POV: Alpha Jackson Reynolds
The roar of the waterfall was no longer a peaceful lullaby of the sanctuary; it had become a drum of war. Behind the shimmering curtain of water, the air in the grotto was charged with the "Silver" power of Jumanah and the rising violet aura of my Queen. But out there, in the choking sulfur and the gray mists of the valley, the world was turning red.
I stood at the very edge of the grotto’s inner lip, where the spray of the falls turned to a fine, cold mist on my skin. Beside me, Vane Lowe was a statue of lethal intent. She had stripped off her outer Aegis cloak, revealing the Star-Iron plating beneath. In her right hand, she gripped the hilt of her heavy broadsword; in her left, a short, serrated silver blade that hummed with a restless energy.
"They're bunc
