The shadows of twilight had fully enveloped Lucian's mountain stronghold by the time Seraphina, Tristan, and the newly freed Magnus reached the outskirts of the outer defenses. Seraphina's keen eyes raked over the imposing battlements, assessing every potential entry point and line of sight as she formulated their plan of attack.

"We cannot afford another brawl like last time," she murmured, her voice pitched low to avoid carrying on the chill mountain winds. "Lucian will be expecting that sort of brute force approach."

Tristan nodded grimly, his expression a mask of hard determination underneath the mottled patchwork of barely healed scars that crisscrossed his chiseled features. "Agreed. We need to...