"The Summer court?" I breathed.

Spaulder flew us over the newest part of the city wall to be assaulted. Just as it had at the gate and just as it had at the cliffs by the grotto, the Winter army flung itself at our defenses in an unending stream until they broke through.

"Caw!" 

The scene below unfolded like a scroll. I couldn't see how far it went  without tearing my stare from the smaller details of the battlefield, but it felt in the corner of my eye that it stretched far. I watched a horrid black tree spirit claw open one of our warriors. My eyes could only moved a small distance before landing on the next horror as the body of something large moved forward, cutting through its own allies to charge at the wall. A part of Thanantholl where the cliffs weren't so high and a wall had been built to continue the steep protections of the city.

And the more my eyes darted along the battle, the worse it got. Once I got a clearer look at the scrimmage of the risen dead and the Summer court, I could at least tell they were on opposing sides.

But to what end?

"Aithne!" I shouted as Spaulder flew us over the wall and closer to the unexpected army now nipping at the heels of the Winter forces. Aithne didn't look up, either not hearing me or not caring as she cut down her targets. 

It was no wonder she was held so highly by her queen, the carnage at her feet was bold and bloodied against the crisp, light grass. Her golden hair had loosed from its once stately bun and the stark white linen under her brass armor. The two males she kept company with were nowhere in sight. They either meant nothing to her, or they were fit enough to battle on their own terms elsewhere in the chaos. 

'What do you need, little one?' Spaulder asked.

'We need to warn the others that Aithne is here, although it looks like she's helping rather than hurting.'

Spaulder let out a low growl, the vibrations moving into my bones as he flew us higher and away from the Summer court and their assault. 

'I do not like that one,' Spaulder said. 'I do not trust her.'

'That's true,' I admitted. 'She may betray us after she purges the risen from our walls, but for now we must at least warn the others.'

'Very well, little witch,' Spaulder answered. 'I will take you back to the gates.'

I could tell from his stiff movements that he was tiring. The constant back and forth across the city and the flying high above the battle was taking its toll on him.

'You can't keep this up,' I said. 'Can you land anywhere and still see some of the battle?'

'Do not worry over me, little one. I will rise as surely as the tides. I tire in my age, but I will not falter.'

"Caw!"

I let it go, because in the end there really is no arguing with a dragon. 

As he landed near the gates, barely avoiding trampling anyone as the rear of the gate's warriors was a bustle of aide to the injured and refreshing of the magically depleted. I barely allowed Spaulder's feet to touch the ground before sliding off of his back and pushing my way into the fray. 

"Eberon!" I cried out. "Thain!" 

Shoving past whatever bodies were there, I brought fire around my hands. One orange, and one purple. It earned me a berth in the crowd enough that I could see the dark flashes of Thain's lashing rage, and I pushed on. 

"Thain!" I called again. "Eberon!"

"Wren!" Eberon called from nearby. His shining armor now tarnished in blood. His own polished blade and fire both brandished in a wide arc in front of him as evident by the pile of bodies that moved no more. 

"Eb." I made my way to his side, both of us short of breath as we comfortably fit our backs together. At least this way we had a safer place to speak. 

"Aithne is here," I said. 

"What?" His snarl told me Thain had filled him in on our interaction at the outpost. 

"The enemy have assaulted other walls of the city. They nearly have it torn down by the market past Schula's apartment. The street with that stone fountain."

"Branching Way?" Eberon supplied. 

"Yes! That's the one.  But even as the enemy are on our walls, Aithne is on their heels."

"What does she think she's doing?" Eberon snarled. 

"I don't know, but for the moment it looks like help," I said. "Her force isn't too large, but the mindless enemy isn't as focused on her and they are able to tear into the risen dead while they're distracted with our walls."

A wide spray of blood shot past us, and a blur of dark blue crept to the side of my vision as Thain guarded our side. 

"We drive her out as soon as we drive these bastards out," Thain snarled. "This is no place for another court while Baeleon..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but instead let out a howl of rage and sadness that was stronger than any other words. It tore my heart, even as I was concentrating to watch for danger around us. 

"Do you have a message?" I asked. "I can go with Spaulder and deliver it."

"Yes, tell Varthas. He'll be in the mouth of the grotto," Eberon said. "I'm sure our scouts will have seen the wall, but tell him where Aithne is."

"I will," I promised, and pushed away from Eberon and back into our forces. 

Making my way back to Spaulder, I was quickly swallowed up by our own warriors. Pushing inward when they were fighting outward proved slow work, but eventually I was back within the walls of Thanantholl and his giant black form was easy to spot. 

And his sides were heaving with effort. He spotted me easily, his head raising far above the crowd beneath him.

'Where to next, little witch?' he asked.

'No, I'll run there,' I said. 'You're too tired and I want you to rest.'

