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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋'𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐘

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"This was their plan all along. Not the orphanage, but to attack us here. Catch us off guard."

Nikolai's voice was the first thing that Inessa heard as she slowly came around from unconsciousness. She didn't remember much after free-falling through the air. But she wasn't surprised to wake up in Fedyor and Ivan's arms. Her mind was desperately trying to comprehend what had happened as she was dragged along with the survivors of the crash. It didn't take long for everything to come back to her, causing a wave of adrenaline to wash over her. The Darkling and his blind followers were attacking.

Inessa waited until they stopped to rest before untangling herself from Fedyor and Ivan's arms. They didn't hesitate to steady her until she was able to stand on her own two feet. The relief she felt after all her memories came flooding back to her instantly vanished when she saw Nikolai leaning against a tree. He was obviously in pain, but Inessa knew her cousin would never admit it out loud.

"We should stop, check your leg," Dominik suggested without taking his eyes off Nikolai.

"No, we have to go back and find Alina," the Lantsov boy declared as he stared at Zvedya in the distance.

"We aren't going to make it back with your leg bleeding like that. Let me see it," Inessa said. She took a small step toward her cousin, only for him to take one away from her. "Come on, Nikolai. I can't heal it if you won't let me see it."

"You need to conserve your energy, Inessa."

"I'm fine. Let me see it."

The Prince hesitated for a moment before letting out a long sigh. It wasn't long after that when he unwrapped his leg, revealing a deep cut on his upper thigh. A long sigh passed over Inessa's lips as she placed her hand an inch above the wound. Her training with Maxim taught her how to heal without physical touch, but she still needed to be close. The Heartrender focused all of her attention on the wound, which was slowly starting to heal.

Nikolai watched his cousin in awe. He was proud of what she had accomplished after just a short amount of time training. It wasn't long before the wound on his leg had vanished. It looked as though it had never been injured in the first place. After Inessa stood back up, the cousins shared a small smile. But their moment didn't last long as they turned their attention back to the situation at hand.

"Have they seen us?" the Lantsov boy questioned while pulling out his telescope to get a better look at their enemy.

"There's too much tree cover. No clear line of sight to us. We should be fine until we get to the fort," Ivan explained after turning his attention back in the direction they had just come from.

Not even a second after the Heartrender finished speaking passed when a fire erupted in the distance. No one said a word as they watched the flames cut through the trees, burning everything in its path. As soon as it reached the end of the small forest, a strong gust of wind cut through the air. Its force extinguished the flames and knocked down the burnt trees, clearing a path for their enemy.

"How are they so powerful?" Nadia asked, not bothering to hide the fear in her voice.

"We need to keep moving," Fedyor announced while forcing Ivan and Inessa to start walking up the hill.

It wasn't long before the small group of survivors was sprinting toward Zvedya as fast as they could, none of them wanting to encounter the Darkling's powerful Grisha army. Those around Inessa were constantly talking, which was starting to drive her mad. Her mind could barely keep up with their conversations about protecting Nikolai and their plans to get back into the fort before the Grisha caught up to them. But what none of them expected was to hear the sound of a faint siren in the distance. Not even a second after that passed when the ground began to shake. Their voices soon fell silent as they used what was left of their energy to reach the top of the hill.

When they finally made it to the top, none of them could believe what they were seeing. The Fold was growing, moving closer and closer to Zvedya. All Inessa could think about was Mal as she watched the fort get swallowed up by the darkness. Their shocked silence was soon interrupted by distant voices. When they looked toward the sound, they found the Darkling's Grisha at the bottom of the hill. That was all it took for the survivors to run as fast as they could toward the fort.

What felt like an eternity of running passed before they reached the fortress's wall. But none of them felt the joy of arriving at their destination. Instead, all they could focus on was the powerful Grisha closing in on them. Their pace never slowed as they sprinted toward the moat, jumping into the canal right before a strong flame appeared above them. But not all of them were lucky. Inessa did her best to control her emotions as she listened to the screams of two First Army soldiers. Beside her, Dominik grabbed a large lever and forced it up, opening a hatch and creating fog cover. None of them hesitated to use that opportunity to run further into the moat and away from their enemy.

"We're nearly there. The entrance is just around the bend," Dominik announced to those who remained of the large group they left with.

"There's no time to reload," Nikolai declared, knowing that they would be killed if they stopped just for a second, "we're outnumbered here!"

"Then let's even the odds a bit. Don't stop," the Vertov man told them before slowing his pace.

