The sky above the Northern Wastes was not blue or gray. Instead, it was a dark, bruised purple, like a dying vein. This dark color hung over sharp, black mountain peaks and endless areas of icy, dark gray frost.
The sun was a stranger here. The only light came from the Aurora Borealis, which danced like ghostly fire across the edge of the sky.
The wind did not just blow through this place. It screamed like a thousand defeated spirits crying out in pain, held still by the evil of the High Regents.
Caspian stood at the edge of the black aircraft's loading ramp. He watched the frost spread like branches across the strong glass panel in the ship's body. The cold did not just hit his skin. It went deep into his inner self.
The Northern Wastes was a truly empty place on the planet, where life energy was weak and dangerous. It was the perfect spot for a surprise attack.
Next to him, Thorne wore his silver and gold armor, his hand resting on the handle of his obsidian sword. Their journey had lasted for hours, and the silence between them was heavy with the weight of the coming fight.
"Commander, we are going into the dead zone," Thorne said, his voice quieted by his helmet. "The radar is useless and the navigation spirits are getting lost. We will have to drop fast."
"The Iron Frost Fortress is forty miles to the northeast. My reports say that the air defenses are ready. Malphas has set up the Ice Dragon Cannons. If we go any closer, they will tear apart the hull before we can reach the fortress walls."
"Then we start the drop right away," Caspian announced, stepping toward the open hatch. He felt the weight of the obsidian sword strapped to his back and the strong energy of the Ninth Dragon inside his core.
The sudden change from the council chamber in Oakhaven to this cold, empty land had been strange. He still carried the scent of the city on his clothes, but the world of business and corporate mergers seemed like a dream from an old life.
Here, only the cold, the iron, and the bloody truth mattered.
Caspian stepped out into the empty air and began his fall without a guide through the purple sky. He did not use a parachute or a glide suit. He simply spread his arms, letting the golden energy of his core (nucleus) glow around him like a protective shield.
He looked like a newborn star falling toward the black mountains. He felt the wind tear at his clothes and the freezing air trying to turn his breath to ice.
He now saw the Iron Frost Fortress. It was a huge building carved right into the top of the highest mountain. It was a sharp crown of black stone and enchanted ice, glowing with an unhealthy green light.
He hit the wall of the central tower at three hundred miles per hour. The crash should have destroyed the building, but Caspian landed with the softness of a falling feather.
The golden energy surrounding him expanded in a sudden burst, breaking the stone railing and throwing the nearby guards over the edge like broken toys.
He stood up in the center of the wreckage and drew the obsidian sword. The golden light in his eyes was so strong it lit up the whole wall. The High Regents' best fighters hurried to stand up, but they were like ghosts before his blade.
In an instant, the wall was silent, and Caspian walked toward the huge iron doors at the end of the tower.
The throne chamber was a very large hall of ice. The support columns were made of frozen blood, and the floor was a sheet of black glass.
At the far end of the room, High Regent Malphas sat on a throne made from human skulls. He was thin and pale. His eyes looked like two glowing pieces of coal in a face like white dust.
In his hand, he held a small, jagged piece of bone that gave off a faint, rhythmic golden light.
"The Supreme Commander," Malphas said, his voice a dry whisper, like leaves blowing over a grave. "You look strong for a person who worked as a subordinate for three years."
"Hand over the bone fragment, Malphas, and your death shall be fast," Caspian answered as he walked to the center of the room. He felt the Ninth Dragon beating inside his mind. He knew the Regent had great power, but he did not care. He had waited a thousand days for this moment.
The fight was a storm of fire and cold. Malphas raised his hand, and the floor of the room broke open as sharp pillars of ice rose from the ground to trap Caspian.
Caspian cut through the ice with his obsidian sword, but the air in the chamber instantly turned solid. Malphas was a complete master of the void, making the space around Caspian a tight trap.
"You were always so easy to predict," Malphas said. "You always step in for your followers. Do you remember the screams of General Kael? Do you remember the way he looked at you while I pulled the anima out of his body?"
Caspian roared, and the golden energy surged so strongly that the ice pillars broke into dust. He broke through the force field and attacked Malphas quickly.
The High Regent held up the bone fragment as a shield, and Caspian stopped his blade just an inch from the relic. He could not stab it. If the bone was destroyed, the anima of his general would be lost forever.
Malphas looked too confident and kicked Caspian's chest with the force of a Gold Tier core (nucleus). Caspian was thrown across the room, hitting a column of frozen blood.
