Blades in the Dark

Evelyn's warhorse surged forward, crashing through the underbrush as she led the charge into the shadows. The enemy was well-hidden, using the thick trees as cover, but she had no intention of letting them control the battlefield.

Lysara was right beside her, her daggers flashing as she struck down the first soldier who leapt from the darkness. "They were waiting for us," she growled, wiping blood from her cheek.

"Then let's give them what they want!" Evelyn countered, her sword cutting through the night.

Kael's flanking force crashed into the enemy's side, catching them by surprise. The ambushers had been expecting an easy victory, but now they were the ones caught between sharpened blades. The air filled with the clash of steel and the cries of the wounded.

A masked figure emerged from the trees, their movements too smooth to be an ordinary soldier. Evelyn barely had time to parry as a curved blade slashed toward her throat. Sparks flew as their weapons met, and a strange, chilling laughter echoed from beneath the mask.

"You fight well, Commander," the figure taunted. "But your war is already lost."

Evelyn gritted her teeth and pushed forward, knocking her opponent back. "I don't believe in lost causes."

The enemy lines wavered. With Kael's forces pressing from one side and Evelyn's relentless advance from the other, the tide was shifting. If they could just break through, victory would be theirs.

But the masked warrior was far from finished, and something in their stance told Evelyn that the battle was about to take a deadly turn.