---
The morning sun barely kissed the horizon when the group emerged from the last thicket of forest. A quiet gasp escaped Mira's lips.
"Nytherion," she whispered.
Nestled between the sloping green hills and mist-veiled cliffs, the village of Nytherion stood—a cluster of stone-and-wood homes, flanked by terraced gardens and sparkling river streams. But something was wrong.
Smoke.
Dark plumes drifted from the center of the village. Armored figures moved like shadows between homes. Crimson banners fluttered along the rooftops—the sigil of Queen Ayelara.
"They've taken it," Mira muttered, her voice hollow.
"Soldiers. At least two dozen in sight," Cain said, eyes narrowing as he crouched low and scanned with trained precision.
"They've taken prisoners," Valron said, pointing. "Look—by the well. Bound and guarded."
Asteria's jaw clenched. "We move at night."
---
When darkness fell, the group split into pairs.
Valron and Tarn would create a distraction on the southern ridge.
Cain would disable the watchtowers.
Asteria, Mira, Serenya, and Darius would slip in and locate the prisoners.
Like ghosts, they moved.
Tarn hurled a rock laced with a fire crystal, igniting a haystack.
The guards near the flames shouted, drawing half the patrol toward the blaze.
Cain vanished into the shadows, eliminating a sentry with a silent flick of his blade.
Asteria and Darius crept into the village center. Mira and Serenya followed behind, clinging to the shadows.
When they reached the stone well, Darius raised a fist.
"Four guards," he whispered.
"I'll handle the two at the back," Asteria said. "On your signal."
Serenya clutched her cloak tighter.
"Don't freeze up," Darius said gently. "Your people need you."
She nodded, drawing a slim dagger.
Darius burst forward like a firestorm.
His blade clashed with the nearest soldier, sparks flying. Asteria followed—his flame-wreathed strike slammed into a second soldier's shield, melting it like wax.
The battle erupted.
Mira surged forward with a blast of water that sent one of the guards crashing into a wall. Serenya, though trembling, dove in—her fire slicing low and swift, catching another's leg.
"Free them!" Asteria yelled.
Darius moved to the bound villagers, slashing their bonds.
But then—
A sound like a gustless wind.
A blur of motion.
Sevrik, the Silent Blade, descended like a shadow reborn.
In an instant, Cain was thrown back, blood trailing from his side. Tarn stumbled, slamming into a stone wall. Mira's water blast turned to mist before it reached him.
Serenya's breath caught.
"You," she whispered.
Sevrik's blade was a whisper of metal, its edge soaked in countless deaths. He moved toward Serenya with impossible speed.
Asteria was too far.
Darius wasn't.
He hurled himself between them.
The blade pierced his chest.
Time froze.
"DARIUS!" Serenya screamed, catching him as he fell.
The Silent Blade yanked his sword free and vanished into the smoke as the group rallied around them.
They fled into the forest, dragging Darius with them.
---
They reached a clearing deep in the woods, breathless, wounded, broken.
Darius lay on the grass, blood soaking through his tunic.
Asteria knelt beside him. "We'll get you help. Just hold on."
Darius coughed, a smile tugging at his lips. "No… this is it."
He turned to Serenya.
"My princess… forgive me. I failed to protect you."
"No," she wept. "No, you saved me. Don't leave me. Don't—"
"Your father trusted me," he whispered. "Now… I trust you. Let Asteria protect you… as I no longer can."
He took her hand. "Live well, Princess. Make it worth the blood spilled."
And then… he was gone.
Serenya collapsed beside him, her shoulders shaking in silence.
Later, after the others drifted away, Asteria sat beside her.
The firelight flickered across her tear-streaked face.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
She didn't answer.
"You were close."
"I knew him my whole life," she said, voice barely a whisper. "He was the last piece of home I had."
Silence passed between them.
Your highness. Asteria called out.
"…Call me Seri."
Asteria looked at her. "Seri?"
She nodded. "He always called me that. It's… who I am. Not just the crown. Not just the title."
