The castle was right in front with its dark and ruinous castle towers standing tall above the stormy sky. A dreadful smell of blood helped us fathom what sort of creatures we had to slay to reach this particular point. Fighters were heard from the back where Zone took the lead amongst warriors and was fighting to keep the last wave of monstrous beasts back.

“Go!” Zone shouted with his voice cutting through the chaos. “We’ve got this!”

Ardan grabbed my hand, pulling me forward toward the castle’s entrance. “Stay close,” he said in a low but commanding voice.

I didn’t need to be told twice. The closer we got...