Chapter 367

Chapter 367
Aurora

I still had no idea what I was doing, and under any other circumstances I probably would have stopped to question every strange sensation running through my body, but there was no time for hesitation while the guard reached the bottom of the stairs with his weapon already raised and several more were coming directly behind him.

I reacted on instinct, throwing both hands forward as the unfamiliar energy surged through my arms.

The force that exploded from my palms struck him before he could take another step, catching him in the chest and sending him violently backward until his body slammed against the stone wall with enough force to knock the weapon from his hand.

The sword clattered across the floor, spinning once before coming to a stop, while the guard slid down the wall and remained motionless.

I stared at my hands, my fingers trembling slightly as I tried to comprehend what had just happened.

That had been me.

At least, some part of it had.

The magic hadn’t felt like the power I was used to controlling, which had always responded to thought and intention in a way that felt familiar, almost like moving another part of my own body.

This was different, almost frighteningly so, because it seemed to recognize danger before I did and react without waiting for me to consciously command it.

Another guard appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Then another.

Kael was already in the middle of them.

His body had shifted completely, towering over the guards as he moved through the narrow space with brutal speed, catching one man by the arm and throwing him into the wall before turning toward another who had barely managed to raise his sword.

Zayn remained close to me, having picked up one of the fallen weapons from the floor, and he immediately stepped between me and another guard who rushed down the stairs.

“Stay behind me!”

“I can fight!”

“I know you can!”

He blocked a strike and shoved the guard backward.

“Just stay close!”

I glanced toward the staircase.

More guards were coming.

There were far too many for the three of us to handle if they managed to surround us, and above the clash of weapons and the growls echoing through the dungeon, I could hear something else that made my attention shift toward the dark corridors branching away from the main passage.

“They’re getting out!” someone shouted from the staircase.

Another voice immediately answered.

“Don’t let them reach the upper floors!”

The command carried through the dungeon, and something inside me tightened.

They weren’t only trying to stop us.

They were trying to contain everyone who had been locked down here.

I turned toward Zayn.

“Don’t stop them.”

He looked at me through the chaos.

“What?”

“The prisoners.”

His eyes moved toward the corridors where figures were beginning to pour into the main passage.

“They’re not our responsibility.”

“They’re prisoners.”

“So are we.”

“Exactly.”

I looked toward the staircase.

“If we find a way out, they deserve the same chance.”

Zayn stared at me for a moment, his expression shifting as he understood what I meant.

Then he nodded.

“Okay.”

He turned toward Kael, who was currently holding one guard against the wall while another tried to attack him from behind.

“Keep them away from her.”

Kael’s head snapped toward us, and the low growl that followed was enough to make me think he’d understood perfectly.

Another guard rushed down the stairs.

I didn’t even have time to think.

My hand lifted.

The strange energy answered.

A violent wave tore through the narrow passage, catching the guard in the chest and throwing him backward into the two men behind him. All three went tumbling down the stairs in a tangled mess of armor and weapons.

I stared after them, my heart hammering as I slowly lowered my hand.

The power was stronger.

Or perhaps I was simply beginning to understand how to reach it.

Either way, I could feel the two distinct currents beneath my skin, moving together whenever I needed them, and the realization sent a strange warmth through me despite the chaos surrounding us.

My hand instinctively settled over my stomach.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

A gentle pulse moved beneath my palm.

It was so subtle that I almost wondered whether I had imagined it, but the sensation was enough to make my throat tighten.

Then someone screamed.

A group of prisoners had reached the main corridor and were rushing toward the staircase, desperate to escape the dungeon, but several guards had already formed a line across the passage to stop them.

“Move back!” one of the guards shouted.

The prisoners refused.

One man pushed forward.

Another followed.

Then the entire group surged at once.

The guards tried to hold their position, but the dungeon erupted into chaos as bodies collided and weapons were knocked from hands.

Kael charged straight into the middle of it.

He moved like a force of nature, claws tearing through weapons and sending guards crashing into the walls while the prisoners used the opening he created to push toward the stairs.

Zayn grabbed my hand.

“Come on.”

I didn’t hesitate.

We ran.

The staircase was only a few steps away, but a guard suddenly appeared directly in front of us, cutting off the path.

Zayn reacted immediately.

He swung the weapon he’d taken from the floor, and the guard raised his own sword to block it, the two blades colliding with a sharp metallic crack that echoed through the passage.

The guard pushed forward.

Zayn held his ground.

I could see the strain in his arms as he fought to keep the man’s weapon away from him.

“Zayn, move!”

He ducked without questioning me.

I thrust both hands forward.

The force struck the guard and sent him flying backward, his body hitting the opposite wall before dropping heavily onto the floor.