The Lantsov boy was about to join him, but his plan was ruined by Fedyor and Ivan. They knew that if Nikolai stopped running, so would Inessa. And they weren't about to let that happen. The Heartrenders quickly grabbed the Prince's arms and forced him to continue running. Despite his shouts for them to let him go, they never did. Neither Fedyor nor Ivan cared if they just angered the future King of Ravka. They just wanted to ensure that the Smirnoff girl made it out of this war alive.

It wasn't long before a long whistle cut through the air. It repeated three times and was followed by distant shouting. None of them knew what to make of it. That was until they turned the corner to find an army of First Army soldiers and Tamar running toward them.

"Who's pursuing?!" the Kir-Bataar girl asked after joining their small group.

"Kirigan's Grisha! They're amplified!" Nikolai answered, now running on his own two feet instead of being dragged along by the Heartrenders.

Inessa's pace slowed as she followed Fedyor and Ivan toward one of the wooden covers. When she glanced back behind her, she saw her cousin standing in the middle of the path with his pistol aimed at the attacking Grisha. But before the Smirnoff girl had a chance to take a step toward Nikolai, she was grabbed from behind by Fedyor and Ivan and pulled to safety. She was just relieved that Dominik did the same with Nikolai. The two of them were huddled just in front of the three Heartrenders as they watched the Darkling's Grisha turn the corner.

From their hiding spot, the Heartrenders watched as the Grisha created a wind cover, deflecting all the shots fired at them. There was a small moment when the wind faded, allowing a soldier to take out one of their Inferni. But their short moment of victory soon ended when another Inferni called upon a flame, one much stronger than Inessa had ever seen. She easily sent a ball of fire at one of the covers, taking two First Army soldiers out of the fight. Not even a second after that passed when their shield of wind returned.

"Kirigan's pinning us between Volcra and these idiots," Fedyor muttered under his breath, irritation extremely evident in his tone.

"We need to deal with these idiots first," Inessa responded, clearly done with everything that the Darkling had put her through.

Before their conversation could continue, Dominik called for them to retreat further into the fortress. None of them hesitated to follow him in Nikolai, the First Army soldiers providing cover for their escape. It wasn't long before they made it to a large courtyard, one that held much better places for protection. However, the Grisha were quickly closing in on them. Just as they thought all hope was lost, First Army soldiers appeared on the bridge above the path. Before the Darkling's Heartrenders could sense their presence, the soldiers fired down on them. Their keftas were enough to protect them, but they still needed to focus their attention on deflecting the bullets. That alone was enough to allow Dominik and Nikolai to fire at two boxes, causing a small explosion and a lot of smoke to give them cover.

What remained of the crew from the Hummingbird took that as an opportunity to find cover to rest. While they did that, the First Army soldiers from Zvedya charged into the smoke. No one could see what was happening within the fog, but they could hear every part of the battle taking place. But what none of them expected was for icicles to appear through the fog, taking out a group of First Army soldiers. When the smoke cleared, a woman wearing a Tidemaker's kefta appeared, sending more icicles their way. Two more Grisha appeared behind her, showing that they were the only three that remained of Kirigan's army.

It didn't take Inessa long to realize who they were. Fruzsi had always been extremely loyal to General Kirigan, as were Nisho and Vatra. None of them ever hesitated to follow his orders. It wasn't surprising to see them fighting beside him. But they were never as powerful as they were now. Not even a second after that passed when Inessa thought back to the flames in the forest and the strong enough wind to extinguish all the flames. There was only one way that they could become that powerful in such a short amount of time.

"Those three have amplifiers," Inessa told Fedyor and Ivan while gesturing toward Fruzsi, Nisho, and Vatra.

"That would make the most sense," Ivan responded, not taking his eyes off the three in question, "none of them could ever do something like this on their own. They could barely make it on the training grounds. Now they seem to be immune to everything we throw at them."

Not even a second after that passed when Tamar and Nadia appeared beside them. "I just got word that the cliffside entrance is an ambush. Four Grisha are waiting for us there."

"Oh, well. That's just great," Fedyor sighed before leaning his head against the wooden wall behind them, "it was nice knowing all of you. See you in the next life."

Before any of them had a chance to respond to the Kaminsky man's remark, Tamar's necklace transformed into a flower. A large smile instantly appeared on her lips while those around her stared at her with confusion in their eyes. It wasn't long before Nadia asked the question on all their minds. "What does that mean?"

