Chapter 231
Chapter 231
Stella's POV
The lodge door slams shut behind Kai, the wooden beams groaning under the weight of his sword. I clutch the cub tighter, his tiny body warm against my chest as Kaya drags me toward the back exit. Outside, the air is thick with smoke and the metallic tang of silver rot, curling like tendrils through the cracks in the walls.
"Move, Stella!" Kaya hisses, shoving aside a fur curtain. The back door opens to a narrow path carved through the snow, leading toward the Ice Lake's frozen shore. Marla trails behind us, her healer's satchel bouncing against her hip, while two Glacier warriors—their armor dented from earlier skirmishes—flank us, axes at the ready.
The cub whimpers, his face scrunching at the cold. I tuck him deeper into the fur wrap, shielding his eyes from the fiery glow reflecting off the ice. Ahead, the lake stretches like a cracked mirror, its surface splintering under the weight of explosions.
Damon's forces have set fire to the ancient ice—how, I don't know, but the flames lick at the sky, turning the snow around us a ghastly red.
"Kai..." I murmur, craning my neck to look back. The lodge is a silhouette against the inferno, Kai's figure a dark slash as he charges toward Damon. His sword catches the light, arcing through the air like a shooting star. Damon stands at the lake's edge, his armor reeking of silver rot, a new scepter in hand—this one dripping with liquid metal, its tip aimed at Kai.
"Don't look!" Kaya yanks my arm, her nails digging into my skin. "He told us to run—do you want his sacrifice to be for nothing?"
Her words cut deeper than the frost. I turn away, forcing my legs to move. The warriors ahead of us suddenly stop, their axes rising. A wall of silver-armored soldiers emerges from the mist, their eyes glowing with that familiar, cursed energy. But these aren't the same Silver Rot soldiers we faced at Black Ice Bay. Their armor is sleeker, their movements more precise—almost... human.
"By the Goddess," Marla breathes, fumbling for a vial in her satchel. "They've upgraded."
The lead soldier raises a rifle, its barrel glowing blue. I push the cub into Kaya's arms, shouting, "Take him!" My wedding armor—hastily fastened over my tunic—chafes against my still-aching abdomen, but the storm blood in my veins stirs. I raise a hand, summoning a gust of wind to knock the rifle aside, but the effort leaves me dizzy. Childbirth has drained me more than I thought.
"Stella!" One of the warriors—a young beta named Leif—throws himself in front of me, his axe swinging. The blade connects with a Silver Rot soldier's chest, but instead of denting the armor, it sticks, the metal rippling like water. Leif yelps as the soldier grabs his arm, silver tendrils shooting from its gauntlet to wrap around his wrist. In seconds, Leif's skin turns ashen, his eyes rolling back.
"NO!" I scream, sending a wave of green fire at the soldier. It incinerates the tendrils, but the creature doesn't flinch. It rips Leif's axe from its chest and tosses the beta's limp body aside, then turns its glowing eyes on me.
Kaya shoves me behind her, raising her own axe. "Get the cub to Rimefang!" she yells at Marla, who nods and disappears into the snow with the baby. I reach for Kaya, but another explosion rocks the lake, sending a shower of burning ice shards overhead. The Silver Rot soldiers advance, their rifles humming.
"Stella, go!" Kaya swings her axe, blocking a blade meant for my throat. "I'll hold them off—you have to protect the cub!"
I hesitate, watching as Kaya is surrounded. Her axe moves in a blur, but there are too many of them. A rifle shot rings out, and she staggers, blood blooming on her shoulder. I turn and run, my boots slipping on the icy path. The frost wind bites at my face, stealing my breath. Behind me, the sounds of battle fade, replaced by the thud of my own heartbeat and the distant howl of wolves—Rimefang, maybe, but too far to help.
I reach the lake's center, where the ice is thinnest. Cracks spiderweb beneath my feet, groaning under my weight. The cub is safe with Marla, I tell myself. Kaya and Kai... I push the thought away, focusing on the shore ahead. Rimefang's territory is just beyond those trees, but the path is blocked by another group of Silver Rot soldiers—this one waiting silently, their weapons trained on me.
They step forward in unison, their armor reflecting the firelight. The lead soldier removes its helmet, revealing a face I recognize—one of Damon's lieutenants, thought dead at Black Ice Bay. His eyes are pure silver, his skin stretched tight over his bones.
"Hello, Luna," he says, his voice a static-laden rasp. "Damon sends his regards."
I raise my hands, summoning the last of my storm blood. Green lightning arcs between my fingers, but it's weak, sputtering like a dying flame. The soldiers raise their rifles, and I brace for impact, thinking of Kai on the burning shore, of the cub in Marla's arms, of the life we'd dreamed of just hours ago.
The world is fire and ice, blood and snow, and I'm caught in the middle—still bleeding from childbirth, still wearing my armor, still fighting. The cub's first day in this world is a day of war, and I'll die before I let Damon take him too.
"Come on then," I growl, planting my feet on the cracked ice. "Let's see what your precious nanites can do against a mother's rage."