The forest clearing was already wrong before the first arrow hissed past Eliakim's ear. The moment it struck the tree beside him, the air split — not with one battle cry, but with three.
From the east, the Dark Elf patrol Vaeryn had promised to avoid.From the west, armored raiders bearing a crest Eliakim didn't recognize.And in the center of it all, Liora Veyrn, shackled, flanked by two grim-faced captors who looked ready to kill her before letting anyone else take her.
"Ambush!" Caleb's shout barely rose above the clash of steel. Skyling, Eliakim's tamed beast, lunged at the nearest attacker, her chain-bound form whipping through the melee with terrifying precision. Ezra ducked low, blades flashing in short, surgical arcs.
And then, he moved.
Gideon Ravenscar a half-lycan, without the fangs, claws, or snout of his kin — only the visible traces of a lineage he rarely spoke of.
At his side padded Kaelvryn, the Chimeric Riftborn. Mist coiled low to the ground, heavy and cold, and the beast's massive paws crunched over frost and ash. Shards of ice jutted from her flanks, glowing faintly, while molten veins pulsed across her shoulders and spine. Her mismatched eyes — icy blue and ember red — mirrored the Riftstone's light in Gideon's palm.
Kaelvryn's voice rumbled through the bond they shared:Armour Form — Twenty percent unlocked.
Blue-white frost and ember-red fire burst from her body, breaking apart into streams of light that wrapped around Gideon, locking into jagged pauldrons, crystalline plates, and a fur-lined gorget. Veins of molten glow traced along the armor, pulsing like a heartbeat.
In his hands, the twin axe shifted. One became a long katana, its crimson edge shimmering like blood in moonlight. The other shortened into a curved blade of icy blue, perfectly weighted for speed. They fit his grip like they'd always been there.
And when he struck — Whirlwind Splitter — the air itself roared. His blades carved a spiral through the Dark Elf front, tearing them apart in a storm of steel, frost, and flame.
"Decide now, Eliakim!" Ezra barked over the chaos, pinning an arrow into the dirt inches from Caleb's boot. "Her or the mission!"
Caleb snarled as he put a raider in a chokehold. "She's bait! The whole thing's a setup!"
But Gideon was already plowing through the captors around Liora, Kaelvryn at his side, molten frost snapping in the air."Then I'll take the bait!" he growled.
Eliakim's chain lashed out, redirecting Skyling toward the flank to buy Gideon an opening. Every calculation in his mind came down to a single point: If they took Liora, Vaeryn might help. If they left her, Vaeryn might kill her. Either way, the choice would tell Vaeryn exactly where his loyalties lay.
From the shadows, Vaeryn's voice was calm and razor-sharp:"Choose carefully, Darkmoor. Some choices can't be undone."
The triple-agent knife fight had stopped being whispers. Now, it was blood and steel.