21 Stark

Alerted by Meryn’s mental call, Stark, Noemi, Venna, and their direwolves rush to a clearing where a deserter soldier holds Saela at knifepoint. Dozens of Killian-loyal soldiers emerge, boasting allegiance and rejecting a woman’s rule. Meryn tries to negotiate, asking for restraint, but the men respond with insults and threats.

As the shadows thicken with Meryn’s rising anger, Stark closes in. After another taunt, Meryn abandons diplomacy and orders Stark to finish them. Stark kills the hostage-taker instantly while Meryn shields Saela with Phylax magic and Noemi adds a second barrier. The direwolves—Cratos, Anassa, Skaia, and Ephyse—surge in, and Venna and Noemi position to protect Meryn and Saela.

Stark unleashes impelling blasts and twin blades, cutting down attackers as the wolves maul fleeing soldiers. Venna strikes from the shadows, and Noemi maintains the protective perimeter while fending off advances. The skirmish ends within minutes in a massacre, with Cratos crushing the final soldier.

When the shields drop and light returns, Saela’s eyes dilate and fix on the blood-soaked dead. She breaks free of Meryn’s grip, moves with unnatural speed, and falls upon a corpse, devouring it with feral hunger. Venna and Noemi recoil in horror; Noemi’s expression shows fresh betrayal, revealing a new fracture within the group just as the external war escalates.