The closet doors burst open.
They screamed at the top of their lungs like banshees being murdered. The noise made by two people who had fully accepted that they were about to die and wanted the entire fortress to know about it.
He let out a shout of his own, stumbling backwards. Whatever he had expected to find in his closet, two screaming women clearly wasn't it.
Serena's hands found a travel bag on the floor, and she flung it at his face with all her strength.
He caught it. A pure reflex.
He looked down at it. Then looked back up only to find an empty closet.
He dropped the bag and spun towards them, immediately reaching for the massive sword strapped to his back. Serena and Elara were already mid-sprint, halfway across his chambers.
He lunged. They split in opposite directions. Elara ran left. Serena ran right. The room was large enough that this actually worked for about four seconds.