The smile on the raven-haired girl's face did nothing but grow. "Tolya found us. And if my brother is here, Jens isn't far behind."

However, their moment of joy soon faded when a ball of fire soared through the air and hit the iron gate behind them. The heat welded the metal together, locking them in the courtyard. Not even a second after that passed when icicles began raining down on the battlefield. Everyone quickly ran out of their hiding spots to get further away from the attack. When they got to their next hiding spot, Inessa peeked out to make sure Nikolai made it through the attack. But what she found made her blood run cold. Dominik was lying facedown in the dirt with a dozen icicles in his back.

All Inessa could do was watch as her cousin pulled his friend to safety and placed his hands on the wounds. His eyes desperately searched the battlefield. It wasn't long before he found exactly who he was looking for. His pleading eyes locked with Inessa, who was hidden on the other side of the courtyard. But the look in his cousin's eyes told them all he needed to know. It was too late to save Dominik, especially since they didn't have a way to melt the icicles to heal his wounds. However, there was something that Inessa could do, and that was reduce the Vertov man's pain.

A long sigh passed over the Smirnoff girl's lips as she closed her eyes. She focused all her attention on Dominik until she found his heartbeat. It was faint, but it was still there. She relaxed her hands as she located all the points that were causing the Vertov man discomfort. It was taking a lot of her energy to make the pain disappear, but Inessa knew it was worth it. She didn't stop until she felt his heartbeat vanish completely. A single tear rolled down her cheeks as the Smirnoff girl opened her eyes right as Nikolai was reaching up to close Dominik's eyes for the last time.

They didn't have time to mourn the loss of the Vertov man, thanks to the dozens of fireballs flying over their heads. The small group was forced to retreat as far back into the courtyard as they could. Just when they thought they had been defeated, an object flew through the air above them and landed at Vatra's feet. Before any of them had a chance to think, a small explosion occurred. The force sent the Inferni flying through the air, landing at her allies' feet.

"Where did that come from?" Nikolai questioned while desperately trying to figure out what had just happened.

All of them soon looked in the direction the bomb had come from, only to find five figures standing on the other side of the sealed gate. Inessa instantly recognized three of them, causing a relieved smile to appear on her lips. Kaz Brekker looked down at them with his signature blank expression. "My demolitions expert."

"Expert?" the youngest among them questioned, causing Jepser and Kaz to look over at him. He soon cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the group below. "I mean, yes. Expert."

The next thing any of them knew, the raven-haired boy beside Waylan rapidly loaded an arrow onto his bow. He gracefully moved his bow like it were part of his body, only pausing to allow Astrid to add ice to his arrow. Not even a second after that passed when he released his grip on his bowstring. The projectile moved so quickly that they could barely see it. That was until it met its mark, which was the last remaining unamplified Grisha in the Darkling's army.

"Tread carefully. My arrows never miss their mark," Ezra warned Fruzsi and Nisho as he loaded another arrow. The Rhys boy provided Jesper with cover as he unwelded the iron gate. Inessa was shocked to discover that the Fahey boy was Durast, but stranger things had happened.

"Why is Sturmhond here?" the Fahey boy questioned after he, Waylan, Astrid, and Ezra joined them behind their wooden shield, leaving Kaz to join Nikolai. It wasn't long after that when Jesper's attention fell on Ivan. "And didn't you fall into the Fold?"

"I did. Thank you for that once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope to return the favor someday," the Bozic man responded, earning a small chuckle from Fedyor while Jesper stared at him with wide eyes.

"Also, around here, Sturmhond goes by Nikolai," Inessa added, earning shocked looks from the Crows.

"Wait, Nikolai Lantsov?" Astrid asked, earning a small nod from the Smirnoff girl, "woah. We're friends with a prince."

"And...and you are?" Tamar questioned as her eyes bounced between the newcomers.

"You must be Tamar," Waylan said, only to receive a confused look from the Heartrender.

Ezra couldn't help but let out a long sigh. "Long story short, we came with your brother and Jens."

Before their conversation could continue, a scream cut through the air. When they turned their attention toward the sound, they found Fruzsi drawing water from the clouds above them. Astrid didn't hesitate to come out from hiding with her hands held out in front of her. A smirk was plastered onto her lips as she slowly closed her fists. Her actions caused the water to freeze in a matter of seconds, sticking to Fruzsi's fingers. An irritated look soon appeared on the brunette woman's face as she transformed the Larsen girl's ice into shards. The next thing any of them knew, they were sent directly at Astrid. However, the young Tidemaker was able to stop them right as they were a foot away from her. The smile on her face did nothing but grow as she waved her hand through the air, melting the ice and creating dozens of puddles in front of her.

