Riven's POV
"She's insane," I said flatly, watching Maya examine rocks like they were precious gems. "Completely, utterly insane."
Varak's army was two hundred yards away and closing. Fifty trained warriors against four wounded outcasts and one tiny female who thought a sharp rock would save us.
"I like her," Shen said, which proved he was insane too.
Maya ignored us both, her eyes scanning the valley with frightening intensity. "The irrigation channels we dug—they're full of water, right?"
"Yes, but—" Kael started.
"And those dead trees we cleared. Where are they?"
"Piled on the east side," Torrin groaned from where he lay. "Why?"
A smile crossed her face. Not a happy smile. A dangerous one. "Because we're going to teach Chief Varak why humans became the dominant species in my world."
She looked up at us, and I saw something in her eyes that made my feathers stand on end. Not fear. Not desperation. Strategy.
"In my world, we had a saying: 'Intelligence beats strength every time.' You four are stronger than me. Faster. Better fighters." She pointed at Varak's approaching army. "But they're not expecting us to think. They expect us to run or surrender. So we're going to do something they can't predict."
"Like what?" I asked, genuinely curious now. "Bore them to death with science lessons?"
She shot me a look. "Like turn this valley into a trap."
For the next five minutes, Maya talked. Fast. Precise. Explaining a plan so crazy it might actually work. We all stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"That's..." Kael paused. "That's actually brilliant."
"It's suicide," I corrected.
"Same thing," Shen said with a grin.
Maya grabbed my arm. Her hand was tiny, soft—nothing like the calloused hands of beastworld females. But her grip was fierce. "Riven, I need you to trust me. Can you fly with your injured wing?"
I wanted to say no. Wanted to tell her she was asking the impossible. But something about her face—the determination, the fire—reminded me why I'd been exiled from my aerie.
I'd refused to follow orders that made no sense. Refused to mate with someone I didn't choose. I'd lost everything because I believed in freedom.
And here was this female, asking me to be free. To fly. To fight.
"I can fly," I said.
Her smile was like sunrise. "Then let's make them regret ever coming here."
Varak's army entered the valley in formation. Professional. Disciplined. Confident.
They had every reason to be. We were nothing to them.
Chief Varak himself led them—a massive tiger beastman covered in battle scars. He'd conquered twelve territories and enslaved countless females. He looked at our pathetic group and laughed.
"Is this all you have? Four wounded males and a female playing soldier?" His voice boomed across the valley. "I'll give you one more chance. Surrender the female, and I'll make your deaths quick."
Maya stepped forward. I tried to grab her, but Kael shook his head. "Trust her," he whispered.
She stood alone in the center of the valley, looking impossibly small. "I have a counteroffer," she called out, her voice steady. "You leave now, and I won't destroy your entire army."
Varak's laugh echoed off the rocks. "You? Destroy my army? I almost admire your spirit, little female. You'll make fine breeding stock once I've broken that attitude."
"Last chance," Maya said.
Varak's smile vanished. "Kill the males. Take her alive."
The army charged.
Maya didn't move. Just stood there as fifty warriors ran at her, weapons raised.
"NOW!" she screamed.
I launched into the air, damaged wing screaming in protest. Below me, Kael and Shen moved. They grabbed the dead trees from the pile and shoved them into the irrigation channels—channels that were deeper than they looked, placed exactly where Maya had calculated the army would run.
The first warriors hit the hidden ditches and fell. Hard. Their perfect formation crumbled into chaos.
"Fire!" Maya yelled.
Torrin—who'd been playing wounded worse than he was—threw burning coals onto the trees in the water. The wood caught instantly. The ditches became walls of flame, cutting the army in half.
From above, I saw what Maya had seen: the valley was a natural bottleneck. By placing those fires, she'd created choke points. Divided their forces. Turned their numbers into a disadvantage.
"Phase two!" Maya shouted.
I dove. My talons carried the clay pots we'd hastily filled with Shen's venom mixed with water. I dropped them over the separated groups. The pots shattered. Gas exploded outward.
Warriors choked. Coughed. Fell to their knees.
Not dead. Maya had insisted on that. "We're not murderers," she'd said. "We're survivors."
But they were definitely out of the fight.
Varak roared in fury. He charged through the flames, heading straight for Maya. Nothing was stopping him. He was too strong, too fast.
Kael intercepted him. They collided like thunder. Claws met fangs. Blood sprayed.
But Varak was winning. He was bigger. Stronger. Fresher.
"Kael!" Maya's scream cut through the chaos.
I watched in horror as Varak's claws found Kael's throat. One more second and—
Maya moved.
She ran toward them, grabbed a burning branch from the fire, and jammed it into Varak's wounded shoulder—a wound I could see was already infected, the flesh angry and red around it.
He howled. The distraction was enough. Kael got free.
But now Varak's attention was on Maya.
"You dare?" He advanced on her, murder in his eyes.
She stood her ground, holding that pathetic burning stick like a sword. "I dare."
He lunged.
Time slowed. I dove from the sky, knowing I wouldn't make it. Kael was too far away. Shen was helping Torrin. Nobody could save her.
Then the ground exploded.
The stone guardian erupted from beneath Varak, its massive form rising like a mountain. It grabbed the tiger chief in one enormous hand and lifted him into the air.
"The Key-bearer is under my protection," it rumbled. "You will not touch her."
Varak's remaining warriors—those still conscious—took one look at the ancient guardian and ran. Just ran. Their chief was captured, their formation destroyed, their confidence shattered.
We'd won.
I landed beside Maya, who was staring at the stone guardian with wide eyes. "Why did you save me?" she asked it.
"Because others are coming," it said. "Worse than this warlord. You will need practice defending yourself." It dropped Varak, who scrambled away on all fours. "Run, tiger. Tell others what you found here. Tell them the Valley of Ash has a new protector."
The guardian sank back into the earth, leaving us in shocked silence.
"Did we just..." Torrin started.
"Win?" Shen finished. "Against an army?"
Maya swayed on her feet. I caught her before she fell. "We won," she whispered, then louder: "We WON!"
Her laugh was half-hysteria, half-triumph. Infectious. Soon we were all laughing—four outcasts and one impossible female who'd just changed everything.
But the laughter died when we saw what Maya was holding.
A piece of stone. From the guardian. Glowing with faint red light.
"It left this in my hand," Maya said quietly. "When it touched me."
Shen leaned close, his eyes widening. "That's a Heart Stone. They're legends. Pieces of pure power that—"
The stone flared brilliant red. Maya gasped. Her eyes rolled back.
She began to speak in a voice that wasn't hers—ancient, echoing, terrible:
"Three trials before the gate opens. Three keys before the darkness wakes. Three choices before the worlds break. The first trial begins with blood. Choose wisely, Key-bearer. Choose."
Her eyes snapped open—but they weren't brown anymore.
They were glowing red.