CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT: BLOOD IN THE INNER CIRCLE

The attack came before dawn.

Not loud. Not reckless.

Precise.

Aria woke with her power screaming inside her chest, a violent pulse that snapped her fully awake. She sat up just as the alarms cut through the compound, sharp and urgent.

Luca was already on his feet.

“They are inside,” he said.

The walls trembled.

Not from explosives, but from magic pressing inward, testing defenses, probing for weakness. Aria swung her legs over the bed and stood, power rolling off her in waves she no longer tried to suppress.

“They would not risk this unless they were certain,” she said.

Luca’s jaw tightened. “Which means someone told them where to strike.”

They moved fast through the corridors, guards converging from every direction. Wolves shifted mid run, claws scraping against stone floors as panic sharpened into readiness.

The first body lay near the eastern hall.

One of Aria’s sentries.

His throat had been cut cleanly.

No struggle. No warning.

Aria stopped cold.

“This was not an external breach,” she said quietly.

Luca nodded. “This was invited.”

The main war chamber loomed ahead, doors ajar. Voices echoed from inside, tense and raised.

They entered to chaos.

Maps scattered across the table. Screens flickering. Generals shouting over one another.

And at the center of it all stood Commander Hale.

Aria felt the betrayal before he spoke.

“The eastern barrier is down,” Hale said. “We need to evacuate immediately.”

Aria studied him. His pulse was too steady. His eyes too alert.

“Step away from the table,” she said.

Hale froze.

“What,” he asked, forcing a laugh. “Now is not the time for this.”

“It is exactly the time,” Luca said, voice low.

Hale’s gaze flicked to him, sharp with something close to hatred.

“You,” Hale said. “This is your fault. You brought her here. You turned her into a target.”

Aria stepped forward. “Answer me.”

Hale’s shoulders sagged.

“I warned you,” he said softly. “I told you what would happen if you defied them.”

“Who,” Aria asked.

“The council,” Hale replied. “They promised stability. Peace. A future where this city survives.”

Aria’s chest tightened. “By handing me over.”

“Yes,” Hale said. “They said you would not be killed. Only contained.”

Luca moved.

In a blink, he had Hale pinned against the wall, forearm crushing his throat.

“Say another word,” Luca growled, “and there will be nothing left of you to regret this.”

Aria raised a hand.

“Stop.”

Luca hesitated, then stepped back reluctantly.

Hale slid down the wall, gasping. “You cannot win,” he said hoarsely. “They have more than soldiers. They have hunters.”

Aria stiffened. “What kind.”

Hale looked at her with something like pity. “The kind made for you.”

The lights went out.

Darkness swallowed the room, followed by a pressure that made Aria’s knees bend. Ancient magic slammed into her like a weight meant to crush.

Luca roared.

Gunfire erupted outside, mixed with snarls and screams. The compound shook as explosions tore through the outer defenses.

Aria pushed through the pressure, her power flaring bright and violent.

“No,” she whispered. “Not again.”

Figures emerged from the darkness.

Three of them.

Tall. Silent. Their eyes glowed a dull silver.

Hunters.

They moved as one.

The first struck fast, blades flashing. Luca intercepted, metal ringing against steel as he drove the hunter back. The second went for Aria.

She met it head on.

The impact rattled her bones, pain flaring as suppression magic bit into her skin. She snarled, shoving power outward. The hunter staggered but did not fall.

“Adapted,” she realized. “They adapted to me.”

The third hunter reached for Hale.

“No,” Aria shouted.

Too late.

The blade slid home.

Hale crumpled without a sound.

The hunters retreated instantly, melting into the chaos beyond the hall.

Silence followed.

Heavy. Broken.

Aria stood trembling, blood streaking her arm, her chest heaving. Luca was at her side in seconds, hands gripping her shoulders.

“Are you hurt.”

“I am fine,” she said, though the lie tasted bitter.

Around them, the cost became clear. Bodies. Smoke. Shattered stone.

This was not a warning.

This was a declaration.

Aria looked at Hale’s body, then at the blood on her hands.

“They will keep coming,” she said. “And they will use everyone I love.”

Luca’s voice was fierce. “Then we end this.”

She turned to him slowly. “No more restraint.”

Something dark and resolute settled into her expression.

“I will not wait for them to decide my fate,” she said. “I will go to them.”

Luca searched her face. “That path will change you.”

“I know,” Aria replied. “But this city will survive.”

She stepped toward the shattered doorway, power rising like a storm finally unleashed.

Outside, the sky burned red with fire and fear.

And far beneath the earth, the ancient woman laughed softly.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Now you are ready.”