Book 2 - Chapter 24

Noah awoke to the sound of a fist hammering on Mara’s door. The blows were as angry as they were relentless, jolting him from her warmth. He rolled away, leapt out of bed, and staggered toward his armour, adrenaline spiking as he fumbled in the dark.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Just a fucking second!” he shouted, grabbing his discarded boxers and yanking them on.

“Swordfall! Swordfall!” a voice bellowed from the hall.

“The fuck does that mean?” Noah muttered, searching for his shirt.

He froze when Mara shot upright, eyes wide with fear. “Did he just say swordfall?”

“Yeah.” He frowned. “Does… that mean something to you?”

She didn’t answer—she bolted for her closet instead. Realizing that if she was afraid, he should be too, Noah scrambled for his shirt and threw it on. He turned just in time to see her pull a simple black dress over her head, grimoire already in hand.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Swordfall!”

“Open it.” Mara nodded toward the door, stepping close.

“I’m still in my—”

“Noah.” Her voice cut clean through his protest. “I need you to trust me. Right now. Open it.”

He shook his head but obeyed, unlocking the door.

A dozen armour‑clad men filled the hallway. The closest pressed a drawn sword to Noah’s stomach, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and shoved him backward into the room. The blade bit lightly into his skin as the man advanced.

Ken’s training surged up—Noah almost struck for the eyes before recognition stopped him. “Wait. I know you. You’re one of Mara’s guards—you were in the forest with us!”

“Yes.” The man nodded once, brown eyes steady. “You did well there. Please don’t interfere. I don’t want to kill you, but I will.”

Noah looked to Mara, the woman he’d been sleeping beside moments ago. “Mara, what the fuck is going on?”

She stepped aside as more guards swept in with the same precise efficiency he remembered. They tore through her closet and desk, collecting items and dropping them into a box. When they finished, Mara grabbed tights and underwear, then moved to him.

“The city is in danger. We need to leave. Now.”

“What? How? From what?”

“There’s no time. I don’t know the details either. But you need to trust me.”

He stared at her. “We need to get Ciri, Ken, and Piper out too.”

“There’s no time,” the guard growled, still pinning Noah to the wall.

“Shit,” Mara muttered.

“If they’re in danger, I’m not leaving them,” Noah said.

“I know.” She turned to another guard. “Captain. Your seal. Now.”

Without hesitation, he pulled a chain from beneath his armour—a golden ring hanging from it—and handed it to her. Mara slipped it over Noah’s neck. Before pulling away, she kissed him softly, then held his gaze.

“You have questions. I know. But there’s no time, so listen. Get Ciri, Ken, and Piper and leave the city as fast as you can. Make for Braemont. If any guard stops you, show them this ring.” She hesitated. “I know I’m asking a lot, but—”

“I trust you,” he said.

“That means more than you know.”

She jogged out the door with her guards. The last man—the one who’d held Noah at swordpoint—lowered his blade and backed away, hands raised in apology.

“No hard feelings?” he asked.

“Sure,” Noah said through clenched teeth, rubbing the spot where cold steel had pressed into him.

The man sprinted after the others. Noah considered chasing him—until bells began ringing across the city. Shouts and screams followed. He grabbed his armour instead.

Ken, Ciri, and Piper will keep each other safe for a minute, he told himself, dressing as fast as his shaking hands allowed.

The moment his boots were buckled, he was out the door. He sprinted down the hall, dodging half‑dressed students spilling out of their rooms. They shouted questions, but he ignored them, racing for the stairs.

He took them two at a time, leaping the last six on each landing. When he hit the ground floor, he burst into the street and paused only long enough to orient himself before sprinting toward the visitors’ houses. The magical streetlights cast long shadows—ones that danced as dozens of people in the street sprinted away from a lone figure shambling down the road.

Oh. Oh no.

The figure turned toward him, its mouth stretching into a feral grin. Its shirt was shredded, leaving only tattered purple pants and boots with the toes torn out. Even in the dim light, Noah saw diseased green skin mottled with scabs, open sores, and weeping lesions.

Corrupted.

He tightened his grip on his knife.

The mutant lunged into a sprint, grin widening to inhuman proportions. Noah dropped into a fighting stance, preparing to dodge its blows and cut tendons like Ken had taught him. Just before it reached him, the creature jerked violently—a metal bolt jutting from its chest.

It turned toward the source just as a second bolt slammed into its shoulder. Noah seized the opening, rushing forward and driving his knife into the back of its neck. The blade pierced the brain stem. The creature collapsed, first to its knees, then face‑down.

“Noah!” a familiar voice called from the shadows.

He looked up to see a pink‑haired figure sprinting toward him, crossbow in hand. She threw her arms around him the moment she reached him, scanning him frantically before exhaling in relief. When she hugged him again, he returned it—just as Piper and Ken emerged from the alley behind her.

