The fight narrowed to muscle and will.
Jorghan's fingers found Hawkin's armor seam and tore. Metal screamed, leather cracked, and the proud veneer of the duke's champion fell away like a mask.
For a beat the world watched—faces drawn, mouths open—then reality tilted into something harder.
Caden and his mother watched helpless, anchored by fear; the castle grounds were chaos, the Bloodhound still hovering over them. Caden hadn't acted as his mother clutched onto him, fear-struck. She couldn't move, and he didn't want to leave her alone.
Her eyes never left Hawkin, but she was more concerned about her son.
Scarlett, who was nearby the broken platform, was taken by Jamie, her father.
Caden watched with a confused and startled expression as Jamie was moving out of the area. And the hound wasn't moving an inch from the spot it stood.
He could see the ship descending downwards; they were leaving amidst the chaos. He couldn't believe it.
