*What's happening?*
Asella pressed her forehead against the window, straining to see through the glass. The temperature difference between the carriage's warm interior and the cold mountain air had fogged the surface, transforming the world beyond into a blur of indistinct shapes and shadows.
*Is the road blocked?*
Lord Raizen had warned her that such things happened frequently on the mountain trail. Perhaps a tree had fallen across the path, or loose stones had tumbled down from the cliffs above. Asella's mind raced through possibilities, but she didn't dare open the door to ask what had occurred. Something in the quality of the silence outside—the *wrongness* of it—kept her frozen in place.
"Hm..."
When the carriage's steady rocking ceased, Mariel stirred. The girl sat up slowly, rubbing her eyelids with small fists, silver hair tumbling messily around her sleep-soft face.
"Mariel, it's still very early." Asella kept her voice gentle, soothing. "Go back to sleep."
"Okay..." A drowsy blink. "Is it still night?"
"Yes. I'll wake you when the time comes."
"Mm..." But the girl yawned and didn't lie back down. Her eyes, still heavy with sleep, drifted toward the fogged window. "Have we stopped?"
"I think the road is blocked. We'll be moving again soon—"
A sharp knock on the carriage door cut her off mid-sentence.
"Your Highness. This is Raizen."
"Lord Cardon?"
Asella reached for the handle and pulled the door open. The steward's face greeted her—and the sight of it sent ice sliding down her spine. His expression was carved from stone, jaw tight, eyes hard with a severity she had never seen before.
In his hand, he held a naked sword.
"Your Highness, you must not leave the carriage." His voice was low and urgent. "Under any circumstances."
"Why? What's—"
"Whatever happens, whatever you hear—*do not leave*." He spoke over her, each word precise and weighted. "The carriage is protected by magic. It is the safest place right now."
Asella's gaze drifted past his shoulder. Behind him, the guards had closed ranks, forming a defensive perimeter around the vehicle. Swords gleamed in the dim pre-dawn light. On the opposite side of the carriage, more men stood with weapons drawn, their bodies coiled with tension.
"Please, my lady." Raizen's eyes met hers, and for the first time, she glimpsed something beneath his composure. *Fear.* "Promise me you will do as I ask."
Asella swallowed. "I promise."
"Don't be afraid. It will all be over soon."
He closed the door.
But the way he had clenched his teeth—the whiteness of his knuckles around the sword's hilt—told her everything his words did not.
"Mariel." Asella turned, extending her arms. "Come here."
The girl crossed the space between them and pressed herself against her sister's body.
"Did you hear what Lord Raizen said? We cannot leave the carriage." Asella wrapped her arms tight around the small, trembling form. "Whatever happens, stay close to me."
Mariel nodded, burying her face against Asella's chest and clinging even tighter.
Through the thin fabric of Mariel's nightgown, Asella could feel her sister's heart racing—a frantic, frightened rhythm. She stroked the girl's back in slow, steady circles.
"Everything will be fine," she whispered. "Don't worry."
But her own heart was pounding just as fast.
Like Calix Benvito, Raizen was one of those people whose face revealed nothing—no mood, no emotion, no hint of inner turmoil. Yet Asella had seen the tension in every line of his body. She had seen the fear he couldn't quite hide.
"Everything will be fine," she repeated, as much for herself as for Mariel.
A suffocating silence descended.
It stretched on and on, endless and oppressive. Asella stared out the fogged window, eyes straining against the darkness, and felt a persistent, crawling sensation along her spine—the instinctive knowledge that a storm was about to break.
**_KYAHRR!_**
The sound tore through the night like a physical blow—an enormous, monstrous roar that shattered the silence and sent shockwaves of primal terror racing through Asella's body.
She moved on instinct, throwing the blanket over Mariel's head as the girl tried to raise it. Her own back went rigid with horror.
"What was that, Sister?"
"Nothing." *Lie. Lie convincingly.* "Just cover your ears."
Asella forced her hands to stop trembling. But the tension had seized her completely now—a cold, tight grip around her chest that made it difficult to breathe.
Through the window, she saw them.
The demonic beasts resembled wolves. But only *superficially*. They were far larger—massive creatures with shoulders that reached higher than a man's head. Their fangs were long and curved, sharp enough to sever a neck with a single snap. Their claws were hooked like meat hooks, capable of ripping open a belly and spilling everything within across the ground.
