The tension in the valley was so thick it seemed to leach the color from the world around them. Diane faced the vile Zakar and his bound prisoner—her own mother—with a volatile mix of fury and dread churning in her gut.

Zakar flashed a serpentine grin, taking obvious pleasure in his adversary's anguish. "Ah, the look of desperate helplessness in your eyes...it's almost intoxicating, isn't it, princess?" He gave Diane's mother another cruel kick, eliciting a pained grunt.

A tremor ran through the defensive ranks as Damien bristled with scarcely contained rage. "I'll tear you apart, wretch!" he bellowed, his body tensing to charge forward.

"Stand. Down." Diane's voice sliced...