Chapter 209: The Raid (2)
Steel slid from its sheath with a clear metallic whisper.
Aelion stepped forward without hesitation, placing himself between Aveline and the descending guards as he raised his sword.
"Stay behind me."
It was instinct. The responsibility of a leader.
But Aveline quietly sidestepped him. Not out of defiance. She simply needed to see.
If someone was injured... If the rebels needed her... If there was anything she could do...
She couldn’t remain hidden behind another person’s back.
-----
Hidden beneath the flawless veil of Aurelion Light, Theron remained unseen from only a short distance away.
His gaze swept over the underground warehouse.
For one suspended heartbeat... Even he forgot to breathe.
Cotton. Endless mountains of it. Far more than the intelligence reports had ever suggested.
His jaw slowly tightened.
The Chancellor’s smug smile surfaced vividly in his memory.
The countless meetings. The endless political games. The calculated attempts to trap him with politics while innocent families prepared for a winter with no blankets, no proper clothing, and dwindling hope.
All the while... This much cotton had been hidden beneath the city... Enough to save almost the entire kingdom.
His hands curled into fists.
"So this is where it went..."
Then his eyes found Aveline.
The anger in them softened into something dangerously close to helplessness.
How...
How had she become involved with the rebels?
His gaze shifted toward Aelion. The prince’s expression darkened.
What kind of fool brings her here?
She could be...
His thoughts stopped.
Pregnant.
The possibility still lingered stubbornly in his mind.
Every reckless step she took made his heart pound harder.
Didn’t she care about herself?
Didn’t she understand what could happen if...
Then realization struck him.
She had told him.
She really had intended to retrieve the cotton herself.
When she’d confidently promised she would solve his problem, he had assumed she had some clever plan.
Never...
Not once...
Had he imagined she intended to raid the Terravain warehouse the very same night he challenged Chancellor Terravain in court.
The Chancellor would have anticipated retaliation. Of course, he would have strengthened security. This entire place was a trap waiting to spring.
Theron’s fingers instinctively reached for the sword at his waist.
Had he known... He would never have allowed her to come.
Never.
Yet now...
If he revealed himself, the guards would recognize him. The rebels would question why the Crown Prince was there, or they would first attack him, thinking he was on the guards’ side.
His identity would become a problem for everyone.
But leaving Aveline here...
That had never been an option.
Never.
-----
A sudden tremor ran through the earth. Theron’s attention shifted north.
The diversion. Something had gone wrong. If the northern assault collapsed... Those guards would reinforce this position within minutes.
Without another thought, Theron disappeared, moving so swiftly beneath the concealment of his Aurelion Veil that no ordinary eye could hope to follow.
---
A guard suddenly cried out.
Then another.
Steel clashed against nothing.
One soldier stumbled backward as though struck by an invisible force before collapsing unconscious.
"What—"
"Who’s there?"
Another guard spun around wildly.
No one answered.
Only another unseen blow sent him crashing across the courtyard.
Panic spread faster than any fire.
"The Invisible One!"
"There’s someone here!"
"I can’t see him!"
Even the rebels stared in astonishment.
One after another, guards fell without ever discovering who had struck them.
Aelion narrowed his eyes.
Someone... Someone was helping them.
He couldn’t see anyone.
But whoever it was... Possessed frightening skill.
Could it be...
There was only one person who could flawlessly execute a veil.
But why would the Crown Prince help the rebels?
-----
The earth suddenly shook again.
The Terravain earth-benders thrust both palms against the ground. Stone groaned.
The exposed warehouse began sealing itself.
Massive slabs of rock surged upward, threatening to bury the cotton beneath layers of earth once more.
"Stop them!" Aelion shouted.
He charged without hesitation.
His sword flashed beneath the crystal light as he drove back two earth-benders before they could complete their formations.
There wasn’t a single torch inside the underground chamber. Only pale crystals embedded throughout the walls illuminated the vast storage.
Aveline immediately understood why.
One careless spark... One overturned flame...
The entire warehouse would become a funeral pyre.