Jesper soon stood beside Astrid as he fired his pistols at the two remaining Grisha in Kirigan's army. Nisho didn't hesitate to create a wall of wind to protect them from the bullets, something that Inessa was getting tired of seeing. Unfortunately, the Fahey boy was only able to get a few shots off before Fruzsi froze his pistols.

A cocky smile instantly appeared on the brunette woman's face after watching Jesper quickly drop his pistols. "If only you'd been born Grisha, you'd know what it means-"

"To be blessed?" the Fahey boy interrupted before pulling the buttons off his vest. He quickly sent the metal flying through the air at Fruzsi, causing her to shout and misstep.

Anger soon appeared in Nisho's eyes as he took a step forward. He brought his hands out in front of his chest, creating lightning within them a moment later. However, he was only able to take one step before Kaz through his cane, lodging it in the dirt in front of the Squaller. Because the cane was metal, it acted as a lightning rod, pulling all of the electricity away from Nisho and rendering him powerless.

"I have Datura Meloxia. I need air support," Waylan announced after grabbing a small vial from his belt.

The demotionist didn't hesitate to step out of hiding with Nadia and Adrik at his sides. He tossed the orange contents of the vial into the air before the Squaller siblings sent it toward Nisho. The latter could do nothing to prevent the dust from getting in his eyes, causing him to stumble back. Ezra waited for the perfect moment to release his second arrow, causing it to soar through the air. Inessa was surprised to find Nisho staring at the projectile with a smile on his face, making her realize that the orange powder was a hallucinogen. Because he saw the arrow as something entirely different, Nisho did nothing to defend himself. Not even a second after that passed when the arrow met its mark, sending the amplified Squaller to the ground.

All Fruzsi could do was stare at her lifeless allies before her attention returned to her enemy. Rage replaced the sadness in her eyes as she made a move, only for her to realize that Jesper's attack damaged her hand. Without her fingers, her abilities were useless. Nikolai was quick to move to stand beside Fruzsi and remove the safety on his pistol, drawing the Tidemaker's gaze toward him. He just stared at her for what felt like an eternity before firing, avenging Dominik's death.

Silence filled the courtyard as everyone came out of hiding. Kaz walked forward to retrieve his cane, earning a small smirk from Nikolai. "I didn't realize you were patriots."

The Brekker boy just stared at the Prince before shrugging. "Well, if you die, we don't get paid."

Before their conversation could continue, Tolya and Jens jumped over a wall and into the courtyard. The Heartrender didn't hesitate to rush toward Tamar, engulfing her in a long-overdue hug. While the siblings had their reunion, Jens made his way toward Inessa. But to her surprise, she wasn't the first one he greeted. Instead, the Nordin boy wrapped an arm around Astrid's shoulders. It was at that moment that the Smirnoff girl realized just how similar the two of them looked.

A small smile appeared on Jens' lips as he pulled Astrid closer to his side. "I see you've met my sister."

Shock replaced all the confusion on Inessa's face. "I thought your sister was dead."

"That was the idea. The Drüskelle wanted me dead. I did what I had to do to survive," Astrid explained before looking up at her brother, "I just wish you were with me in hiding. I never intended for you to suffer."

"We can't change the past, Mikaela. What matters now is that we're together again," Jens told her before placing a gentle kiss on the top of his sister's head. It wasn't long after that when his attention moved to the Heartrenders who moved to stand on Inessa's sides. The Nordin boy recognized Fedyor, but Ivan was a new face to him. However, it didn't take long for Jens to figure out who he was. "It looks like my sister isn't the only one who returned from the dead."

"The blade. Did you find it?" Nikolai asked, drawing everyone's attention toward him.

"Inej has it," Kaz responded with a hint of pride in his eyes, "they've gone to find Alina and Mal."

The Lantsov boy nodded before glancing over at his cousin, whose face was now void of all emotion at the mention of Mal. Nikolai studied Inessa for a moment before turning back toward the Brekker boy. "We have to do the same. If Kirigan brought the fight here, he's gunning for them."

"We've cleared us a way into the fort," Tolya told them while gesturing to the way he and Jens entered the courtyard. That was all it took for the small group to begin following the Heartrender and the swordsman, heading toward where they hoped they'd find the rest of their allies.

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