Shadow Slave

The Lost entered the inner sanctum of the Night Temple — its very heart — and bolted the heavy doors behind them. As soon as they did, a field of glowing runes flashed for a moment on the dark wooden surface, and then disappeared without a trace.

Sunny glanced at the door with a frown, but didn't say anything.

Cassie had never been to this part of the Citadel, so neither of them had any information about what was inside. The area was not too large, but right below them was the main bell tower of the cathedral, which was taller and wider than the other six belfries.

The two Masters led their people through somber corridors to a spacious hall that seemed to serve as their current stronghold. There were guards keeping watch in front of the entrance, crates with food and water, a fireplace keeping the cold at bay, and makeshift bedding for people to sleep on.

Just from looking at the number of cots, Sunny understood that not everyone had returned from their latest hunt... or whatever it was that the sentinels had tried to accomplish.

All in all, twenty-three Lost remained, some of them heavily wounded. With Pierce, Welthe, and the two of them, there were less than thirty humans left to oppose the mad prince. That meant that in several weeks, Mordret had eviscerated more than two-thirds of the temple's defenders.

Remembering how confident Master Welthe had been in their ability to contain the prisoner at the start of all this, Sunny couldn't help but shake his head.

...Mordret turned out to be more lethal and terrifying than even his jailers had expected.

The wounded were quickly tended to, and the Lost fell on their cots, dead tired. A few went through the familiar motions of maintaining the camp — cooking food, distributing water, and doing other miscellaneous tasks. Everything was performed swiftly and with trained precision, proving once more how experienced and professional these people were.

They were obviously fatigued, both mentally and physically, but not nearly as beaten and unsteady as Sunny had thought. Their spirits were not broken... perhaps because only those with the strongest wills had survived.

The Lost wore either armor made out of leather or dull steel that didn't give off reflections, and even made sure to store and drink water from opaque containers, not letting a

the familiar female

wish to see

led to a separate room, where Pierce and Welthe were waiting for them behind a

and, after waiting

that can be used as a mirror inside the inner sanctum… or outside of it, if you wish to live. You will not conspire against your fellow soldiers or tell a single soul about

Cassie glanced at each other,

then looked at

possession of that piece

leaned forward

to us, boy! You won't

pretended to look at him with

couldn't lie even if

told the tale of how he had encountered the Mirror Beast on the

as well as explain how he had managed to defeat such a dangerous abomination, he shared the detail about using the flaw of his own Aspect against the

a

of his Reflections managed to escape, after all. To

hesitated, then