The second the high-pitched whistle faded, the tower was assaulted.
Three sharp cracks rang out, too loud and too fast to be simple hunting rifles. High-powered projectiles slammed into the thick stone walls around the broken window, sending concrete dust and stone shards flying. The shots were tightly grouped, clearly aimed to suppress the window opening, trapping Adrian inside.
Adrian didn't flinch. His red eyes narrowed, burning like embers in the gloom. He was a perfect, terrifying silhouette of fury, standing motionless in the center of the room.
"Report, Lila," Adrian commanded, his voice utterly cold, cutting through the gunfire and the roar of the Falls. "I want the tactical assessment of the opposition. Now."
Lila, still bound and slumped against the wall, shoved the terror down. Her life, Chloe's life, and Adrian's victory depended on her accuracy. She reverted instantly to her "Asset" persona—the only role that guaranteed her utility.
"They're positioned across the Southern Canyon Ridge," Lila rattled off, speaking quickly and clearly. "High ground, perfect sightlines into the tower's single opening. They are using armor-piercing rounds, Alpha, designed for siege. The tower will not hold up to sustained fire."
A third round of shots slammed into the walls, vibrating the entire structure. The dust in the air was so thick it was hard to breathe.
"Weaponry acknowledged," Adrian said, turning his attention to the ruined window. "Number of operatives?"
"I saw one—the assassin who bound us. He was wearing the Shadow Council sigil," Lila said, pointing with her bound hands toward the window ledge. "He climbed out, moving toward the valley. He is skilled, scentless, and has a unique magical nullification field around his suit."
Adrian glanced back at her, a fleeting look of clinical interest in his terrifying red eyes. "A nullification field. Excellent data. They won't rely on brute force, then. This is an assassination team."
Lila pushed against the wall, using the leverage to shuffle closer to the abandoned communications console. She had to explain the rest of the trap, but the memory of the assassin's face was a jarring, terrifying puzzle.
"It's worse than that, Alpha," Lila continued, her voice strained but forcing itself to remain steady. "The assassin—he was wearing gray utility wear. But when he grabbed me, the cowl slipped. I saw a small, crescent-shaped scar just above his collarbone."
Lila hesitated, the betrayal hitting her with an internal thud far worse than any physical blow. This is the Golden Hero. The good guy!
"I think it was... I think it was Harry Westwell," she admitted, the name feeling like a curse on her tongue.
Adrian went utterly still. The gunfire outside seemed to pause, as if the mountain itself was waiting for his reaction to the impossible reveal. The pressure of his Aura intensified, making the air crackle.
Why Harry? She thought frantically. Harry studies Ancient Texts! That's why he knew the coded trails! He isn't a mere Gamma, he's part of the Academy elite. If the Shadow Council is trying to dethrone Adrian, they need a clean, respectable face to replace him. Harry is the perfect, trusted puppet leader. His scholarly background gives him the knowledge to build the cipher trails and understand ancient magic technology like the communications array.
"Harry Westwell," Adrian repeated, his red eyes blazing with a terrifying, cold satisfaction. He wasn't surprised by the treachery, only pleased by the data. "The Golden Alpha. He is using his Ancient Texts Restoration knowledge to conduct political assassination. Fitting. A rivel always has the darkest secrets. Continue."
"They used the Black River Falls deliberately," Lila hurried on, forcing herself to focus on the terrain outside. "The roar isn't just noise. The massive, churning water generates a huge amount of unstable elemental energy in the air. That chaos dampens True Blood Aura and disrupts magical tracking—yours specifically. They knew you would come here. The snipers are just to pin you down."
"The main attack is coming from where?" Adrian demanded.
"The assassin—Harry—said the lure was set," Lila explained, nodding toward Chloe, who was shaking violently from the artificial fear pheromone. "They sent the tracking bird with Chloe's fake fear pheromone to bring you to the trap site. They need you exposed long enough for their main force to corner you in the valley below."
Adrian turned to look at the terrified, bound Chloe, dismissing her as a mere tool. His red eyes swept over her for a moment of clinical appraisal. "A clever use of pheromonal transference. Highly unethical, but effective," he noted, the scientific curiosity overriding his rage. "But I received your telepathic report, Lila. You countered their plan."
"I sent you a warning about the Shadow Council sigil," Lila said. "You know their weakness?"
"The Shadow Council relies on political subtlety and magical leverage," Adrian explained, his eyes burning red with lethal strategy. "They are not battlefield fighters. They will not engage me directly, they will attempt to contain me using the environment."
He stepped up to the hole where the window had been. "The elemental chaos is their advantage. But it is also an advantage for a direct, violent extraction. They want me to descend into their snare in the valley. I refuse."
Adrian planted his foot firmly on the window ledge. "My extraction team is en route. You have five minutes before the main force arrives. You are still bound. You have two objectives, Silence Chloe, and retrieve the Shadow Council's toolkit on the window ledge."
"How do I silence her? I'm taped and she's injected!" Lila protested, the reality of her task setting in.
"You are an Omega of unique ability," Adrian snarled, ignoring the tape on her mouth. "Find a way. That raw fear pheromone will attract unwanted attention. Control your environment, Asset."
Adrian didn't wait for a response. He launched himself out of the window, not toward the valley, but upward, scrambling onto the mossy exterior of the tower.
The moment he disappeared, the gunfire intensified to a frenzy.
Lila struggled against her bonds. She focused on her Cyan Magic. She pushed a controlled wave of magical feedback into the floor, aiming it like a directed pulse. It slammed into Chloe and the tracking chip, destabilizing the fake pheromone signal. Chloe's violent shaking subsided slightly. Lila had neutralized the pheromonal lure.
Now, the toolkit. Lila, exhausted but renewed, began shuffling toward the window ledge. She reached the assassin's gear and managed to hook two fingers around the zipper, dragging the bag toward her. It contained lethal knives and a spool of thin, high-tensile wire.
She struggled, using her teeth and tongue to work the fine wire toward her taped wrists.
Suddenly, the firing outside stopped. An unsettling silence descended. Adrian had stopped fighting.
Lila looked up at the ceiling. A dark, black liquid—thick, viscous, and smelling faintly of ozone and burning sage—began to leak rapidly from a fissure directly above her.
It wasn't water.
This is the upgrade. Harry wouldn't just use guns. This is ancient alchemy. She instantly recognized the properties from her reading, "corrosion agent," "neutralizing toxin." They aren't trying to shoot him, they're trying to poison his position and neutralize his True Blood strength.
The toxin was dripping directly onto the Sentinel Stone pendant, which Lila had left on the floor near her feet. The Shadow Council was attempting to destroy the last direct link to Adrian and compromise her.
Lila stared up at the dripping poison, then down at the tracking stone, then at the assassin's wire still inches from her mouth. She had to cut her bonds and save the Sentinel Stone.
The Shadow Council had simply upgraded their trap.