Chapter 769: Chapter 770: If he gets to transform, then I should at least get to burn half the night
The wound on his stomach still bled, but it was swallowed into the huge body of a white lion so large that the enemies closest to him stepped back by instinct.
A deep roar tore from his throat.
The whole battlefield shook.
The leopard beastman tried to run.
Kian lunged.
His huge white lion body moved with terrible speed. His claws struck the leopard down, and his jaws closed around the enemy’s throat before the man could scream. Blood poured over the snow, and Kian threw the body aside like it weighed nothing.
After that, the battle changed.
The defenders, who had almost faltered after seeing him wounded, roared again. Their king still stood. Their king had transformed. Their king was bleeding but still killing.
Osiris saw Kian’s lion form from across the fighting and laughed once, though the sound was rough with pain.
"Good," he muttered, then burned another enemy trying to crawl toward the inner road. "If he gets to transform, then I should at least get to burn half the night."
The brand on his back answered by burning hotter.
He staggered.
For one second, flames flickered out of control around his shoulders.
Then he forced himself upright again.
"No," he said through gritted teeth. "You are not taking me tonight."
He threw himself back into the fight.
The enemy numbers kept pressing forward, but because the village had prepared, they could not break through cleanly. Hidden pits swallowed some of them near the western path. A line of sharpened stakes under the snow injured several others. Guards on the wall threw stones and spears down at any beastman who tried to climb. The attack was brutal, but it was not clean. It was not the easy victory the enemies had wanted.
Still, all it would take was one crack.
One opening.
One group slipping through toward the palace.
And they all knew it.
Inside the palace, the sound of the fight came faintly through stone and snow.
The birth room was too full of pain for Isabella to focus on it properly, but she could feel the fear outside like a hand pressing on the back of her neck. Cyrus heard far more than she did. He heard roars. He heard the clash of weapons. He heard running feet in the lower halls. Every part of him wanted to know whether the danger had reached the inner passage yet.
But Isabella was in his arms.
So he stayed.
Far from the birth room, in the corridor where Zara was held, the two male guards outside her door stayed alert.
They had heard the attack begin.
They had heard men running down the halls.
They had heard distant orders and the deep roar that could only belong to Kian’s lion form.
But they did not leave their post.
One of them had wolf ears that kept turning toward every sound, and the other had a heavy build and dark fur at his wrists that showed he was a bear beastman. Both were tense. Both knew that even with the village under attack, the prisoner inside the room could not be left unwatched.
For a while, nothing moved.
The corridor was dim and cold.
Then something whispered through the air.
The wolf guard’s ear twitched.
Too late.
An arrow struck him through the throat.
His eyes widened, and his hand flew up to the shaft, but no sound came out except a wet choking breath.
The bear guard turned at once.
A second arrow hit him in the chest.
Then a third.
He staggered back against the wall, claws scraping stone as he tried to stay up. Blood ran down over his fur and fingers. His mouth opened as if he wanted to shout, but another arrow struck his neck before the sound could form.
Both guards fell.
Their bodies hit the floor heavily.
The corridor became silent again.
A cloaked figure stepped from the shadow at the far end.
The person moved quickly and did not waste time looking at the dead guards. They reached Zara’s door, lifted the bar, and pushed it open.
Inside, Zara was already standing.
She looked terrible.
Her hair was loose. Her face was pale. Her ribs still hurt from when Cyrus threw her into the wall, and her borrowed healer clothes were wrinkled and stained. But her eyes were awake. Very awake. She had been waiting for this.
The cloaked figure did not speak.
Zara did not thank them.
There was no need.
The figure only stepped aside and let her leave.
For one moment, Zara stood in the open doorway and listened to the noise of the attack. Screams. Roars. Running feet. The sound of a village being torn at from the outside while the most precious person inside screamed through birth.
Her lips curved slightly.
This was her chance.
Maybe her last chance.
Everything she had lost, she could still take back if she used this moment properly. Kian was outside fighting. He would be wounded, tired, and pulled between his duties and Isabella. His mind would be unstable. His heart would be open. All she needed was the right moment to reach him.
This time, she would not act too quickly.
This time, she would do it right.
Zara stepped over the dead guards and walked into the corridor.
The cloaked person had already disappeared.
She did not look back.
In another part of the village, a deep rumble came from the stone holding pen near the mountain side.
The mountain ridge beast was awake.
It was a giant creature that most outsiders did not even know existed. Its body was covered in thick gray-brown hide that looked almost like old stone, and its back carried ridges like broken mountain peaks. It had huge calm eyes and heavy curved horns, and despite its size, it was usually gentle. It did not like noise. It did not like blood. It did not like being surrounded by fear.
Isabella had saved it months ago.