They broke apart as screams erupted farther down the street. People who had stepped outside to investigate immediately retreated, slamming doors and dragging furniture to barricade themselves inside. Noah looked past them just in time to see two Corrupted tearing through a squad of city guards with horrifying ease.

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“We can’t save them,” Ken said as he approached.

“I know.” Noah gritted his teeth and took the crossbow Ciri handed him.

“Let the guard handle it. We should get inside and barricade the door,” Ken continued.

Noah shook his head. “Mara made it sound like the city’s being overrun. I don’t think we’re safe here anymore.”

“Where is Mara?” Ciri asked, scanning the street.

“Her guards dragged her out of bed,” Noah said, skipping the details. “She told me to meet her in Braemont. Gave me this to deal with the guards.” He tapped the necklace at his chest.

“Why would she—” Ciri began.

“I don’t think now is the time,” Ken cut in. “If she’s right, we need to grab what we can and head for the forest.”

Noah nodded as Piper hopped onto his shoulder. “Agreed. Move.”

The next ten minutes blurred into frantic motion. They jogged back to the house, where Ciri and Ken sprinted from room to room, stuffing essentials into bags. Noah and Piper stood guard at the door, keeping it cracked just enough to watch the street. His stomach dropped as the two Corrupted finished off the last guard—only to be joined by several more figures.

There’s a fire near the academy, Noah noted, his mind going cold and analytical as orange light flickered across the rooftops. And another on that tower. This isn’t a raid. This is an attack.

“We’ve got a problem,” he said when Ken and Ciri returned and handed him a pack. “A new problem.”

“What is it?” Ciri asked.

“There are more Corrupted between us and the city exit. I counted seven. And with the fires and the screaming… there are probably more. I don’t like our odds,” He replied, tucking an extra magazine of bolts into his belt.

Ken edged past him, peeked outside, then ducked back in. “They’re going door‑to‑door. Clearing buildings. We can’t stay here either.”

Ciri shook her head. “We should go the other way—toward the docks. It is closer, and there is an exit there. In the chaos, we may be able to take a small boat and row to safety.”

“Works for me,” Noah said, moving toward the door.

“Wait.” Ken grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. “Let them enter the next house first.”

Noah hated it—using innocent people as a distraction—but Ken was right. His grip tightened painfully on the crossbow as he watched the small mob of Corrupted smash down a door a hundred meters away. The screams that followed made his skin crawl.

“Go,” Ken whispered, giving him a shove.

They slipped out into the night, crouching low as they moved down the street. They kept to the shadows, avoiding the magical streetlights while putting distance between themselves and the Corrupted. From beyond the wall separating the outer ring from the city’s middle districts, the sounds of battle rose.

Noah’s suspicion hardened into certainty.

This wasn’t chaos for chaos’ sake. This was an invasion.

“Is there anything we can do to help them?” Noah asked as they passed rows of houses, taverns, and shops—most now barricaded with whatever furniture people could drag in front of their doors.

“What would you have us do?” Ken shot back. “Most won’t accept what’s happening until it’s too late. Every second we spend trying to convince them brings us closer to death.”

“There have to be at least some we can convince to leave,” Noah insisted, refusing to accept Ken’s cold pragmatism.

“Even if there were, there won’t be enough boats for everyone at the docks. We’d only be leading them to their deaths. And a crowd will draw more Corrupted.”

Noah tensed, jaw tight. “I fucking hate this.”

“This is war,” Ken said. “There is no honor here. Only survival or death.”

Knowing Ken was right didn’t make it easier. To keep from imagining faces in every window they passed, Noah forced himself to focus—listening, watching, cataloguing every detail. But when another skirmish erupted near the docks, he exchanged a look with Ciri and Ken and broke into a run. The sounds grew louder as they sprinted, building to a crescendo as the gate finally came into view.

They skidded to a stop, eyes widening.

Ahead of them, at least twenty Corrupted had cornered a patrol of roughly forty guards against the still‑closed gate. The monsters attacked with the ferocity of wild animals, heedless of the fact that the guards were armed and armoured while they were not.

But the scale of the battle wasn’t what made Noah freeze.

Winter Fae fought among the guards.

Their martial skill kept the Corrupted from overwhelming the line, turning the clash into a brutal stalemate.

“We should go,” Ken said, backing away.

“What?” Noah stared at him. “We need to get in there and help!”

“They’re from the House of the Griffon,” Ken replied.

Noah clenched his jaw. “They like me. They let me go once already. And I’d rather take my chances with them than try to fight our way back through that mob.”

An uncharacteristic flicker of indecision crossed Ken’s face—but before he could answer, several beams of brilliant light shot into the sky, turning night into day. They all flinched and shielded their eyes. When the glare faded, Noah saw several Corrupted break from the melee and turn toward them.

