Chapter 16: Under Attack

AVA

The snow was coming down hard when Mira and I reached the eastern border. We could barely see the next watch post, and the wind kept throwing snow into our faces.

“This storm is making it hard to see anything,” Mira said as he checked the nearest post. “We need to get back to the fortress quickly.”

I ignored whatever he said. 

Something was wrong. I could feel it, Nyx could feel it too.

The eastern border was usually noisy at nighttime. Guards were always gathered around singing or drinking beer. But tonight there was nothing.

Mira checked the post one more time before we moved to the next one. I followed him, still looking through the snow.

Then I noticed that the signal fires were out.

“The fire was burning when we came in.”

Mira looked towards it. “The storm probably put it out.”

It's not safe, Ava.

Nyx was restless, which meant something or someone was around somewhere. 

I looked toward the trees behind the fire, but the snow was too thick to see anything. 

“Let’s go back,” Mira said. “We can send more guards when the storm passes.”

I turned to him. Then I saw an explosion hit before I could answer.

The watch post ahead of us erupted, sending pieces of wood through the air. The blast threw me into the snow, and I landed hard on my shoulder.

“Mira!”

He had been thrown several feet away. He pushed himself up just as another explosion shook the ridge.

I pulled my sword free and forced myself upright. Fires were burning along the border, and guards were running in different directions as more explosions tore through the defenses.

Something moved through the snow ahead.

Then another figure appeared.

More followed, spreading across the ridge until I could no longer count them. They weren’t our guards.

I knew something for sure: we were under attack.

The figures coming through the snow wore silvercrest armor. Most likely Gareth’s guards, and there were far more of them than I could count.

They came down from the ridge in groups, using the storm to hide themselves while our soldiers struggled to form a proper line. The explosions had scattered everyone, and with barely enough visibility to see the person beside them, orders were getting lost in the chaos.

Mira started moving towards the wounded, helping those who could still walk while sending others toward the fortress. “Everyone! Get inside! Move the injured first!”

The guards followed Mira’s orders, helping the wounded back toward the fortress while more Hollow Fang warriors came running to the border. One of them reached us, breathless from the run, and stopped just long enough to tell us something else had gone wrong.

“They’ve attacked the southern section too,” he said, breathing hard. “We need more men there.”

Mira swore under his breath and turned toward the fortress. “Go. Tell them to send whoever they can spare.”

I caught the soldier’s arm before he could leave. “Where is Darius?”

“Main defensive line,” he answered. “He’s fighting there.”

When we got to the fortress, the fighting was already spreading across the open ground outside its walls.

Then I saw him.

Darius was in front of the defensive line, surrounded by Silvercrest soldiers. He cut through them with his sword already covered in blood, forcing one attacker back before turning and striking another.

I spotted a fallen Hollow Fang soldier near the wall, his sword half buried in the snow. I crouched, pulled it free, and squeezed my grip around the hilt before getting back to my feet.

“Ava!” Mira shouted behind me.

Darius saw me before I reached the main line. His eyes dropped to the sword in my hand, and his expression immediately changed.

“Ava, get back!”

I acted like I didn't hear him and kept moving through the snow. “You have enough to worry about.”

“You barely know how to fight. Stay behind me.”

I was about to respond to him when a Silvercrest soldier came at Darius from the side. Darius dodged the attack leaving his other side open. 

Another soldier rushed in, and I reacted before I had time to think. I stepped between them and caught his sword.

The impact affected my arm, but I endured. I pushed his blade aside and drove my sword into him.

Darius finished him a second later, then looked at me. “I told you to stay back.”

“I heard you,” I said, already turning toward the next soldier coming at us.

The battle continued for several minutes before the Silvercrest soldiers suddenly changed formation. Several of them moved toward Darius at once, isolating him from the rest of us.

I saw what they were doing and pushed through the nearest soldier.

When I reached Darius, three soldiers had surrounded him. I struck the closest one, giving Darius enough room to take down the other one. The remaining soldiers retreated when they realized they were losing ground.

The battle was over and HollowFang survived.

Darius approached me, but I barely had enough in me to keep standing. My injured arm ached with every movement I made.

I tried walking back toward the fortress with the others. I made it only a few steps before my body came crashing down.

Darius caught me before I hit the snow.

“You're losing too much blood.”

“I'll be fine.”

He didn’t answer. He simply bent down and lifted me into his arms.

“Darius, the medical tent is that way.”

“I know.”

I looked past his shoulder as he carried me in the opposite direction. “Then why are you going the other way?”