Are you ready for this?

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She sent a pulse of adrenaline down the bond. It mingled with her feelings of unease and excitement. She was on the front lines. She was in the thick of it. She had to succeed.

Tieran sent back his own mixed feelings. The exhilaration of war and terror that she might get hurt and fear for the future. It was all the same feeling, and she felt comforted to know that he was in the same mindspace as her. That they could share this.

Kerrigan pulled into formation with her group. Fordham leading as the four of them drew into Trulian’s regiment. She couldn’t even believe that she was part of this.

She recognized Society members who were brilliant soldiers. Master Cannon, who she had fought during her training, looked eager to get started. Master Kress was in full armor, throwing a ball of flame aimlessly around, as if none of this concerned him at all. Others she only recognized by reputation. She was not even a full member, and she flew here with them. Whether or not it was because Fordham was seen as the enemy, they were making a name for themselves today.

And as the ground troops marched, angling for Lethbridge’s gate, the Society dragons fanned out to take the city. Kerrigan could just make out March at the head of his soldiers in a plumed helmet. She couldn’t hear the words of encouragement as his horse galloped before the lot of them, but she knew he could be inspirational. So long as he valued a person as more than an object of his ascension.

House of Shadows soldiers swelled before the doors that led into the city. Powerful Fae waiting with swords raised to take on their enemy. No sign of the king. He would be behind the gates. Their real prize.

Trulian held his own sword high and then bellowed, pointing the sword toward the city beyond. The dragons flew as one while the soldiers below moved into battle. The clash of swords against shields was deafening. The roar that came from the magical artifacts was almost worse. But it was the dragons that did the most damage.

Kerrigan dived into her magic as she faced the onslaught and then threw everything she had at the soldiers. Dragons picked Fae off the ground and dropped them from on high. Some barreled straight through the lot of them. Fire bloomed over and over on the field. Within the hour, it was a bloodbath. Disorienting and terrifying and thrilling.