I guess that makes the decision for us, he thought grimly, raising his crossbow.

Aim. Pull. Pump. Aim. Pull. Pump.

His first shot hit the lead Corrupted in the throat, staggering it. The second bolt pierced its eye, dropping it. The remaining two hesitated only a heartbeat before charging.

Aim. Pull. Pump.

The next fell ten meters away, a bolt buried in its forehead. Noah swung toward the third, but Ken was already sprinting past him. The elderly Fae rolled under its clumsy strike, sprang to his feet, and sliced through the tendons in its leg.

Noah held his fire, unwilling to risk hitting him.

The creature didn’t seem to feel pain, but every time it put weight on the damaged leg it stumbled. Ken darted in again, slashing the tendons in its arm before rolling away.

Clever. He’s slowing it down for a killing blow.

But the Corrupted had learned too. It dropped to one knee, exposing its neck. Ken lunged—only for the monster to swing at the last second. Even off‑balance, the blow caught Ken in the stomach and sent him flying several meters.

Ciri screamed and sprinted toward him as Noah fired, dropping the final Corrupted. They reached Ken seconds later. Ciri tore a healing spell from her grimoire and cast it, light flaring around her hands.

Noah held his breath until Ken coughed, groaned, and rolled onto his side. Ciri immediately ripped another page free and cast again, accelerating the healing.

Noah stood, checked his crossbow, and set his jaw.

“Is he going to be okay?”

Ciri exhaled shakily as the second spell faded. “I believe so. But he should not move, at least not for the immediate term.”

Noah looked toward the still‑raging battle—one the humans and Fae were clearly losing. “Stay with him. I’m getting help.”

He slowed just long enough to kick the nearby corpse in the head as he passed, cracking several bones before jogging toward the fight. Ken’s training kicked in as Noah began selecting targets—picking out Corrupted who were winning their fights and jogging toward them. When he closed to within ten meters, he leveled his weapon, pumped the slide, and pulled the trigger.

Thunk.

The first Corrupted dropped like a sack of rocks, collapsing inches from the Fae guard it had disarmed and was about to kill. By the time she looked around for her savior, he was already gone—pumping his crossbow and repositioning. A moment later he stopped, fired again, and brought down another Corrupted, saving another Fae life.

Adrenaline warped Noah’s sense of time. The rest of the battle could have lasted sixty seconds or sixty minutes—he couldn’t tell. His world narrowed to a single loop: aim, shoot, move. One Corrupted after another fell. Piper darted in and out of the melee, raking claws across eyes and faces to blind opponents before vanishing into the night sky again.

The guards quickly noticed. They rallied around him, drawing away any Corrupted that strayed too close. He rewarded their cooperation by continuing his rampage until his magazine ran dry and the remaining monsters lay motionless on the ground.

“Who… are you?” one of the human soldiers asked, staggering toward him.

Noah lowered his crossbow, pulled the necklace from under his armor, and tossed it to the man. “Someone you need to listen to.”

The soldier’s eyes went wide. “Wha—what do you need, sir?”

Well, that worked, Noah thought. “The city is lost. Go door to door. Get as many people out as you can.”

“…lost?” the guard echoed, despair flickering across his face.

“You can still save people,” Noah snapped. “Now move. That wasn’t a fucking suggestion.”

The guard blinked, shook himself, and sprang into action. He tossed the necklace back to Noah before turning to bark orders at the few surviving members of his patrol. Even wounded, they pushed themselves upright and staggered toward the houses.

“This way is clear,” a familiar voice said behind him. “I recommend beginning your evacuation in that direction.”

Noah turned to see Lady Veralith Frostwing striding down the street with a dozen winter Fae warriors at her back. A white glow surrounded her, radiating raw magical power. Her warriors’ blades were drawn and bloodied, their eyes scanning every doorway.

“My lady,” one of the guards called, bowing her head. “We held the gate for you.”

“I see that,” Lady Frostwing said, surveying the bodies. “It appears you had help.”

“Yes, my lady,” the guard murmured, cheeks reddening as Piper fluttered down onto Lady Frostwing’s shoulder and nuzzled her.

She smiled, stroking Piper’s back before turning to Noah. “You assisted my guards. Thank you. I don’t want to imagine what those Corrupted would have done to my ship.”

“Are you leaving the city?”

“Yes. As you said, the city is lost. I must report to Skatrith immediately.”

“Got room for three more?”

“Three?” she repeated.

Noah pointed toward where Ciri and Ken waited. “He’s injured. We’ll need help.”

Piper growled, then hopped from her shoulder to his.

Lady Frostwing pursed her lips, then nodded. “Hurry. More Corrupted appear by the minute. If you are not on my ship in the next five minutes, we leave without you.”

Ken is going to hate this, Noah thought as he turned and sprinted away.