Blades of Shadow

The air in the Holloway mansion's foyer thickened with dread as the girl's words hung between them—"The Shadowguard. They'll kill me—and they'll take her." Her violet eyes, wild with terror, bore into Elara, pleading for something Elara didn't yet understand. Outside, the sky darkened, the rift's violet glow casting an otherworldly pall over Everwood as the armored figures descended—silhouettes of menace, their blades shimmering with a light that seemed to drink in the day. The rumble beneath their feet grew into a roar, a seismic pulse that rattled the chandelier overhead, sending crystal shards tinkling to the marble floor.

Vincent reacted first, his instincts honed from years of navigating Everwood's cutthroat elite. "Inside, now!" he barked, shoving the heavy oak doors shut with a resounding thud and bolting them tight. He turned to the girl, his pistol drawn but not aimed, his voice a controlled storm. "Who are you? And how do we stop them?"