The nearest beast showed no reaction to being spotted. Its massive head swung slowly, methodically, *scanning* for prey. Its eyes glowed yellow in the darkness—luminous and horrible, like lanterns lit in the depths of some primordial hell.
Asella's body turned to stone.
She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. She tried to inhale and immediately clapped her hand over her mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to escape.
Then the beast opened its enormous jaws and *howled*.
The sound was less a howl than a deafening roar—a noise so loud, so *wrong*, that it seemed to shake the very air. Asella felt the vibration in her bones, in her teeth, in the pit of her stomach.
And then the beast closed its mouth.
And stared directly at her.
*No.*
*It can't be.*
*Did it come for her?*
*No... not for her.*
**_MARIEL._**
Those yellow eyes were searching—scanning the interior of the carriage, seeking the small creature huddled beneath the blanket.
*Why?*
Asella's mind reeled, struggling to comprehend the impossible.
But she had no time to think. The monster wasn't alone. Behind it, more beasts emerged from the darkness, and each of them raised their heads and released that same heart-rending roar. The sound multiplied, overlapping, until the entire gorge seemed to vibrate with their fury.
The guards moved without hesitation.
Without breaking formation, they surged forward to meet the attack.
"Aim for critical points only!" Raizen's voice cut through the chaos, sharp as a blade. "Their weak spot is the neck—just below the chin—or the eye!"
The well-trained guards repelled the first wave with deadly efficiency. Swords flashed. Blood sprayed. Beasts fell with howls of agony.
But there were *so many* of them.
The monsters were enormous, and their numbers seemed endless. As the battle raged on, the distance between the fighting and the carriage shrank inexorably.
"Hold the line at all costs!" Raizen roared, driving his sword deep into a beast's throat. The creature convulsed and collapsed. "Fire magic bullets only! Don't let them get close!"
Gunshots cracked through the air—sharp, staccato explosions that mingled with the beasts' roars. Magic bullets blazed with brilliant light, turning the darkness into strobing chaos.
But the situation was critical.
They were surrounded. At least a hundred beasts had encircled them, and more were emerging from the shadows with every passing second.
Asella's face went white as parchment.
*How is this possible?*
Demonic beasts were solitary creatures. They didn't hunt in packs. They didn't gather in groups. For this many to appear in one place, at one time—
*Someone is controlling them.*
The realization hit her like a blow to the chest.
The number of monsters continued to grow, and finally, *finally*, the defensive line broke.
Asella saw a massive beast surge through the gap—saw it racing directly toward the carriage with terrifying speed. She leaped to her feet and threw her arms around Mariel, pulling the girl tight against her body.
An instant later, the monster slammed into the carriage at full force.
The impact hurled Asella off the sofa. She rolled across the floor, crashing against the opposite wall with a force that drove the breath from her lungs.
*Pain.* Sharp, blazing pain exploded through her shoulder, her hip, her ribs.
"*Sister!*" Mariel's shriek pierced the chaos—high and terrified from beneath the blanket that still covered her.
Asella forced herself to breathe. Forced down the groan that tried to escape.
"I'm fine." Her voice came out strangled, barely recognizable. "How are you, Mariel?"
"I—I'm okay."
"Good. Hide behind me. Don't be afraid of anything."
The girl nodded, her movements jerky with fear, and pressed herself against her sister's back.
Another blow struck the carriage—*harder* this time. The entire vehicle shuddered violently, and a dangerous cracking sound split the air.
*The magic is failing.*
If not for the protective wards, the carriage would have shattered long ago. But the enchantments were weakening. Asella could *feel* them fracturing under the assault.
If this continued, they wouldn't hold.
Her eyes darted around the interior, searching frantically. There—a wooden shelf had been torn from its hinges by the impact. She grabbed it, fingers closing around the splintered wood, and turned to face her sister.
"Marielle." She took a deep breath, forcing calm into her voice. "Listen to me carefully."
The girl's eyes—wide, terrified, luminous with unshed tears—met hers.
"If I tell you to run, you throw off that blanket and you *run*. Do you understand?"
"And you?" Mariel's voice cracked.
"I'll catch up with you." *Another lie.* "Just run. Don't look back. Look ahead and *run*. Do you understand?"
Mariel stared at her. The girl who usually spoke so softly, so gently, now had a voice like lightning—sharp and commanding and utterly unfamiliar.
A sob escaped Mariel's throat.
Asella pressed her sister against the carriage wall and positioned herself in front of her—a human shield between the child and whatever horror was coming.
"*Answer me.* Can you do it?"