Zayn looked at me.

“You’re getting the hang of that.”

“I’d really like to believe that.”

He grabbed my hand again.

“Then keep moving.”

We climbed.

The alarm above us started getting louder, its sharp sound reverberating through the stone and making it difficult to hear anything else, while the guards who remained in the upper corridors were beginning to realize that the dungeon was no longer under control.

Every few steps, another one appeared.

Kael dealt with the first group.

Zayn handled the next.

Whenever someone managed to get close enough to threaten me, the magic inside me reacted before I could fully process the danger, sometimes throwing a person backward with a single burst of force and other times knocking their weapon from their hand before they could even swing.

At one point, a guard lunged toward me from the side.

I raised my hand.

Nothing.

I froze.

He was already within reach.

Then the energy moved on its own.

The guard was suddenly thrown sideways, crashing into a pillar several feet away.

I stared at him.

“What the hell…”

Zayn caught my arm and pulled me forward.

“Later.”

Right.

Later.

We kept climbing until the dungeon finally disappeared beneath us, and when we emerged into the castle proper, I slowed without meaning to.

The corridor looked different from the underground passages, with polished stone beneath our feet, enormous pillars rising toward a ceiling high above us, dark wooden doors lining the walls, and tall windows allowing pale daylight to spill across the floor.

I had seen places like this before.

Not this particular castle, but something about it felt strangely familiar.

The architecture.

The scent.

The arrangement of the corridors.

Something deep inside me reacted to it, stirring memories I couldn’t quite reach.

“Aurora?”

I looked toward Zayn.

His expression was worried.

“I’m okay.”

He studied me for another second.

“You sure?”

I nodded.

“Just keep going.”

We moved deeper into the castle.

By then, the entire place seemed to have descended into chaos, with guards rushing through the corridors, servants fleeing into rooms, doors opening and slamming shut, and the alarm continuing to echo overhead.

Somewhere ahead, a voice shouted,

“Find the prisoners!”

Zayn’s fingers tightened around mine.

“They know we’re out.”

“Then we need to move faster.”

We turned another corner.

And stopped.

A line of guards stood across the corridor.

There had to be at least ten of them, all armed and watching us carefully, their weapons already drawn as they waited for us to make the first move.

Kael stepped forward.

His body lowered into a defensive position, claws extending as the lycan prepared himself for another fight.

Zayn moved beside him.

I stepped forward too.

Kael glanced over his shoulder.

“I thought I told you to stay behind us.”

“I remember.”

“Then why are you standing here?”

“Because I’m not staying behind anyone.”

Zayn looked at me, and despite the situation, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“That’s my girl.”

The guards charged.

Kael met them first.

His body collided with the nearest man, sending him crashing into the wall, while Zayn moved toward another attacker and blocked his sword before driving him backward.

I raised my hands.

The energy inside me surged.

But this time, I didn’t release it immediately.

I held it.

I could feel it gathering beneath my skin, two distinct currents moving through me and becoming increasingly powerful as the danger around us intensified.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

Help me.

The response came instantly.

Power exploded outward.

Every guard in the corridor was thrown backward at once, bodies hitting the floor and walls as weapons scattered across the polished stone.

When the force finally faded, the corridor fell strangely quiet.

I slowly lowered my arms.

Zayn stared at me.

Kael did too.

I looked between them.

“What?”

Zayn shook his head.

“Remind me to never piss you off.”

A breathless laugh escaped me despite everything.

“Good idea.”

Zayn reached for my hand.

“Come on.”

We continued down the corridor, moving more carefully now that we knew we were getting closer to wherever we needed to go.

We had almost reached another set of doors when something made me stop.

A sound.

Quiet.

Almost impossible to hear beneath the alarm.

I turned my head.

Zayn nearly walked into me.

“What is it?”

“Wait.”

I listened.

There it was again.

A faint movement coming from somewhere nearby.

I looked toward the door beside us.

“I heard something.”

Kael approached.

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

I stepped closer.

The strange energy inside me stirred.

Not like it had when I was attacked.

Not violently.

Instead, it felt almost like a pull, subtle but unmistakable, drawing my attention toward the room beyond the door.

I lifted my hand.

“There’s someone in there.”

Zayn’s expression immediately changed.

“Someone alive?”

I closed my eyes.

I reached outward with the strange sense that had been developing inside me, searching beyond the wood and stone.

There.

A faint presence.

Weak.

But unmistakably there.

“Yes.”

Zayn immediately reached for the handle.

Locked.

He looked at me.

I placed my palm against the door.

The energy moved through me, warm and powerful, flowing down my arm until it reached my fingertips.

The lock clicked.

Zayn opened the door.

And the moment we saw what was inside, all three of us stopped dead.