'Wren!' Schula called. 'Where did you go? What's happened?'

'Aithne is here,' I told her. 'I need to warn Vargas.'

'I'll come with you, our side is more than enough at the gate here. It's actually been a while since an enemy has even gotten close enough for me to attack from the tower.'

I made my way to Spaulder's side, placing my hands on his smooth black scales even as he took in his deep breaths. Schula met us there in a few heartbeats. 

"Here I am," she said. "Spaulder, are you alright?"

'Yes,' he insisted. 

"He's worn out. Let's tell Varthas and then help at the walls."

'Insolent whelplings!' Spaulder huffed at us, snapping playfully as we ran past. 

'Watch the front and call for us if something happens!' Schula called after him as we sped into the heart of the city. Running through the eerily empty streets as everyone was either stationed for battle or shut inside their homes. 

'Schula,' I tested, but received no reply. It would seem that Spaulder's mind tricks only worked when we were near him. 

We made quick pace across the main streets and to the grotto. My heart panged for the empty throne in the palace beneath the cliffs. When would the grotto hold another dance? When would it fill with music again? Would it ever serve another banquet? Even now the palace at the back of it sat sullen and lifeless. The only creatures here were the strategists and their tables piled high with maps, charts, and lists.

Slowing as we crossed the footbridge over the lazy stream and into the grotto, we spotted him. Varthas stood over a table of maps and tokens, the gray at his temples shining like silver in the dim torch light of the grotto.

"Varthas!" I called, and he looked up to see me, as did the others around the tables.

"Wren, Schula. What has happened?" he asked.

I ran up to his table, scrutinizing his map and orienting myself with where everything was.

"The Summer court is here," I said.

"Lead by Aithne," Schula added.

I spied a few blank tokens in a bowl nearby and I pulled one out, slapping it down on the map where the new assault was taking place. It landed with a satisfying click and I looked up to meet the old sprite's eyes. 

"She's fighting the enemy, for now." I held my stare, waiting for him to respond.

His wizened eyes flittered over several parts of the map as he nodded. "Very good. We will prepare for it."

My shoulders sagged in relief, happy to give the burden of knowledge to someone else before we jumped back into the fray. 

I pulled my bag's strap tighter over my shoulder as Schula and I took a step back from the tables. But the moment we turned to run back to Spaulder, a commotion rushed into the grotto like a bull. 

In once polished armor, but now coated in debris and more sinister stains, a male fae rushed in toward the tables, completely ignoring Schula and me as he pushed past. 

"We've spotted him!" the fae cried. "The warlock rides from the north, and with him a terrible force!" 

Schula and I stopped dead in our tracks, watching wide-eyed as the fae tried to catch his breath.

Varthas frowned. "Explain."

The fae stood tall, facing the table of Thanantholl's wisest strategists and their guards. "More men, as he is. They ride more horses, as he does. And while they do not all feel the same in their magic, they scent of a taint akin to his."

"Numbers?" Varthas asked.

"Hundreds," the fae answered.

I closed my eyes. 

"DuVarick is a fool," Schula spat out. "If he thinks this army will not turn on him the moment it has wreaked its destruction on the rest of the Wyldes."

"Sound the alarm, all spare forces are to convene by the Hearth Fountain," Varthas said, then he turned to us. "You two. Can you find an opening out of the city?"

"We can fly over," Schula said. "But why?"

Varthas gave us a sad look when he glanced to his map. He reached into a bowl of gray tokens and scattered a handful by the north wall. "You must evacuate Thanantholl."

My heart nearly stopped.

"Evacuate?" Schula asked, her voice straining. "But-"

"I only trust you!" Varthas snapped, raising his voice as he slammed a hand on the table. "I only trust you to take those of our people who cannot fight to safety. Leave the city empty of non-combatants and allow our warriors to fight without worry."

My throat tightened as I reached out and took Schula's hand.

"We will," Schula promised. "We'll find a way."

And we turned and ran. Back to Spaulder, and with a mission I was unsure we could even carry out.

As we ran, the sirens howled. Whatever the patterns meant, the people of the city seemed to know it. The civilians seemed to pop open their doors and stream out, moving toward the city center. In other parts near the walls, warriors still fit to fight and some that nearly weren't flowed toward the north. Shouting, running, orders being given, directions, hearding people this way and that. The city that was so empty moments ago was now in an uproar. 

"How are we going to find a way out?" I asked, raising my voice over the other noise as Schula and I ran hand in hand toward Spaulder. "Spaulder can't possibly fly everyone over the wall, it will take too long!"

"We're going to have to do something drastic!" She shouted back. "We're going to have to push a hole through the enemy where we might have help on the other side!"

I paused, trying to think of where she was describing when it hit me. 

"We're going to have to run to the Summer court," Schula said, squeezing my hand. "We're going to have to meet Aithne.