The roar of beasts. The screams of men. The clash of steel against claw. It all swirled around them like a nightmare made real.
But Mariel swallowed her terror.
"Yes." Her voice was small but steady. "I'll do it. I'll do everything you said."
Asella tightened her grip on the makeshift weapon. All she needed was to buy time. Just enough time for Mariel to escape.
The attacks on the carriage continued. The windows, unable to withstand the pressure, began to crack—thin lines spreading across the glass like frost on a winter morning.
"Your Highness!" Raizen's voice, distant and desperate.
But it was too late.
The window exploded inward, and a monster's head thrust through the opening.
Asella didn't think. She *moved*.
The shelf connected with the beast's hideous face—a solid, satisfying *crack* of wood against bone. The creature snarled, a sound of pure rage, and opened its massive jaws.
Thick, ropy saliva dripped from its fangs. Its eyes—narrow, reptilian pupils set in pools of sickly yellow—scanned the carriage with mechanical precision. They passed over Asella without interest.
And fixed on the blanket.
The pupils contracted into thin, cold lines.
Then the beast began to claw at the walls, tearing through the broken window, ripping the carriage apart piece by piece.
Cold air flooded the interior—icy mountain wind that cut through Asella's dress and raised goosebumps across her skin.
*No.*
*NO!*
Something broke inside her.
*Mother, help me!* her mind screamed. *What have I done? Why did I let Mariel come to the Principality of Benvito?*
And then her arms began to move.
She struck again. And again. And again. Desperate, frantic, *savage*—slamming the shelf into the beast's face with every ounce of strength in her body.
The wood splintered. Sharp fragments sliced into her palms, her fingers, her wrists. Blood ran hot down her arms.
She didn't feel it.
Her mind had gone blank—white and empty and utterly focused on the single, primal imperative: *Protect Mariel. Protect her. Protect her.*
The sounds of battle no longer registered. The screams, the roars, the gunfire—they had become distant, meaningless noise.
"*Sister!*"
Mariel's cry pierced the void, dragging Asella back to awareness.
Through the ragged hole in the carriage wall, she could see the battlefield. The monsters' numbers had finally, *visibly* diminished. The guards were crushing the remaining beasts with brutal efficiency. And Raizen—Raizen was cutting his way toward the carriage, his sword a blur of silver, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake.
*We just need to hold on a little longer.*
But the universe had no mercy left to give.
The side wall of the carriage *exploded*.
An enormous body—fur and muscle and gleaming fangs—hurtled through the opening and landed inside. The carriage lurched violently, throwing Asella off balance.
The beast's pupils dilated, then contracted to razor-thin slits as it took in its surroundings. Searching. *Hunting.*
Its gaze found the blanket.
Found Mariel.
The monster's hideous mouth opened wide, muscles coiling beneath its matted fur as it prepared to lunge.
"*MARIEL!*"
Asella threw herself over her sister's body—wrapped her arms around the girl who was frozen with terror—and squeezed her eyes shut.
The beast launched itself at them with a roar that shook the world.
And then—
*Stopped.*
The impact never came.
Instead, there was a strange, *unnatural* stillness—as though the beast had collided with an invisible wall. A wet, tearing sound. A thud as something massive hit the floor.
Then a roar—agonized, dying—that cut off into absolute silence.
The quiet was so sudden, so complete, that it seemed impossible. As though the nightmare of moments ago had been nothing more than a fever dream from which they had finally awakened.
Asella's mind was chaos. Her body refused to obey her commands. Nausea churned in her stomach, and she couldn't tell if it was her trembling or Mariel's—couldn't tell where one of them ended and the other began.
She tried to breathe. Tried to pull air into her screaming lungs. Tried to stay conscious.
And then she smelled it.
A familiar scent—sweet and strange and utterly unforgettable. The perfume she had encountered on her wedding night, when a man's lips had brushed against her throat.
Slowly, Asella raised her head.
Opened her eyes.
At first, she saw nothing but black fabric—fine wool, immaculately tailored, close enough to touch. She blinked, trying to focus, and realized that an imposing male torso was looming over her.
Her gaze traveled upward. Past the broad chest. Past the golden brooches that secured a flowing cloak to powerful shoulders.
Dark hair framed a face of perfect, terrible beauty—features carved from marble, utterly devoid of expression.
Blood-red eyes stared down at her.
Lips pressed into a hard, unyielding line.
And then a voice—low, quiet, rough with something she couldn't name—cut through the silence:
"Asella Benvito."
Her husband had arrived.