Page 70 of Blood and Thorns

She reels as if I physically struck her. My insides twist in guilt. Her tears glimmer for an instant before she sets her jaw, lifting her blade to face the encroaching soldiers. She must think I’ve truly betrayed her. The heartbreak in her eyes cuts deeper than any sword, but I cannot yield. If I show a hint of compassion now, the ruse crumbles.

Dark elf soldiers rush forward, half in triumph, half in caution. They believe I’m letting them claim Valeria uncontested. Some turn to me with sneers—like they can’t fathom a Vrakken giving up so easily.I’ll let them think what they want.I back away slowly, letting them see the scorn on myface. Then, under the swirling illusions, I slip behind a pillar, wings tucking to avoid detection.

Chaos intensifies around Valeria as she fights alone, desperately fending off thrusts and illusions. My chest screams to leap in and defend her openly, but that would ruin the plan. If I wait until they’re overconfident, I can strike from the flank, maybe open a path to Helrath or my mother so we can regroup.

I scan the crowd for Helrath. He’s engaged in a brutal clash near the dais, hacking at a dark elf’s shield. For a heartbeat, his gaze meets mine across the chamber. He sees my posture, realizes what I’ve done. Recognition dawns in his eyes—he understands the ruse. Thank the gods. We just need to coordinate our next move.

But then, from behind Helrath, a figure emerges—Mahir. My alleged ally. He raises a dagger, face twisted with grim resolve. Before I can shout a warning, Mahir plunges the blade into Helrath’s back. My loyal warrior staggers, eyes bulging in shock, blood staining his lips.Betrayal.Mahir wrenches the blade out, letting Helrath collapse in a heap. The swirl of combat hides it from most, but I witness every horrifying second, chest constricting.

I choke on a soundless roar, heart hammering.Mahir is the real traitor.Helrath never turned on me. I watch in sickened disbelief as Mahir steps away, allowing a dark elf soldier to finish off Helrath’s prone form. Then Mahir merges into the crowd, heading for an exit. My mind reels.He orchestrated everything.He sold out Valeria, staged Helrath’s guilt, and led the dark elves to our doorstep.

Rage surges, molten and unrelenting. I want to tear after him, but I also see Valeria pinned in a ring of hostile soldiers. She’s bleeding from a shallow cut on her shoulder, illusions crackling around her as she tries to repel them.Focus.We mustsave her first. Helrath is lost… The horror of it almost paralyzes me. But I can’t let his sacrifice be in vain.

I gather the spells on my blade, stepping out from the pillar at an oblique angle. The dark elves have circled Valeria, not noticing me.Perfect.My sword flares with swirling runes. Bellowing a war cry, I hurl a wave of vampiric magic across the ring of soldiers. They reel, illusions shattering. Valeria gasps, stumbling back from the concussive burst.

In the shock, I slice through the nearest soldier’s side, spin to behead another. A third tries to parry, but I knock him off balance with a powerful wing buffet. Then I’m at Valeria’s flank, reversing the ruse in a heartbeat. She stares at me, eyes wide, betrayal mingled with confusion and relief. I see a tear on her cheek, and it guts me.This was the only way, I want to tell her.Instead, I focus on clearing a path to the hall.

“Go!” I shout, voice raw. “We can’t hold them here.”

She hesitates, a thousand unspoken accusations behind her eyes. Then with a fierce nod, she lunges forward, blade sweeping to cut down a soldier who tries to block her. I tear through another pair of illusions, forging an opening. The council chamber is half in flames now, or near it—one of the torches must have overturned in the chaos. Smoke thickens the air.

We dash into the corridor, leaving the main throng behind. My mother is nowhere in sight—likely leading the defense deeper inside. Screams echo from multiple directions. The fortress is under full assault. Dark elves swarm, presumably aided by Mahir’s knowledge. My fury flares again at the memory of Helrath’s murder.

Valeria stumbles, coughing from the smoke. I catch her elbow. Our gazes lock for a tense second. She wrenches free. “You—bastard,” she rasps, tears shining. “I thought… you left me. I thought you gave me up.”

