At the Enemy's Gates

(Kael’s Point of View)

The sharp wind carried a bitter familiarity, but nothing here felt like mine anymore. This planet was my home — **a place I once led with honor**, but now it felt utterly alien. The towering walls, which once symbolized protection, were now cold, oppressive barriers erected against me. Thorne’s darkness had spread like a disease, corrupting everything around it.

I looked at the fortress before me, the heart of the empire that had once been mine. **I was the leader here,** and those walls should have recognized my return. But Thorne’s power had seeped into every stone, turning this place into a hostile labyrinth. What was once home was now a prison for Lena — and I needed to get her out of there.

As I approached the massive gates, I felt the weight of suspicious eyes. A dozen soldiers, their faces hard as stone, blocked my way. **Old subordinates, men who once fought under my command**, now looked at me as if I were a traitor, an enemy.

“I need to get inside,” I said, my voice deep, struggling to hide my growing frustration.

One of the guards stepped forward, his expression firm and detached. “Without Thorne’s authorization, no one enters.”

My patience was wearing thin. **I had trained many of these men.** They knew who I was. They knew what I meant to this planet. But Thorne’s shadow had taken hold of them completely.

“I’m Kael,” I growled. “This place was mine before Thorne even set foot on this land. You know that.”

The guard who appeared to be the leader took another step forward, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Thorne is the only leader now. You abandoned your post and became a fugitive. You have no right to anything here.”

His words hit my pride like a direct blow, but I didn’t have time to dwell on resentment. Lena was inside, and every second felt like a sharp blade closing in on her.

“Listen,” I insisted, my tone colder but controlled. “Lena is in there. She needs me. If you don’t let me in, what Thorne is doing will be the end of all of us.”

The guards exchanged glances, but their faces remained impassive. They had no idea what was truly at stake — or simply didn’t care anymore.

“Go back to where you came from, Kael,” the guard leader said, unflinching. “The past has no place here anymore. Thorne rules now.”

My hands trembled with contained rage. This was my home. These were my men. I had led them, defended them, and now they turned their backs on me, blinded by Thorne’s influence. Every fiber of my being screamed to crush their resistance right then and there, but I knew that wouldn’t work. Attacking meant losing.

I took a deep breath and tried a different approach, forcing a calm I didn’t feel.

“If you don’t get out of my way,” I said slowly, each word laced with a veiled threat, “Thorne won’t be pleased. I have information he wants. And you know what happens to those who block something Thorne desires.”

The guard leader frowned. He knew as well as I did how ruthless Thorne could be. For a moment, I saw hesitation in his eyes. Letting someone like me pass was a risk, but crossing Thorne? That was an even greater one.

“Wait here,” the leader muttered to the others, casting a sharp glance at me. “We’ll check.”

As he walked away, the crushing weight of the moment settled over me. **The home I had once known was lost forever.** Those who once called me their leader were now puppets of a tyrant. Everything I believed in had been eroded by the darkness.

But despite it all, **I no longer cared what this place had become.** Only one thing mattered: Lena.

**She was the last remaining light.** And I wouldn’t let this planet — or Thorne’s shadows — extinguish that light.

The minutes dragged, every second a test of my restraint. I stood motionless, my fists clenched, heart pounding with impatience. **This fortress, once a symbol of everything I fought to protect, now felt like a grave.** I had built this place, made it a sanctuary, and now it was twisted beyond recognition—hollowed by Thorne’s poison.

I scanned the soldiers’ faces again, looking for a flicker of recognition or doubt. **Nothing.** It was as if my history had been erased, rewritten by the shadow of the man I once called an ally. Anger simmered beneath my skin, but I forced it down. If I lost control now, I would never get to Lena.

The walls loomed, each stone a silent witness to how far everything had fallen. I felt disconnected, like a ghost wandering through the ruins of a life that no longer belonged to me. **But I wasn’t here to reclaim a throne.** I was here to save her.

Then the leader of the guards returned, his gaze sharp and suspicious. "Thorne has been informed," he said curtly. "He will decide what to do with you."

I nodded, masking the storm inside me. **I didn’t care what Thorne decided. I would find Lena—no matter what it took.**