Chapter 1 Attacked

Brianna’s POV

The garden looked like something pulled from a dream.

Golden lanterns lined the winding paths, their warm glow dancing across polished stone and delicate glass while laughter drifted lazily through the evening air. Music floated from the center of the courtyard where warriors and guests were still celebrating the tournament.

I walked beside Ryder with my hands clasped loosely behind my back, taking in every smile, every conversation, every child weaving through the crowd. Beside me, Ryder moved with the same quiet awareness that never seemed to leave him. His posture had relaxed, but his attention hadn’t. His eyes continued sweeping the gardens, the walls, the rooftops, and every person within sight.

I nudged his arm. “You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself, not planning for the next battle.”

A faint grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. “I am enjoying myself.”

I laughed. “No, you’re conducting a security inspection disguised as a walk.”

“I can multitask,” he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. His smirk lingered, but his gaze drifted toward the outer gardens again.

That was Ryder. He never stopped watching. He noticed the things everyone else overlooked. It was also why he was usually right.

Tonight, was different. It felt peaceful.

The illusion shattered without warning. A deafening roar split the night. Not thunder. Not anything nature had ever created. The explosion ripped across the palace grounds with enough force to shake the air itself before the shockwave slammed into us, sending the earth trembling beneath my feet.

I grabbed Ryder’s arm on instinct. “What the…”

His head snapped toward the perimeter before the words even left his mouth. “Princess.” Every trace of amusement vanished from his face. “Get inside.”

Another explosion answered him from the opposite side of the palace.

The ground lurched harder this time, vibrations racing through the stone beneath us while screams erupted throughout the gardens. The celebration dissolved into chaos.

Guests collided with one another as they scrambled in every direction. Warriors shoved civilians toward the palace while others drew weapons, searching desperately for an enemy they still couldn’t see. Too many voices. Too much movement. No clear direction.

“Ryder…”

He stepped in front of me before I could finish. “Go.” The single word came sharp and immediate. “Get to the palace.”

Elite guards closed around us almost instantly, forming a living shield while the crowd continued breaking apart around them.

I searched beyond their shoulders. Something moved. Then something else. Dark shapes slipped between the trees lining the outer gardens before disappearing again. More movement followed. Too much. Far too much.

“Princess.” The warning in Ryder’s voice dropped lower. More dangerous.

Then the tree line exploded. Wolves poured through the broken perimeter like a flood bursting through a dam, crashing into the palace guards with enough force to send bodies flying. Growls and snarls drowned out the music while steel collided against claws in every direction.

Not one attack. Not two. We were being hit from every side. Completely surrounded.

Panic swept through the gardens as civilians fled while others shifted in the middle of their escape, instinct taking over where reason no longer could.

“Elara…”

She was already moving. Cass and Atlas reached her at the same moment, placing themselves between the attackers and the fleeing families without hesitation. 

“We need the women behind the inner line!” Atlas shouted. The order barely left his mouth before another group smashed through the defenses and charged directly toward us.

“Shift.” Zia’s voice carried absolute certainty. “Now.”

There wasn’t time to argue. The first wolf lunged. Cass and Atlas shifted simultaneously, their lycans erupting into the battle with terrifying force. Massive bodies slammed into the attackers, stopping the charge almost instantly before driving them backward with brutal efficiency.

Ryder remained in human form. Black claws extended from his fingertips as he launched himself into the fight, moving so quickly the eye struggled to follow him. Every strike landed exactly where he intended. Every movement flowed seamlessly into the next.

No hesitation. No wasted effort. Only precision.

Behind the front line, Elara raised both hands as ancient magic gathered around her. The air rippled before crashing into the advancing wolves, buying precious seconds for the guards to regroup.

It wasn’t enough. More wolves kept coming. Too many. Too fast. I didn’t hesitate. The shift tore through me as Zia surged forward, sharpening every sense until the battlefield came into perfect focus. I could hear every heartbeat, smell every trace of blood and smoke, track every movement across the gardens.

Another explosion rocked the palace.

Closer. Stone cracked beneath our feet while debris rained across the courtyard.

“They’re trying to divide us!” Cass shouted.

“They already have!” Atlas answered.

The enemy pressed harder. Then I saw Ryder stumble. One wolf crashed into his side while another raked claws across his arm. He dropped the first before he could recover. The second came from behind. Its claws slashed across his face. Everything inside me stopped.

The battle continued. The screaming continued. The explosions continued. But none of it reached me.

Heat exploded through my chest with such force it stole my breath. Zia went silent. Not because she was afraid. Because she was waiting.

The ground beneath my feet began to tremble. Not from another explosion. From me.

I stepped forward. Then drove my foot into the ground. Power answered. The stone beneath the battlefield shattered in every direction as deep fractures ripped through the gardens, splitting the ground beneath the advancing wolves before erupting upward with enough force to throw bodies through the air.

For one impossible heartbeat… Everything stopped. Then fire awakened. Flames burst from the fractured earth, racing through the cracks in blazing waves before rising into towering walls that cut directly through the enemy ranks.

The heat barely registered. Because the wind had already answered. It roared through the gardens, lifting shattered stone and broken branches into a violent storm that drove the attackers backward.

Water followed without command. Moisture gathered from the night itself before crashing outward in razor-sharp bursts that struck the advancing wolves and turned solid ground into treacherous mud beneath their feet.

The elements didn’t answer one after another. They moved together. Earth. Fire. Wind. Water. Four forces flowing as though they had always belonged to one another. As though they had always belonged to me. Power flooded every part of my body. Wild in strength. Perfectly controlled.

“Brianna.” Elara’s voice carried across the battlefield. Not in warning. But In recognition.

Cass’s lycan tore through another attacker while Atlas adjusted the defensive line around the wall of elemental power now protecting the gardens.

Ryder stepped to my side, blood running down one side of his face, his claws still extended and his eyes fixed on the enemy.

A slow grin crossed his face. “That,” he said, “wasn’t exactly subtle.”

I met his gaze without looking away from the battlefield. “I wasn’t trying to be.”

His grin widened. “Good.”

Because the enemies were still coming. And somehow… I knew this wasn’t the battle that would decide everything. It was only the beginning.