Pain lances through me. “I had to make them think?—”

She slams her free hand against my chest, shaking her head. “You humiliated me in front of everyone, letting them believe I was worthless to you.” Her voice cracks. “I—thought you truly cast me aside.”

I swallow thickly. “Forgive me. I prayed you’d trust me enough to see it was a ruse.” I can’t elaborate—footsteps pound around the corner. More dark elves, or perhaps traitorous Vrakken. Valeria curses, pressing herself against the wall, blade at the ready. Our crisis remains.

A trio of dark elf soldiers bursts into the corridor. Their eyes light up at the sight of Valeria. “The half-blood!” one exclaims. Another says, “Lord Xathien will pay richly for her alive.”

My wings snap wide. “Not if I can help it,” I snarl. We lunge as one: Valeria and I in tandem, attacking with lethal synergy. She slashes low, severing a soldier’s hamstring. I bring my blade down on the second soldier’s shoulder, splitting armor and flesh. The corridor echoes with shrieks. The third soldier tries to flee, but Valeria hurls a dagger that lodges in his back, sending him sprawling.

Our chests heave, the stench of blood thick. She retrieves her dagger, trembling. Anguish still swims in her eyes, but we have no time to talk. We push on, clearing passages of straggling enemies. My heart pounds with every step: the fortress is compromised. Allies fight or fall in every corridor. We spot a group of House Draeven guards pinned near a staircase, battered by illusions. We help drive off the dark elves, forging a momentary victory.

Amid the swirling chaos, my mind fixates on Mahir. That traitor must be heading for an exit, or the library to burn records. If we can stop him, we can cripple the dark elves’ advantage. But Valeria’s at risk every second we remain in the open.

We round a corner into a wide hall, only to find the floor stained with fresh blood. My mother stands at the far end, locked in deadly combat with a cluster of dark elf mages. She unleashes a swirl of vampiric illusions, her face rigid with fury. Council members lie sprawled around, some dead, others groaning. The stench of carnage is overwhelming.

As we approach, a dark elf mage hurls a crackling sphere of conjured acid our way. I shove Valeria aside, raising my blade. The sphere splatters across the floor, sizzling. My mother blasts the mage with a wave of dark energy, leaving him a husk. She glances back, meeting my gaze. Relief flickers.

“Vaelorian,” she calls, voice taut, “the fortress is lost if we cannot seal the main gate. They’ve destroyed half our wards from within. We must rally survivors to the keep’s inner sanctum.”

I grit my teeth.So quickly undone.“We’ll help secure the keep.”

Brinda nods, then glances at Valeria. A flash of disapproval crosses her face. “Keep her safe,” she snaps. “If the dark elves capture her, all is lost. Some in the Council still cling to the idea of handing her over, but we cannot let that happen.”

We press forward, side by side with my mother, cutting down any dark elf stragglers in the corridor. A swirl of illusions crackles around us, but Valeria seems to see through them, guiding us away from booby-trapped corners. For a moment, it feels like the unstoppable synergy we once dreamt of: mother, son, and half-blood operative forging a path through the carnage.

Abruptly, a Vrakken guard stumbles forward, blood staining his armor. He gasps out words: “Lord Vaelorian… the main gate… more soldiers storm inside… they speak your name, claiming they have your ally. They say… they’ve taken Helrath’s body.”

My stomach roils with fresh rage. “They’ll pay for that.” Helrath was dear to me, a stalwart friend. The betrayal rips at my soul. We press on.

At the next junction, I realize the swirling illusions intensify. The hallway flickers with half-formed shapes, twisted images to confound us. The dark elves must be using advanced spells to sow chaos. My mother curses under her breath. Valeria, though, hesitates, brow furrowing. She closes her eyes, focusing on her half-Vrakken senses. With a trembling breath, she touches the runic tokens at her belt. The illusions ripple.She’s unraveling them.Awe and heartbreak flood me—we rely on her unique power even as the Council condemns her.

Suddenly, an explosion rocks the hall. Rubble crashes down, sealing off a section. My mother shields her eyes as dust billows. “They’re bringing the fortress down around us,” she spits.

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