Alistair POV
The ward didn't stop me.
I hit it at full speed
And passed straight through.
No resistance.
No lightning.
The air inside the Arcanum felt wrong.
Thin.
Torn.
Stone dust hung thick in the air like smoke after battle.
The wolves surged in behind us.
And then the hunters attacked.
They came from the shadows and the broken walls both, silver flashing, movements sharp and trained. One drove a blade toward my throat.
I caught his wrist.
Crushed it.
Bone splintered under my grip.
Cassian's magic tore through the chamber in a violent sweep, hurling two hunters across the floor. A wolf went down beside me with a snarl as a silver dart struck its flank.
This wasn't chaos.
This was calculated.
They had come prepared for all of us.
Steel clashed.
Magic cracked.
A wolf lunged, jaws locking around a hunter's shoulder, dragging him down in a spray of blood.
And then
The world split open.
Light detonated from the center of the room.
Blinding.
Violent.
Ancient.
