Chapter 177

Chapter 177
Rhea

The next few hours blurred into chaos. Ironfang soldiers poured through a breach in the northern wall, their superior numbers immediately apparent. But what they had in quantity, we had in training and determination. Zenith students fought with everything they'd learned, every drill and exercise suddenly becoming brutally real.

I saw Finn use his tactical brilliance to lure a squad of Ironfang soldiers into a carefully prepared trap, the resulting explosion sending them flying. His face was pale but set with fierce concentration as he immediately began coordinating the next defensive measure.

Jax fought like a man possessed, his sand-gold wolf tearing through enemy lines with savage efficiency. His battle howl echoed across the campus, rallying students and striking fear into our attackers. Through our bond, I could feel his protective fury, his absolute determination that none of them would reach me.

Kael directed the defense from a strategic position, his commands crisp and precise even as he picked off enemy officers with terrifying accuracy. Every shot found its mark, every order anticipated the enemy's next move. He was the cold, calculating warrior I'd first met, and watching him work was both frightening and awe-inspiring.

And me? I held the breakthrough point at the eastern gate, using my talent to seal gaps in our defenses and create barriers that forced the enemy into kill zones. My hands shook with exhaustion, my wolf straining against the constant demand for power, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Not when people were fighting for my right to be here.

By the time the sun reached its zenith, Ironfang had retreated, leaving behind wounded soldiers and damaged fortifications. The cost had been steep on both sides. Zenith had twelve injured, three critically, and the campus bore the scars of battle—scorched earth, broken walls, blood-stained ground.

I helped carry wounded to the medical center, my hands steady despite the horror of what I was seeing. Marcus, who'd stood up for me at the assembly, had taken a blade to the shoulder. Finn had burns along his left arm from getting too close to an explosion. Everywhere I looked, people bore the marks of defending my right to exist as I was.

"This isn't your fault," Alex said quietly, finding me sitting outside the medical center as the sun began to set. His uniform was torn and bloody, though none of it appeared to be his own. "Tyrant would have found an excuse eventually. His kind always does."

"Twelve people got hurt today. Three might not make it." My voice cracked. "How is that not my fault?"

"Because you didn't ask for this." He sat down beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched. "You didn't ask to be born female in a world that thinks that makes you weak. You didn't ask to be used as a political bargaining chip. And you sure as hell didn't ask for Tyrant to be a psychotic bastard who can't accept rejection."

"But I chose to come here. I chose to lie about who I was. I chose—"

"To survive." Kael's voice cut through my self-recrimination as he and Jax approached. Both of them looked exhausted, covered in dirt and blood, but their eyes held nothing but fierce determination. "You chose to fight for your right to live on your own terms. There's no shame in that."

Jax crouched in front of me, his hands coming up to frame my face. "You're not a burden, Rhea. You're not responsible for Tyrant's actions or his army's violence. You're the reason we're all fighting—not because you're weak and need protecting, but because you're strong enough to stand up and say 'no' when everyone expected you to submit."

"He's right." The new voice made us all turn. Finn stood there, his burned arm freshly bandaged, with Marcus and several other students behind him. "We're not fighting because we feel sorry for you, Your Highness. We're fighting because you proved that the old rules are bullshit. That strength comes in different forms. That being female doesn't make you less capable of being a warrior."

"And because Tyrant's an ass who needs to learn he can't just take what he wants," Marcus added with a pained grin. "Some of us have been waiting for an excuse to put Ironfang in their place."

The next three days settled into a brutal pattern. Ironfang would launch an assault, we'd repel them, both sides would retreat to lick their wounds and prepare for the next round. The casualty count climbed steadily. By the seventh day, exhaustion had settled over the campus like a thick fog. Students moved mechanically through their shifts, faces drawn and eyes hollow.

I spent every night using our bonds to soothe Kael and Jax's injuries, channeling what little healing ability I possessed through our connection. It wasn't much—I couldn't close wounds or mend bones—but I could ease pain, could help their bodies heal faster. The effort left me drained, but I didn't care. Not when they spent their days putting themselves between me and danger.

The message from my father came on the morning of the eighth day, delivered through encrypted channels to Alex's secure device. My brother's face went carefully blank as he read it, then he looked up at me with something like hope in his eyes.

"The Winterbourne Duchy has formed a coalition," he said quietly, showing me the screen. "Seventeen wolf packs, all standing together to formally challenge Tyrant's actions at the International Assembly."

I read the message twice, my heart pounding. "They're going to impeach him?"

"They're going to try." Caspian leaned over to read the message, his expression thoughtful. "Charging him with violating the Neutral Territory Convention, with attacking an academic institution, with attempting to force a marriage against the bride's will. If they can get enough votes..."

"Tyrant's authority would be undermined," Kael finished, his tactical mind already working through the implications. "The Ironfang military might refuse to follow his orders. At minimum, it would force him to withdraw and defend himself politically."

"But it takes time," Alex said, his jaw tight. "The vote won't happen for at least three days. We need to hold out that long."

I looked around at my exhausted, injured friends. At the damaged campus and depleted supplies. At the faces of people who'd been fighting for over a week with no end in sight. Three more days felt like an eternity.

"Then we hold," I said, surprised by the strength in my own voice. "We've made it this far. We can make it three more days."