The Terravains had taken every precaution to protect their fortune.
Far above them, the air-benders continued sustaining the vacuum surrounding the battlefield.
Every shout... Every clash of steel... Every scream... Vanished into unnatural silence.
Then one of them cried out. An arrow pierced his shoulder. His concentration broke.
The invisible barrier shattered.
Sound exploded across the district. Steel rang. Men shouted. Orders echoed through the streets.
The entire city suddenly seemed to awaken.
-----
"They’ve discovered us!"
"Retreat!"
"No—hold the entrance!"
A rebel water-bender slammed both hands onto the ground.
Water burst from underground pipes, forming a narrow rushing channel that wound toward the warehouse.
"We’ll float the cotton out!"
"There are too many bales!"
"Take what you can!"
Aveline drew a sharp breath. There was so much more than anyone had expected. Far too much to carry. Far too much to abandon.
A Terravain guard lunged toward one of the rebels. Instinctively, Aveline thrust out her hand. Dark shadows erupted beneath the guard’s feet.
He froze. His limbs refused to obey.
Aelion reacted instantly. One clean strike. The guard fell.
But another replaced him. Then another.
The battlefield descended into complete chaos. Every direction was filled with shouting of clashing steel, moving earth, rushing water, and invisible attacks.
And somewhere beyond the walls... Messengers were already racing toward Chancellor Terravain.
Hidden beneath the flawless veil of Aurelion Light, Theron slipped back into the underground warehouse.
Keeping low behind the towering stacks of cotton, a Terravain guard crept silently toward Aveline.
His sword rose. His eyes were fixed upon her unprotected back.
Theron’s gaze sharpened. Without the slightest hesitation, a dagger slipped into his hand. It left his fingers in a blur.
The blade sliced cleanly through the air.
*Thunk*
The guard’s body jerked violently. The dagger buried itself between his eyes. For a heartbeat, he remained standing.
Then he collapsed backward without a sound.
Aveline spun around. Her breath caught. The dead guard lay motionless upon the stone floor.
No one stood beside him.
No one...
Visible.
Yet she felt it... That familiar warmth. That quiet, unwavering presence she had sensed all evening.
Her eyes searched the empty space before her. She felt that familiar warmth closer to her now.
Of course, Theron...
A soft smile flickered across her lips despite the chaos surrounding them.
Without thinking, she hurried toward the place where she knew he was standing.
Just then...
A sharp whistle echoed from above. A messenger landed beside the remaining Terravain guards, breathing heavily.
"The Chancellor’s orders!"
Every guard turned. The messenger’s voice rang across the warehouse.
"If the rebels breach the storage..."
His expression hardened.
"Burn the cotton."
Silence.
The words struck the battlefield harder than any weapon.
The Terravain guards froze.
The rebels froze.
Even Aelion’s sword lowered ever so slightly.
Theron’s fingers slowly curled into fists.
For one long moment... He simply stared.
So that was the Chancellor’s answer.
Rather than surrender a single bale... Rather than allow the Crown Prince to distribute it among starving families...
He would rather reduce every last thread to ash.
A cold fury settled deep within Theron’s chest.
You would sooner destroy your own fortune than let your people live.
You truly want me to fail that badly.
Across the warehouse, Aveline felt her heart sink.
All this cotton... Enough to spare children from freezing nights.
To burn it...
Her gaze swept toward the ceiling. This wasn’t an isolated warehouse hidden in the countryside. It lay beneath a bustling district.
Shops surrounded it. Homes stood only streets away.
If the flames spread... If the wind carried embers beyond these walls... The fire would consume far more than stolen cotton.
People would die.
Her stomach twisted.
How reckless. How unbelievably selfish.
One of the Terravain guards slowly reached beneath his cloak.
When his hand emerged, it held a palm-sized stone engraved with intricate crimson runes.
A fire rune.
The crystal pulsed with dormant heat. The guard drew a shaky breath. His thumb hovered over the glowing inscription.
Aelion’s eyes widened.
"Stop him!"