Chapter 183- Fire in the Shadows
Adrian
The night weighed heavy on me, pressing down with the stench of smoke, sweat, and frustration. The fire in the center of the camp crackled weakly, casting jagged shadows against the canvas walls of my tent. I sat at the edge of the table, fingers drumming against the wood, my jaw clenched so tightly I could feel the ache in my teeth.
The report still echoed in my ears.
“Failed,” the scout had said, his voice quivering. “The alliance pack was prepared. Reinforcements came swift. We… we lost most of the men.”
A failure. My first calculated strike since Kael and I regrouped, and it collapsed before it began. I had expected panic, fire spreading through the alliance ranks, cracks forming in their fragile unity. Instead, all I received was ashes and excuses.
I slammed my fist against the table, the sound snapping the silence in two. “One casualty,” I spat. “One! Out of an entire pack, we managed to take only one life?”
The men gathered around me flinched, their eyes cast low. Cowards. They had been bold enough to promise victory when I sent them out, but now they could not even look me in the eye.
Kael, ever the calm shadow to my fire, leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “It was never meant to be decisive, Adrian. You know that. It was a test.”
I turned my glare on him. “And tests are meant to show weakness. What did this show us? That Lexy has them fortified. That she has drilled them into something resembling competence. That even when caught by surprise, they can withstand what I throw at them. Does that sound like weakness to you?”
Kael didn’t flinch, didn’t rise to my fury. He simply studied me, his eyes cold and assessing. “It showed us that she is cautious. And that, brother, can be turned against her.”
I exhaled sharply, pacing the length of the tent. His words had merit, but they did little to cool the rage burning inside me. I had envisioned the alliance stumbling, their morale cracked. Instead, their unity would only grow stronger now. They would see the failed attack as proof they could stand against me. They would whisper to each other, “We endured. We survived. We can beat him.”
I could not allow that belief to take root.
“You should be pleased,” Kael continued smoothly. “They lost one, but we lost nothing of value. Every soldier is replaceable. And now, Lexy’s guard will be doubled. She will keep them close to home, wary of shadows. That buys us time.”
“Time for what?” I demanded, stopping short. “We can’t win wars on time alone. Every day we waste, she gathers more allies. Every hour she breathes, her strength grows. Do you think she will wait for us to decide when the battle begins? No. She’ll come. She always comes.”
I could feel her presence even here, beyond the ridge, like a storm gathering on the horizon. Lexy was relentless—her fire, her fury, her determination to stamp me out no matter the cost. And worse, she had CJ at her side, and now even Tarria is loyal to her banner. It gnawed at me.
I sat heavily, running a hand through my hair. My mind spun through options, each one unraveling faster than the last. Another strike? Too soon. They’d be watching. A feint, a diversion? Perhaps. But even that carried risk.
What I needed was decisive force, a blow that would shake their faith in her leadership. Something she could not predict, could not prepare for. Something that would—
As Kael and I continue our discussion and coming up with different plans on how to weakened Lexy’s defenses and the alliance, I imagine Lexy’s blood smeared on my hands and her dead body at my feet.
Just the thought put a smile on my face without me realizing it. “What’s that smile for?” Kael spoke and brought me out of my head. “Just picturing Lexy dead at my feet” I responded. We both chuckled at my words.
A shout outside cut my thoughts short. Urgent. Panicked.
“My lord!” a soldier cried, bursting through the flap of the tent, eyes wide with terror. “They’re here!”
I froze. For a heartbeat, I thought I had misheard. “What did you say?”
“The queen—her forces—they’re upon us!”
Kael was on his feet instantly, his hand on his blade. The tent erupted in motion as the rest of my lieutenants scrambled, fear bleeding into every movement.
I surged to my feet, my rage boiling over into something sharp, cold, undeniable. So. She hadn’t waited. She hadn’t cowered behind her walls or second-guessed my strength. She had brought the fight to me, here, now, while I sat sulking over a failed raid.
“Damn her,” I hissed, grabbing my weapon from the rack.
The sounds reached me then—steel clashing, arrows hissing through the night, shouts of men cut short by the gurgle of blood. The camp was alive with chaos, torches overturned, shadows moving faster than the eye could follow.
Outside, the acrid bite of smoke stung my nose. Fires spread where her warriors struck, cutting through tents with blades of light and shadow. I heard the war cries—familiar voices, loyal to her banner. They moved with terrifying precision, cutting down my inner guards before I could even rally a defense.
Men screamed my name, begging for orders. I shoved past the tent flap, fury burning hotter than the flames devouring my camp.
And then I saw it. Her mark upon the battlefield: swift, merciless, unstoppable. Lexy had arrived like a tempest, and every heartbeat I wasted brought her storm closer to me.
Lexy’s attack was in full effect. She was like a demon tearing through the forces and it looked like there was no stopping her.
And before I could think of my next move, the storm was already upon me.
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