LOGINCHAPTER 132 — THE ESCAPEXANDER’S POVThe sanctuary came down behind us like the mountain itself had awakened in anger. Stone crashed from the ceiling, the ground shook beneath my feet, and Elena clutched our daughter against her chest as she ran toward the exit. I stayed beside her, but movement in the shadows caught my eye. The Founder’s warriors were already coming without any fear.“Keep running!” I roared, stepping between Elena and the first warrior as he lunged at us. My claws tore through his armor, sending him crashing against a stone pillar. Two more rushed forward immediately, their eyes glowing red beneath the ancient torchlight. I shifted my weight and attacked before they could surround us, knowing Elena could not stop to fight.Elena kept moving, protecting the baby with one arm while using her other hand to steady herself against the shaking walls. I heard her call my name, but another warrior came from the side. I caught his wrist, twisted hard, and threw him across t
CHAPTER 131 — WREN’S CHOICEWREN’S POVI stood before the ancient stone gate, listening to the deep growl of the earth beneath my feet. Elena was beside Xander, her eyes fixed on the doorway where her daughter was being held. I lowered my head because there was something I had kept hidden for too long, something Elena deserved to know before we stepped inside.“I followed the Founder on purpose,” I confessed, my voice quiet as Elena turned toward me with disbelief in her eyes. “I wanted to protect your daughter. I thought staying close to him would keep her safe, but I was wrong. The longer I stayed, the more I learned about what he truly planned to do.”Elena stared at me, her face hardening as the truth settled between us. She asked why I had never told her, and I admitted that the Founder watched everyone around him. If he had discovered I was working against him, he would have killed Elena's daughter before we ever found this sanctuary. I had to wait for the right moment.“I found
CHAPTER 130 — TAKEN AGAINXANDER’S POVThe nursery was empty. I stood in the doorway staring at the abandoned blanket on the floor, unable to accept what my eyes were showing me. We had doubled the guards, sealed every entrance, protected the underground chamber, and still The Founder had taken our daughter. I could not let fear decide what happened, not when our daughter was ahead.“Search every room,” I ordered, gripping the doorway while warriors scattered through the palace. “Nobody leaves this palace until we know exactly how she disappeared,” I added, fighting the panic rising inside me. Elena crouched beside the blanket instead of answering, her fingers hovering over something carved into the stone beneath where our daughter had been sleeping. Silence followed us.It was an ancient mark, burned into the floor with dark residue around its edges. Elena touched it carefully, then pulled her hand away when silver light flashed across her fingers. “This isn't ordinary magic,” she wh
CHAPTER 129 — THE FOUNDERELENA’S POVThe Founder stood across the ruined courtyard as flames climbed the palace walls behind him. I kept my weapon raised, watching him carefully. After everything he had done, I expected hatred to consume me, but something colder settled inside me. I needed answers before I attacked, because this man had controlled too much of my life already beneath burning skies.“You have been planning this for years,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite the anger burning through me. The Founder smiled as though my accusation amused him. “Longer than you realize,” he replied, slowly walking around the broken courtyard. “Your birth was the beginning, Elena, not the beginning of my interest in you,” he added as smoke drifted between us tonight.My fingers tightened around the weapon. “What does that mean?” I demanded, refusing to let him see how deeply his words unsettled me. He stopped near a fallen pillar and looked directly at me. “Your bloodline was never ord
CHAPTER 128 — THE FALL OF GERAFILELENA’S POVThe palace erupted before I could reach the nursery. A guard crashed through the eastern doors, his eyes glowing with the same darkness I had seen spreading across Gerafil. I raised my weapon and blocked his strike, refusing to believe the man who had protected my family for years was now trying to kill me without hesitation right in front of me.Another guard attacked from behind, forcing me to turn quickly. Steel struck steel, and the sound echoed through the corridor. “Hold him,” I ordered, pushing the first guard against the wall while another warrior restrained him. His body shook violently, dark veins crawling beneath his skin as the magic tightened its grip and stole his control before I could react.I ran toward the nursery when I heard shouting from the upper floor. Two guards stood outside the door, weapons drawn, while a servant screamed for help. One guard turned toward me, and recognition briefly returned to his eyes before th
CHAPTER 127 — THE WAR BEGINSXANDER’S POVThe war began before sunrise. I was still in the eastern command room when the first messenger arrived, blood covering his uniform and panic filling his eyes. He barely managed to kneel before reporting that three territories had been attacked at once. The Founder had not chosen one battlefield. He had chosen all of them as the attacks spread rapidly.Another messenger arrived before the first could finish speaking. Northern Ridge was burning, while Darius's territory had been struck from the western border. A third attack had begun near the river packs. Xander, we have to move now, I ordered, already reaching for my weapons as commanders gathered around the table, and commanders quickly realized this was only the beginning.Xander studied the map for only a few seconds before dividing our forces. Gerafil would send warriors north, Darius would protect his territory, and the river packs would hold their borders. It was exactly what The Founder







