Deep within Taymer Palace, lanterns swayed and flickered.
The corridors, once filled with the elegant flow of string music, now echoed with nothing but the piercing wail of alarms and the crackle of exploding magic.
The air was thick with the stench of burning and blood.
The intruder had come too fast, too violently, like a phantom pouncing on its prey in the dead of night.
"Stop him! Activate all rune traps! Guard Team, form up! His target is the Princess—do not let anyone near her residence!"
Annabelle's voice was raw, but she struggled to maintain her composure and authority.
The Lady Chief, usually meticulous in her management of Taymer Palace's internal affairs, now had her hair in disarray, her elegant uniform stained with dust and splatters of blood.
She gripped a Short Staff inlaid with a small Energy Storage Crystal.
