Kaelira felt the blow like a fist to the chest.
She'd been gone from Sol'Rakka for less than half a day—and already, the city was unraveling.
The generals were scattered, each fighting their own war with no coordination, no command.
The city was being torn apart, street by street.
The stench of blood hit from every direction, thick and metallic, making Ethan flinch despite himself.
He looked up—
The sky was swarming with strange soldiers, suspended in the air like a storm waiting to break. Then they began to fall.
One after another, they rained down on Sol'Rakka, death pouring from the heavens.
But Kaelira's eyes didn't just burn with fury.
This was deeper. This was the rage of a queen watching her kingdom be gutted before her eyes—a fire that roared up from the marrow of her bones.
"I'll kill them all!"
The words tore from her throat, raw and ragged.
A surge of violet-pink energy exploded from her body, spiraling upward like a cyclone.
