I glanced at Caelen—he looked like he was about to be sick.
“Focus,” I murmured, biting back my fury. “We can fall apart later.”
I pressed my hand to the steel—melted it instantly.
My anger was molten. Boiling. Burning me from the inside out.
We worked fast. One after another, the cages fell open.
Rigg moved to the back wall, pressing his palm to the stone. A passage cracked open behind it.
And then—
The door behind us slammed open.
Footsteps. Fast. Heavy. Too many.
I looked up. Not soldiers. Monks. Shifters.
Shit.
“Run!Run!Now!” Caelen shouted, blade already drawn.
The prisoners surged. A stampede of desperation.
Lia sprinted to the front beside Rigg.
“This way!” she cried. “Come on—move!”
I sprinted toward the stairs, my sword slicing a blazing arc of fire through the smoke.
Caelen fell in beside me, jaw clenched, blade steady. Lacey had her hands full of amulets, ready to blast the soldiers to hell.
Toma was already moving—fluid, fast, a flicker of motion too quick to follow.
We were enough.
We had to be.
And then they hit us—
A wave of steel, claws, snarling fury.
Toma darted like a fox through their ranks, blades flashing.
Caelen took on two—no, three at once—his movements efficient and brutal.
I unleashed fire, driving them back with blasts of heat and flame.
I held it back—barely. I couldn’t risk torching the tower with Elle and Maddie still inside.
But gods, I was ready toburn the world.
“Come on, you bastards!” I roared. “Come and get me!”
Chapter 50
Elira
