Chapter 24 The Attack 2

• Lucas knelt amidst the ruins of Dellwyn, his hands pressed against the cold, broken cobblestones, his forehead almost scraping the jagged stones beneath him. The village was a graveyard of smoke and ash. The scent of burnt wood and charred flesh hung thick in the air, mixing with the coppery tang of blood. His chest tightened with grief as his gaze swept over the remnants of what had once been a home—a place of laughter, of warmth, of his grandmother’s presence. All of it lay in ruin, trampled under the cruelty of Maelrik’s army.
• For a long moment, Lucas remained still, head bowed, unmoving. The devastation around him mirrored the turmoil within. Eleven years of training in the spirit world, years of mastering his abilities, years of preparing for vengeance, had brought him here, yet it could not shield him from the raw emptiness of loss. yes, Lucas is now 22 years old when this tragedy struck him. Mirna, his grandmother, the only family who had truly nurtured him, had been torn from him. Her death was a wound that cut deeper than any blade. His mind replayed her final moments—the way she had fought, standing fearless against impossible odds, her eyes alight with defiance. And now she was gone, taken by Maelrik’s cruelty, leaving Lucas with nothing but rage and despair.
• All of sudden, a sound begin to shatter the silence. boots crunching against debris. Lucas’s gaze lifted, eyes narrowing through the haze of smoke. Maelrik approached, flanked by the kingsmen, their armor black as night, their presence exuding power and menace. The man’s expression was one of triumph, twisted with the satisfaction of a predator confident in the demise of its prey.