The sound of horses' hooves pounding over cobblestone streets blended with the howls of the wind and cries of terror as the king and his guard thundered through the capitol. The still-falling rain had rendered the roadways slick and treacherous for horses, and in places, fallen debris made the way nigh to impassible. But the riders cast all caution aside as they raced toward the sounds of battle. Orange flames lapped at the sky from several buildings as they neared the edge of the city, and soon, the dark walls surrounding the capitol loomed above them. As one, the men drew back sharply on the reins, skidding to a stop.

"How long until they breach the wall?" Justian asked before he'd even dismounted from his horse.

"I fear not long," Officer Superior Jessika of the Capital Sentry answered as she strode to meet him, shouting to be heard over the chaos that engulfed them. A gut-wrenching boom punctuated her words. She spared a glance in the direction it had come, and her brown eyes winced at the distinct sound of cracking stone. "They are well organized, working together to weaken specific sections with their magic. Our Warriors struggle to deflect the attacks and hold the wall, but they cannot anticipate where the next blow will land."

"And have we been able to strike back?" Justian tossed the reins to a passing soldier and began marching towards the city gate. Officer Jessika fell in step beside him.

"It's hard to tell because of the downpour, sire. Visibility is extremely low, which is how the enemy managed to take us by surprise in the first place."

The king ground his teeth as his armor-plated boots stomped through the mud. "And what of the Common people?"

"They are being evacuated as we speak. My men are urging them to take shelter in the Warrior's barracks."

"Good."

Barely had the words escaped his lips when a projectile the size of a large cart hurtled overhead and crashed into a building one street over. With a sound like grinding earth and snapping bones, the structure shuttered and collapsed. A second object fell through the clouds to take out a building to their left, and upon closer inspection, they realized that the projectiles were frozen blocks of ice. Then, there were hundreds of them. No noise announced their coming and no sight could pierce the churning sky to warn of their approach until it was too late.

"Take cover!" Justin bellowed. As one, he and his guard rushed to the base of the wall and pressed themselves against it as the area around them succumbed to the destruction.

The barrage continued for what seemed like an eternity, and in that time, the king's anger only grew. His eyes narrowed with a hard glint and muscles tensed with fury as he watched his city fall to ruin around him. When the wall sheltering him shuddered with another blow of magic, his rage could be contained no longer. Without speaking a word to his guard, Justian sprung from his crouch and pounded up the nearby stone steps to the top. Once he reached the wall-walk, the full strength of the storm met him head on. Thick, heavy rain drops pelted him like thousands of tiny hammers and fierce winds assailed him from every direction, forcing him to shield his face with one hand and cling to the battlement with the other.

Summoning his magic, he widened his stance and straightened to his full height. Energy surged through his limbs until they shook with power. Then, in one swift movement, he thrust his hands out toward the darkness before him and latched on to the fury of the storm, claiming it as his own. Instantly, the winds around him stilled. The air hung in anticipation awaiting his command. All of nature seemed to be holding its breath. Finally, the king gave it direction. With just a thought from him, the winds began to swirl once more. He concentrated their force into a churning whirlwind that ripped at the fabric of his tabbard and whipped his hair into a dishevelled mess.

With one hand still outstretched toward the growing windstorm, Justian reach back toward the city with his other, face creased and reddened with the strain of concentration. Within a few moments, however, dark shapes could be seen soaring to meet him. As they drew nearer, the strangely shaped objects were revealed to be stone fragments from the ruined buildings. Justian swung his outstretched arm back toward the whirlwind before him and the dozen or so rocks moved with it to be caught up in the swirling wind. The king urged the twister on faster, adding more magic and debris to it as it grew. Once the cyclone had expanded to the limits of his control, Justian give it a final push with his magic and cast it down to the ground far below.

A moment later, the sound of men's screams rose up to meet his ears above the gale's roar.

~~*~~

"Allister, here!" Eileen waved her arm in the air frantically, trying to catch his attention before he and the rest of Nadia's guards turned down the adjacent passage. When he did not turn, she began shouldering her way through the rush of people to head him off. She nearly lost her feet when a broad warrior travelling in the opposite direction shouldered her aside, but she quickly recovered and pressed on.

As she squeezed between servants scrambling for safety and soldiers racing to their posts, she gripped the hilt of her sword firmly where it hung on her hip to keep it from catching on anyone's clothing or limbs in passing. Her hair had been thrown up in a hasty bun and the soaked strands still clung to her scalp from her earlier dash through the storm back to the palace once the alarm had been raised.

