The compound was a storm of fire, sparks, and screams. Serpent soldiers stumbled back, blinded by Helena's searing wings, tangled in Klara's magnetic snares, their weapons falling useless to the dirt.
Mara barreled through the last barricade, her blade glowing as she cut through steel like paper. Behind her, Liesel blurred in and out of sight, her strikes so fast that soldiers collapsed before they even saw the dagger's edge.
The tide had turned.
And in the center of the courtyard, their commander roared in frustration. His armor gleamed black and scaled, a monstrous blade in his hands that vibrated with dark energy. He towered above his men, his presence alone enough to keep them from breaking entirely.
"You think children and experiments can stop the Serpents?" he bellowed, swinging his weapon in a crack of force that shook the ground.
Helena stepped forward, fire curling around her fists. "No. But together we can."
The commander lunged, blade singing. Helena met him head-on, their clash igniting the air in a burst of sparks and flame. His strength drove her back, her boots carving trenches in the dirt. But before he could press further, Mara slammed into him from the side, her raw power knocking him sprawling.
He tried to rise—only for Klara to clamp his blade to the ground with a magnetic surge, the weapon shuddering as if glued by invisible chains.
"Now, Liesel!" Klara shouted.
A blur of gold and motion, Liesel appeared behind him, her dagger cutting through his armor straps without touching flesh. Metal plates fell away, clattering uselessly to the ground, leaving him vulnerable.
The commander swung a fist, but Helena was already there. Flames roared around her arm as she struck, sending him crashing to the dirt, gasping, pinned by her fire and Mara's weight.
The battlefield fell silent. The remaining Serpent soldiers froze, their morale broken. One by one, they dropped their weapons, retreating into the shadows of the compound.
The sisters and Helena stood over the fallen commander, their chests heaving, blades and flames still glowing in the night. Orchid, freed and staggering, gave them a fierce smile.
"You've done more than rescue me," she rasped. "You've cut the head off their snake."
Helena extinguished her fire, standing tall. "Not the head. Just one fang. But it's a start."
Mara pressed the commander's face into the dirt. "So what now? Kill him?"
Helena shook her head firmly. "No. He talks. He tells us what the Serpents are planning. And then we decide."
The commander growled, but for the first time, there was uncertainty in his eyes. He hadn't expected defeat. He hadn't expected unity.
For the first time, the Serpents had been hunted.