Page 40 of Stormvein
His face drains of color. “That’s not possible. Our scouts would have seen?—”
“They’re coming from a different direction. They must have—” My stomach lurches as the truth hits me. “They knew! Somehow they knew we’d be here.”
My mind scrambles, searching through the last couple of days. The captured Authority captain. The sealed orders. The near-perfect details about Sacha’s transport route.
The way everything fell into our laps so perfectly.
“It’s a trap.” Shock coats my voice as the pieces click together. My mouth goes dry. My hands start shaking. “The captain, the information. It’s too perfect. Theywantedus to attempt this rescue.”
Kiran’s face matches the horror that must show on mine. “A setup to draw out Lord Torran’s followers.”
My mind races through every conversation at Stonehaven, searching for inconsistencies, for moments when information could have changed hands. For who knew what, and when.
“Ashenvale. They knew he was going there. They knew about his plan.” We stare at each other. “Someone is betraying us. Someone inside Stonehaven.”
He fumbles for the signal horn at his belt, but it’s too late. The reinforcements are already moving down the slopes toward the gap. At least thirty soldiers are closing in on the archers, who are completely exposed from behind, and have no idea they’re coming.
“We need to warn them.” I’m already rising to my feet.
“No!” Kiran grabs my arm and pulls me back down. “If you move, if your power?—”
The mist stalker makes a sound—a low, vibrating growl that seems to come from everywhere at once. The pressure against my mind intensifies, becoming almost painful.
Below, Varam raises his hand, holds it for one breath, two, then brings it down in a sharp slash.
Arrows fly from hidden positions, striking the convoy guards with deadly precision. Three guards drop instantly, crimson blooming across their uniforms. Two more stagger, reaching for arrows embedded in shoulders and thighs.
The blocking force emerges, cutting off the exit. Varam leads them, his blade already wet with blood as he cuts through a guard who barely has time to raise his weapon. Mira appears at his flank, the twin daggers in her grip finding the space between the armor plates of another soldier.
I hold my breath, and for one heart-stopping moment, I believe it might work despite the reinforcements bearing down on them. That they might reach Sacha before it all falls apart.
Then a shout goes up. The guards have spotted the soldiers coming to their aid.
Our archers change target, redirecting their fire toward this new threat, but they’re visible now, their positions revealed. One falls, an Authority crossbow bolt protruding from his chest. Another scrambles for better cover only to be cut down mid-movement.
The ambush dissolves into chaos. Our fighters are caught in a vise. Authority forces press in from both directions. Metal clashes against metal. Shouts of pain and rage echo off the cliffs. Varam and three others are fighting desperately to reach the cage wagon, but the guards have formed a protective ring around it, buying time for reinforcements to arrive.
Thunder rumbles overhead. My heart pounds against my ribs.
I need to help them. I need to reach Sacha.
The mist stalker tenses beside me, muscles bunching. Before I can react, it launches itself from our position, a blur of silver-gray against the stone. It flows down the steep slope. Its bodydistorting, limbs lengthening unnaturally. Claws unfold from its paws, curved and long. Its lips peel back to reveal teeth like serrated blades.
“No!”
I throw out one hand, but the creature is already beyond my grasp, answering a call more primal than any command I could give. The mist stalker has gone rogue, disobeying my order to stay at my side. It’s almost reached the convoy, dropping low to creep the rest of the way.
It’shuntingthem.
The world tilts on its axis, sending a wave of nausea through me. The mountains, the cliff, the sky above me … it all blurs and spins.
“Ellie?” Kiran’s voice seems to come from far away.
I can’t respond. All I can do is watch, horrified and fascinated, as the mist stalker tears into the Authority reinforcements. The creature moves with a fluid grace that defies its size. And then my consciousness splits. I’m both here and there—watching from behind the rocks and moving inside its body, as its muscles bunch and release with a strength I’ve never known.
Through its eyes, the world changes. Colors flatten and sharpen. Scents rise like signals. Sweat. Blood.Fear. And something deeper. Something familiar. Something that pulls us forward with single-minded purpose. Sacha’s scent, faint but unmistakable even beneath layers of blood and pain.
The mist stalker’s body swells with each stride. We stretch further, faster,stronger. We are no longer separate entities, but something new. Something forged in desperation and rage. Predator and prey. Weapon and will.