"Allister!" He was almost out of sight. "Allister!"

Finally, her shout reached him. Swivelling his head around, he caught sight of her bobbing and weaving through the crowd and ordered the others to a stop. "What is it?"

"Bring the princess to the throne room," she instructed between breaths. Her gaze flicked down to the young girl in his arms and then back up to his aged features. "Prince Orin has already been secured in the Hall of Kings," Eileen inclined her head in the direction they had been heading, her eyes conveying more meaning than her words. "It would be unwise to hide both heirs in the same place." She waited until understanding registered in his countenance before continuing. "There is a secret room behind the king's throne. She will be safest there."

"Very well," he conceded. "Bryce, lead us on."

Eileen fell into step with Allister and the rest of Nadia's guard as Bryce carved a path toward the heart of the palace.

"Do you know what's happened?" Allister questioned as they half jogged to their destination. "Who is attacking us?"

"As far as I am aware, the enemy has yet to breach the wall, but..." she shot him a surreptitious glance, "they are magic wielders."

His eyes connected with hers, passing unspoken thoughts between them. "Do you think...?"

"Yes, I do," she answered. Her voice had dropped menacingly and had taken on a hard edge none within hearing range could miss.

"Then they better pray they don't come within my spear's reach," Tannin growled behind them. "For I'm not in the mind to be merciful, not after what they did to--Keaton!"

The others in Nadia's guard drew up short at Tannin's tone of surprise and swung their gazes around to follow his line of sight.

Nadia drew her head away from Allister's chest enough to peer around timidly.

Approaching from an empty side passage, Keaton jogged up to the group with chain mail and armor clattering. A sword was secured to his side by a baldric that ran across his chest and his face was spread wide in an excited grin.

"What are you...? Aren't you supposed to be...?" Tannin seemed too surprised to finish his sentences.

Keaton closed the distance between them and clasped Tannin on the shoulder in greeting. "To answer your questions, I'm here to report for duty. The healer was going to release me in the morning anyway after one more night of observation, but given the circumstances, I convinced her to send me on my way early."

"It's good to see you well," Eileen spoke at his shoulder.

Abruptly, he turned and his expression sobered. "Miss Eileen! I didn't see you there. I-Listen, I want to apologize..."

Shaking her head, she held up a hand while wrapping the other arm across her middle. "Don't."

"No, please." He took a half step closer with hands outstretched beseechingly. "I have to say this. It's my fault she was captured. I should have helped her. I should have gotten to her before they-"

"You were injured, Keaton," Kara argued from behind.

"And that's my own fault too! I was reckless and foolhardy and it may have cost Eva-"

"Enough!" Eileen commanded. Closing her eyes, she forced back the emotions threatening to spill over and locked them away in dark corner. When she next opened her eyes and laid them upon the young man before her, they were only filled with compassion. She placed both hands on his shoulders and waited until he met her gaze before speaking. "I no more blame you for what happened than I blame the sky above. So if it's forgiveness that you seek of me, you can forget it, because it is not owed. You are not at fault for what happened that day, but the ones who are wait just outside the city walls. So honor Eva and make her proud by fulfilling your duty as a Warrior and as a Royal Guard-protect the princess. That, and that alone is what Eva would want of you, and so that is all I require of you now."

Dropping his gaze once more, Keaton brought up a hand to clasp one of Eileen's where it rested on his shoulder. He squeezed it gently while forcing a swallow. "Thank you," he choked out at last, voice thick with emotion.

Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath them, and somewhere, a woman screamed. Dust and dirt fell from the cracks in the stone ceiling above them and everyone jerked to attention.

Nadia whimpered.

"I think we've lingered too long," Allister said with a note of concern. "Our time is running short. We must get the princess to the throne room."

"Agreed." Eileen's hands fell away from Keaton's shoulders and she turned to take her place at Allister's side once more.

Needing no further prompting, Bryce spun on his heel and took off at a run. The others raced in his wake.

Author's Note: I have more to post, but it's not ready yet. So, I wanted to give you what I could now. Be looking for the next update, though. It will include a new POV that we haven't explored before!

Also, if you have a moment, let me know how you feel about how things are building so far. I'm dying for some feedback! Lol.