The king brought the pommel of Firebos down on the helmet of an attacker, dropping him to the ground with a dented helm. The sword was a whorl of blue light as he fought, its magic adding strength to his blows. He threw himself into the fight with all the fervor of a man struggling to survive.

“Drew!” Trynne shouted, pointing down at the advancing men. Another leaf-armored warrior landed between them, facing her, and Trynne cut him down and then kicked him off the wall.

The king turned, followed her finger, and saw what was unfolding.

“They’re going to cross!” he shouted, striking at another enemy who had fallen from the sky amid the flurries. He turned and shouted down to the bailey yard. “Severn! To the gap! Hold them!”

Trynne realized the danger. The aerial attack was a distraction. If Gahalatine could get his troops across the chasm, he could trap the defenders on the walls, isolating the king from the rest of Dundrennan’s defenses.

“Aye, my lord!” Severn shouted back and growled at his knights to hasten and follow him down the stairs to join the battle below.

Groans of pain and surprise floated up from the ranks of Gahalatine’s men as spears began raining down on them from the cliffs above. Trynne watched with triumph as the teeming mass of soldiers crumpled from the onslaught, dropping under a withering hail of spears. They hadn’t expected the counterattack from their flanks.

“Well done, Fallon!” the king bellowed. “That will distract them a bit!”

Trynne flanked one side of Drew, Fallon the other. He was fighting with lethal skill, cutting down the warriors that still dared to land on the battlements. When Trynne flashed a look at him, she saw the determination in his eyes. This was what he’d always wanted: to prove himself.

The falling spears disrupted the attack on the battlements, and a whoop and a cheer started from the ranks of the knights who were defending the wall. There were only a few remaining pockets of fighting as multiple knights dispatched those who had landed and killed their comrades. Trynne knew the celebration was premature.

Gahalatine would not be defeated so easily.

Not long after the cheers rose from the wall, Trynne felt a sudden surge of power from below and saw a shimmer of light from the magic’s aura. She sensed the danger an instant before it happened.