He struck the ground hard, seeing that his core (nucleus) had started to lose energy. The golden energy was going on and off.
But then, something happened. He felt a sharp and sudden pulse against his chest. It was the Frost Jade. The amulet back in Oakhaven was vibrating with a warning.
He felt a cold, sharp break in the link he shared with Lyra. She was in danger. The assassins had reached the residence while he was a thousand miles away.
The realization hit him harder than Malphas's blow. He had left her vulnerable. He looked at Malphas, who was walking toward him with the bone, and he felt a cold, complete rage. He did not have the time for a long fight. He had to return.
But he felt pain in his meridians. The fight with Malphas had made him too tired. If he tried a long distance Shadow Jump now, his broken core (nucleus) would shatter into a million pieces. He would die before he reached the city.
"Thorne," Caspian barked into his communication earpiece.
"I am cleaning up the lesser-ranked enemies, sir," Thorne answered, as a sound of metal hitting metal came through the earpiece.
"Proceed to the spire. Now," Caspian commanded.
He stood up, ignoring his sword. He reached for the Nine Dragon Lock that was still partly a part of his anima and he forcefully ripped it free. He did not cut the restraints, but used them as a path to send all the power of the Northern Wastes through his own body.
The room began to shake, and the ice pillars started to crack. He lunged forward and grabbed Malphas by the throat. The black lightning surged into the Regent's body, destroying his core (nucleus) right away.
Caspian grabbed General Kael's fragment of bone in his left hand. The moment his skin touched the bone, the golden light returned with a surge. The Second Dragon awakened. A giant, spirit-like image of a golden dragon burst from Caspian's back, turning the ice hall to steam.
Malphas was turned into white dust, his anima scattered to the cold winds.
Thorne smashed through the iron doors and stopped suddenly when he saw the dragon. Caspian was standing in the very center of the ruins, shaking violently. His skin was pale, and the golden light in his eyes was turning to a dangerous gray color.
"Commander," Thorne exclaimed as he rushed toward him. "We must leave. The fortress is falling apart."
"No," Caspian stated, his voice a weak whisper. "Lyra. The amulet is pulsing. They have located her, Thorne. The Executioners are in Oakhaven."
Thorne gripped his swords. "Then we jump. I will prepare the portal."
"I cannot jump, Thorne," Caspian said, staring at his shaking hands. "My core (nucleus) is bleeding out. The pressure of the void would kill me before I reached the border. But you. You are intact."
Caspian grabbed Thorne by the shoulders, feeling the raw, unstable energy of the general's anima flowing through him. He began pulling the darkness from the corners of the room, weaving it into a gate between dimensions.
It was a Singular Passage Shadow Gate. It was a bridge made from sacrifice and complete desperation.
"Sir, you cannot stay here alone," Thorne protested. "The Regent Guard will fill this peak in minutes."
"I will take the jet," Caspian stated. "Go, Thorne. This is a direct order. Protect her. If one strand of her hair is harmed, I will burn the world until only ashes are left. Do you understand?"
Thorne looked at his Commander, seeing the determination of a man willing to give up everything for a sip of water he was given ten years ago. Thorne kneeled for a moment, and then stood up straight.
"As you command, Supreme Commander."
Caspian roared and clapped his hands together. The Shadow Gate glowed with black and purple light, and the air in the room was pulled into the swirling light.
With a violent push, Caspian threw Thorne through the portal. The armored general disappeared into the darkness, and the gate closed instantly behind him with a loud, deep sound.
Caspian fell to his knees in the quiet of the destroyed throne chamber. He was alone. He felt the North's cold starting to creep into his bones, and the exhaustion of the fight trying to pull him into a deep sleep.
But he did not stop. He gripped General Kael's bone and forced himself to stand. He walked out of the tower and saw the black aircraft circling the peak. He did not go up to it. He just waited for the ramp to drop and slowly pulled himself inside.
As the jet turned toward the south and its engines started running at full power, Caspian sat in the darkness. He watched the purple sky of the North fade behind him. He knew that Thorne was already in Oakhaven. He knew that his general would arrive hours before the jet ever cleared the mountains.
He had given Lyra his strongest warrior, but he felt a sharp and bitter regret that he was not the one standing by her side.
"I am returning for you, Lyra," Caspian murmured to the empty cabin.
He closed his eyes and began the painful process of fixing his core (nucleus) while the aircraft flew through the clouds quickly. The fighting had officially started, and the price for the throne was being paid by the fear of the woman he loved. The Sovereign was returning to his city, and this time, the shadows were with him.