"Alright," Asteria said gently. "Seri."
She looked at him, eyes tired but clearer. "You're not like the others."
He gave a small smile. "Neither are you."
---
The wind whispered through the shattered ruins on the outskirts of Nytherion. A full moon hung high above, pale and watchful. Beneath the shadow of an old stone tower, the group gathered in a loose circle—faces tired but sharp with determination.
Asteria knelt, using a burnt stick to draw in the dirt. "This—" he pointed, "is the eastern gate. Lightly guarded, probably just a post to monitor fleeing villagers. It's not meant to withstand a full breach."
"We won't get a second chance," Mira said, arms crossed. "They'll double the guard after what we did tonight."
Seri now—sat quietly beside Asteria, her hands clasped over her knees. Her eyes were red from crying, but the fire in them hadn't dimmed. "They won't expect another strike so soon. That's our window."
Cain crouched beside Asteria, his blade across his lap. "What about the towers here—west and north walls?" He tapped the dirt. "They house archers. The Queen's men like the high ground."
Valron grunted. "Then we clip their wings first. I can scale the wall and take out the top guards."
"You'd need cover," Tarn said. "I'll go with you. If it's brute strength we need, I'll be the hammer."
Asteria nodded. "Good. That clears the path for Mira and Cain to slip in from the south and break open the gate."
Mira tilted her head, brow raised. "What about the soldiers inside?"
"We won't engage unless we have to," Asteria said. "Our goal isn't to take the whole town in a single sweep—it's to free the villagers held in the granary prison."
"They're under heavy lock," Cain muttered. "I scouted the building a while ago. Reinforced metal. Only a fire wielder or an explosive burst could break it open."
Asteria glanced at Mira. She nodded, understanding.
"I'll handle that," she said, already forming droplets of water at her fingertips. "Boil the lock from the inside."
"And what of me?" Seri's voice was soft but steady. "I may not be Darius… but I still fight."
The camp fell silent for a beat.
Asteria looked at her gently. "You'll stay with me. We'll cut a path through the courtyard once the gate falls. Your flame and mine—we'll draw their attention."
"You're using yourselves as bait," Tarn said with a grunt.
Asteria stood. "We have to. If we distract the bulk of their forces in the center, Mira and Cain can get to the prison without being overwhelmed. Valron and Tarn collapse on the towers. We split their attention and surround them from within."
"And if it fails?" Mira asked.
Asteria looked around at their faces—each bruised, bloodied, changed by fire and death. "Then we burn the village down trying."
"We blind them with mist," Mira added. "Boil water, flash-evaporate it—make it thick. They'll lose their eyes and their nerve. They won't see past ten paces"
Seri's voice came next—gentle but fierce. "We won't fail. Not this time."
Cain nodded. "Then we go at dawn. One final strike. One clean chance."
Valron's knuckles cracked. "It'll be enough."
---
The next night, they returned.
This time with a plan.
Without Sevrik, the garrison was strong—but vulnerable.
One by one, they eliminated guards using the terrain and shadows. Cain's knives flew with precision. Tarn's strength snapped bones and doors alike.
Mira drowned a fire pit, sending steam into the air to blind their enemies. Valron created walls of stone to box them in.
Asteria and Seri—fire and wind—led the charge.
Seri hurled fire in arcs, her flames controlled and elegant. Asteria danced through smoke and light, striking down foes with bursts of kinetic wind.
But the soldiers were many.
Too many.
They were surrounded.
Then—
From the rooftops and alleys—villagers.
Armed with pitchforks, axes, farming tools, even buckets of water.
Water benders surged forward, spraying freezing jets. Others fought with fists and stones.
The tide shifted.
Together, they drove back the queen's soldiers.
As dawn broke over Nytherion, the crimson banners burned.
Darius was buried under a great tree outside the village.
Seri wept alone.
Asteria stood beside her, silent.
As she wiped her tears, she whispered, "He believed in us. Now we have to believe in ourselves."
And the wind carried his name, like an oath written in flame.
---