The explosion shook the warehouse from floor to ceiling.
Concrete dust rained from the rafters as the recruits stumbled backward. The blast had torn through the main entrance, leaving twisted metal and chunks of broken brick scattered across the floor.
"Positions!" Noah shouted.
The room sprang into motion.
Sara gathered the youngest recruits and directed them toward the rear of the warehouse while Sam and Kael secured the side entrances. Lyra climbed one of the steel catwalks overlooking the training floor, scanning the smoke for movement.
Emerald pushed through the cloud of dust, her emerald mark glowing brightly beneath her sleeve.
"Everyone stay calm!" she called. "Remember your training. No one fights alone!"
The recruits nodded, pairing up just as they had practiced.
A second explosion rocked the building.
The warehouse doors burst inward.
Figures dressed in black tactical armor poured through the opening. Silver emblems gleamed on their shoulders—the unmistakable crest of the Hunters.
The first wave advanced with military precision.
"Take her alive if possible," one of them shouted.
"If not..."
He raised his weapon.
"...finish the bloodline."
Arrows tipped with glowing blue crystal flew through the air.
"Down!" Sara yelled.
The recruits dropped behind overturned tables and reinforced barriers as the arrows shattered against the concrete walls, sending sparks across the room.
Sam charged forward with his shield, blocking another volley before slamming it into the nearest Hunter. The impact sent the attacker crashing into a stack of wooden crates.
Kael and several recruits moved together, forcing another group back toward the entrance.
Above them, Lyra spotted two Hunters climbing through a broken window.
"They're on the catwalks!" she warned.
Noah reacted instantly.
"Second team, with me!"
The narrow steel walkway erupted into chaos as Noah's group intercepted the attackers. Metal rang against metal while the recruits fought with a confidence they hadn't possessed only days before.
Emerald stood at the center of the battlefield.
She watched every movement.
Every opening.
Every frightened face.
A Hunter rushed toward one of the youngest recruits.
Before Emerald could think—
Her hand lifted on its own.
A wave of emerald light burst from her palm.
The air rippled.
Vines erupted from cracks in the warehouse floor, twisting around the Hunter's legs before tightening with surprising strength.
The room fell silent for a heartbeat.
Even Emerald stared in disbelief.
"I..."
She hadn't meant to do that.
The vines obeyed her.
The Hunter struggled, but the living roots only tightened their grip until he dropped his weapon.
The recruits looked at Emerald with renewed hope.
"The curse is weakening," Lyra whispered.
Another Hunter fired a crystal bolt toward Emerald.
Noah tackled her aside just as it struck the wall behind them.
"You can be surprised later," he said with a grin.
"They're not done."
Emerald smiled despite the chaos.
"Right."
She climbed to her feet.
Her mark shone brighter than ever.
"Everyone!" she shouted.
The room turned toward her.
"Protect each other!"
The recruits answered with determined voices.
"Together!"
The Hunters pressed forward once more.
But this time...
They met a united force.
Sara and Sam fought side by side, covering one another without hesitation.
Kael directed the recruits into defensive formations, preventing the Hunters from surrounding them.
Lyra anticipated the enemy's tactics before they could execute them, calling out every flanking maneuver she recognized from her years among their ranks.
Emerald moved through the battlefield like a streak of green light.
She wasn't the frightened girl who had once questioned who she was.
She was becoming something greater.
A protector.
A leader.
A queen.
Then—
Every Hunter suddenly stopped fighting.
One by one, they stepped backward.
Their disciplined retreat confused everyone.
"What are they doing?" Sam asked.
A slow, rhythmic sound echoed through the shattered entrance.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
The Hunters parted without a word.
From the smoke emerged a lone figure clad in dark armor edged with silver. A long black cloak trailed behind him, and in his hand rested a spear forged from black steel, its blade glowing with ancient blue runes.
Beneath the hood, a silver mask concealed his face.
Only his piercing gray eyes were visible.
He looked directly at Emerald.
"So..."
His voice was calm.
"The last royal truly lives."
The warehouse grew deathly still.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Emerald stepped forward, placing herself between the masked stranger and her friends.
"You've come a long way," she said evenly.
"What do they call you?"
The masked man tilted his head.
"They call me Commander Darius."
He planted the butt of his spear against the cracked concrete floor.
"I am the one who ends royal bloodlines."
Emerald's mark flared brilliantly beneath her sleeve.
She tightened her grip on her weapon.
"Then you'll leave here disappointed."
For the first time, Darius smiled beneath the mask.
"We'll see."
The warehouse doors slammed shut behind him.
The true battle had just begun.