walls,” I said, feeling my stomach drop. “Can we make it in time?”

Maxwell calculated silently. “Three days of hard riding, no stops except to change horses.”

“Then we leave now,” Anderic declared.

Maxwell nodded sharply. “I’ll mobilize my men. We’ll march within the hour.” He strode toward the door, already barking orders at the guards outside.

As soon as he left, Anderic turned to me, his golden curls disheveled, his face etched with determination. Without warning, he pulled me against him and kissed me fiercely. The sudden heat of his lips against mine stole my breath.

When he broke away, his blue eyes burned into mine. “You’re staying here.”

I blinked, still reeling from the kiss. “I beg your pardon?”

“The capital will be a war zone, Ilyana. I won’t risk you.”

I stepped back, crossing my arms. “And I won’t sit here twiddling my thumbs while you ride off to battle. I’m coming with you.”

“It’s too dangerous—”

“My entire life has been dangerous since the moment I returned to the past,” I cut him off. “I didn’t come this far to be left behind now.”

Anderic pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.”

“And yet you kissed me anyway,” I retorted.

A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. “Fine. But you stay close to me at all times.”

“Wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.”

An hour later, I strapped daggers to my thighs, adjusting the surprisingly well-fitting armor Maxwell had found for me. The leather breastplate hugged my torso, reinforced with metal plates at vital points.

“Ready?” Anderic appeared in the doorway, already dressed in his golden armor, looking every inch the warrior prince.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Three days later, our exhausted party crested the final hill. The sun rose behind us, illuminating the white stone walls of the capital in the distance. I squinted, my eyes burning from fatigue, and spotted dark masses spread across the fields before the city.

“We’re too late,” I whispered.

Anderic’s face hardened as he gazed at the enemy encampment. “No. We’re right on time.” He turned to Maxwell. “Commander, prepare your men. We attack at noon.”

The noon sun beat down on us as we lined up along the ridge overlooking the capital. With six thousand northern soldiers at our backs, the enemy spread before us like a dark tide waiting to consume the gleaming white walls of Eldoria. My mouth went dry at the sight.

“Nervous?” Anderic asked, his golden armor catching the sunlight.

“Terrified,” I admitted. “But if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it until my dying breath.”

His lips quirked up. “Your secret’s safe with me, Lady D’Arcane.”

The city walls were still holding, but for how long?

Chancellor Darian’s forces had encircled the eastern and southern gates, while Prince Callum’s Elentharian mercenaries pressed against the western approach.

The distinctive crimson banners of the Red Cross gang fluttered between them, binding the unholy alliance together.

“The northern gate remains uncontested,” Commander Maxwell noted, his weathered face grim. “We can enter there and attack from behind.”

“And be trapped between the walls and their forces if we fail,” I pointed out.

“Always the optimist,” Anderic drawled, but his eyes remained fixed on the battlefield. “We need to draw them away from the walls.”

Maxwell nodded. “A diversion.”

“I volunteer to not be the diversion,” I muttered.

Anderic’s plan was insane, but it had a certain elegant simplicity.

Half our forces would create a diversion at the eastern flank, while the rest of us would slip through the northern gate to reunite with the city’s defenders.

Simple. Except for the part where we’d be hopelessly outnumbered either way.

“Stay close to me,” Anderic ordered as we prepared to move out.

I patted the daggers strapped to my thighs. “Trust me, Your Highness, I have no intention of wandering off for a picnic.”

His hand caught mine, squeezing briefly. “I’m serious, Ilyana.”

The intensity in his eyes made my stomach flutter. I squeezed back. “I know.”

The horns sounded, and everything became chaos.

* * *

The diversion worked almost too well. Maxwell led three thousand men in a frontal assault against the eastern flank, drawing Darian’s forces away from the walls. We watched from our position as they engaged, the clash of steel and screams carrying across the field.

“Now,” Anderic commanded, and our contingent galloped toward the northern gate.

The gates opened just enough to let us through, then slammed shut behind us. Inside the walls, the city was a fortress preparing for a siege. Soldiers manned every battlement, while civilians hurried to reinforce barricades or evacuate to inner sanctums.

Lennox met us at the gate, his normally stoic face lined with exhaustion. “Your Highness,” he saluted. “Lady D’Arcane.”

“Report,” Anderic demanded as we dismounted.

“The walls hold for now. Prince Callum’s siege engines will be in position by nightfall.” Lennox’s gaze shifted. “Lord Noah leads the western defense. Lord Sebastian has been organizing the citizens into auxiliary units.”

My heart leapt. “Sebastian is alive?”

“Very much so, my lady. He’ll be pleased to see you.” Thank God.

A thunderous crash shook the ground beneath us. The eastern wall had been breached.

“They’ve broken through!” A guard shouted from the battlements.

Anderic’s face hardened. “Lennox, secure the royal family. The rest of you, with me.”

We raced toward the eastern breach, swords drawn. The scene that greeted us was chaos incarnate—Chancellor Darian’s men poured through a smoking gap in the wall, engaging with the city’s defenders in a brutal melee.

I caught sight of Sebastian in the thick of it, his blade flashing as he fought back-to-back with Noah. Even in battle, they moved with the synchronicity of men who had trained together their entire lives.

“Sebastian!” I called out.

His head snapped up, green eyes widening in shock. “Lya?”