The storm of silver light raged above, and the battlefield trembled beneath its weight. Cambria stood frozen for a breathless heartbeat, staring into the void that was Seraphine's gaze. The perfected soldiers, their features eerily blank, began their advance each step a drumbeat of inevitability, of doom.
But Cambria wasn't alone.
Maddox appeared at her side, his blade already slick with the ichor of the first wave. His breath was ragged, his body battered, but his eyes those storm-grey eyes burned only for her.
"Cam," he said, his voice low, steady despite the chaos. "You have to go. We'll hold them "
"No," she said, steel in her voice. "We stand together. I will not run."
His fingers brushed hers for the briefest second, an anchor in the storm. The world narrowed to that touch, that fleeting warmth. And then it widened again, filled with the roar of war.
