Chapter 208: The Raid (1)
Aveline found Aelion waiting beneath the sprawling willow tree, its drooping branches swaying gently in the evening breeze. He was dressed from head to toe in dark linen, the hood pulled low enough to conceal his unmistakable silver hair. Without a word, he held out another dark cloak.
She accepted it, running her fingers over the coarse fabric before slipping it over her shoulders.
"Is this our uniform?" she asked with an amused smile.
Aelion glanced at her beneath the fading light of the setting sun. Somehow, she looked... excited.
It was not the expression he had expected from someone about to participate in an illegal raid against one of the kingdom’s most powerful noble houses.
Once again, she managed to surprise him.
He shook his head and turned, motioning for her to follow.
"Can’t you be serious for once?" he muttered. "We could die tonight."
"Eh..." Aveline only shrugged.
She sincerely doubted that.
There was a comforting warmth lingering somewhere behind her, like sunlight resting gently against her back.
Theron.
She knew he was there.
Although she couldn’t see him through whatever illusion he was using, she could still feel his presence following at a distance. It was almost funny how oblivious he seemed to the fact that she had noticed him long ago.
As long as he was there, she found it strangely difficult to feel afraid.
Even Aelion hadn’t noticed they were being followed.
Everything would be fine.
—
Completely unaware that his presence had already been discovered, Theron silently observed the pair from behind the veil of his light illusion.
Aveline had not packed valuables.
She hadn’t even brought Hamilton. The little creature had remained curled up comfortably in her room.
For a fleeting moment, he had believed she was simply sneaking out for one of her impulsive adventures.
Then Aelion had appeared.
Again.
His jaw tightened.
She had chosen to leave with him.
Without making a sound, Theron continued after them.
—
"I thought we couldn’t get out," Aveline whispered as they reached the towering Arcanum wall.
Aelion’s eyes searched the weathered stone.
"Where there’s a will," he murmured, "there’s always a way."
His fingers slid across the ancient masonry until they stopped on a slightly uneven stone.
He knocked against it twice.
A deep rumble answered.
Several stones shifted with surprising smoothness, silently sliding aside to reveal a narrow passage just wide enough for two people to squeeze through.
Aveline’s eyes widened.
As they stepped into the opening, she noticed several hooded figures waiting on the opposite side. None of their faces were visible beneath the dark cloaks.
With practiced precision, they raised their hands.
Earth rippled beneath their feet.
The displaced stones flowed back into place as though they had never moved at all, sealing the entrance seamlessly behind them.
So they were earth-benders.
More of Aelion’s rebels.
Not a single guard on the other side would ever suspect someone had just passed through the wall.
They continued through the quiet streets under the cover of dusk, speaking only when necessary.
Finally, Aelion slowed his pace.
"The Terravains assigned earth-benders to guard the warehouse," he said, lowering his voice until it was barely louder than the rustling grass around them. "They’re disciplined, and they’re good."
He glanced toward her.
"So stay close to me."
Aveline nodded.
"We’ll draw most of them to one side while another group slips in from the opposite entrance. The cotton is stored underground."
His expression darkened.
"And that’s exactly why we can’t use fire."
He drew the sword hanging at his waist with a quiet metallic whisper.
"One spark is enough to turn the entire warehouse into an inferno."
Aveline stared at the blade for a moment.
Her thoughts drifted, uninvited, to Theron.
She remembered the effortless grace with which he wielded a sword back in Aurelmont, the confidence in every strike, and the overwhelming strength hidden beneath his composed expression.
A small sigh escaped her before she could stop it.
She wanted to see him fight again.
Aelion, mistaking her distraction for nervousness, continued.
"If we’re discovered, use your shadow-bending."
He looked directly at her.
"Don’t try to defeat anyone. Just hold them in place for a few seconds. That’s enough. You’re not trained for prolonged combat."
"I understand."
She meant it.
Even if she still suspected Theron would somehow interfere before anything truly dangerous could happen.
The streets gradually gave way to quieter buildings until they finally stopped before what appeared to be an ordinary teashop.
A faded wooden sign hung above the entrance. The windows were dark. The storefront looked abandoned. Yet the armed guards patrolling the perimeter told an entirely different story.
This was where the Terravain family had hidden enough cotton to tighten its grip around an entire kingdom.
At the opposite end of the compound, the first phase of the operation had already begun.
The water-benders moved like drifting shadows, slipping between the narrow alleys south of the warehouse. With practiced precision, streams of water coiled silently around the guards’ ankles before hardening into slick sheets of ice beneath their feet.
The first shout never came.
Above them, hidden upon neighboring rooftops, the air-benders extended their hands in unison.
The wind twisted.
Rather than stirring louder, it disappeared altogether.
The air itself thickened into an invisible vacuum, swallowing every scrape of steel, every startled gasp, every thud of falling bodies before a single sound could escape the southern perimeter.
It was as though silence itself had become their accomplice.
Exactly as planned.
—
Meanwhile, Aelion led the northern team through the shadows. Aveline noticed that the leader of the rebels was not with them. Perhaps, he was on the other side.
The teashop appeared deserted from the outside, but every window had been reinforced from within, and fresh footprints marked the packed earth surrounding the building.
The Terravains had been careful.
Aelion raised a clenched fist.
Everyone stopped.
Two hooded earth-benders stepped forward.
Without exchanging a word, they lowered themselves into practiced stances, one knee nearly touching the ground. Their palms settled against the stone pavement.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then the earth answered.
A low vibration rippled beneath Aveline’s boots.
The stone tiles trembled before separating with astonishing precision, each slab lifting as though guided by invisible hands. Instead of shattering apart, the entire upper layer of pavement peeled away in one enormous piece, exposing the chamber hidden beneath.
Cool air rushed upward.
Aveline instinctively leaned over the opening.
Then her eyes widened.
"..."
Cotton.
An endless sea of cotton.
Bales upon bales stretched into the underground darkness, stacked higher than a person and disappearing so far into the distance that the lantern light barely reached the back walls.
No one spoke.
Even the seasoned rebels stared. For one suspended moment, they simply looked.
"So much..." Aveline breathed.
She had known the Terravains were hoarding supplies. She hadn’t imagined anything like this.
Aelion’s expression slowly hardened.
"This..."
His voice was scarcely audible.
"This is enough to supply nearly eighty percent of the kingdom through winter."
A chill swept through the group.
No wonder people had begun to panic. No wonder prices had risen overnight. No wonder entire towns had started rationing cloth and blankets.
The shortage hadn’t been caused just by the accident in the Caelvaris .
It had been manufactured.
Deliberately.
Aveline slowly clenched her fists.
She thought of the mothers who had already begun sewing old blankets into winter coats. While families worried about surviving the coming winter... The Terravains had buried their salvation beneath a teashop.
Aelion inhaled slowly before forcing himself back to the task.
"We’ve found it," he whispered. "Start moving—"
A shadow passed overhead.
Then another.
A pebble struck the ground beside Aveline’s boot.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Everyone froze.
Aelion’s head snapped upward. Figures stood along the rooftops. Dozens of them. Before anyone could react, heavy boots landed all around the excavation.
One after another.
Stone cracked beneath their feet as hooded earth-benders descended from above, surrounding the rebels in a tightening circle.
Their escape route vanished behind a wall of raised stone.
One of the guards stepped forward, a cold smile visible beneath his hood.
"You’ve made this far easier than expected."
Aelion slowly drew his sword.
"...We’ve been waiting for you."