The lanterns along the Silverfang Hold's battlements flickered to life as dusk settled into night. Zephyr Ardent stood at the crest of the outer wall, primer scroll strapped to his side and gauntlet humming with readiness. Below him, hybrid scouts threaded through the shadows, their forms barely discernible beneath a cloak of warded moon-fern smoke. The Bloodwolf felt the charge in the air—tonight would test the very bonds that had held their Healing Accord together.
He turned to Rook, her amber eyes reflecting lantern light. "Harbor Paws Medical Bay," he murmured. "They struck twice; this third attempt will push us to breaking."
She nodded, tightening the straps on her blade sheath. "We'll be ready."
They descended the spiral stair, joining Rennan and Corin in the courtyard. Elara waited beside the coach that would ferry the defensive wards and supplies. Corin's holomap hovered between them, overlaid with ward grids and patrol routes. "We've layered Covenant resonators, Court memory wards, and Pack glyph barriers," he said. "Any ripple in the nodes will trigger an alarm here at the Hold."
Elara handed Zephyr a handful of moon-crystal chips. "Plant these at every access point. They'll amplify your Hemaleth pulse and alert us instantly to corruption."
The procession moved out in silent columns: hybrid scouts in front, the coach bearing wards in the middle, and Covenant healers at the rear. The streets of Aurex Bay lay quiet, save for distant the tugboats and the soft murmur of the tide. Only the occasional glint of a ward crystal or runic lantern marked their passage.
As they approached the shelter's gated entrance, Zephyr dismounted and pressed his palm to the iron lock. The Binding Glyph beneath his skin pulsed in affirmation, and the gate slid open soundlessly. Within, the shelter's staff—already briefed—stood ready to reinforce the wards around the treatment rooms. Rook and a squad of scouts fanned out along the corridors, while Rennan led a team to the roof.
Zephyr felt Corin's hand on his shoulder. The young researcher's eyes were bright with expectation. "Your signal's good. Wards are holding."
He offered a grateful nod. "Let's begin the sweep."
Their first pass revealed nothing amiss: wards intact, node sealed behind reinforced glyphs, medical supplies untouched. A tense calm settled over the bay window overlooking the harbor, where shipping containers gleamed under floodlights. Then Rook's sharp call echoed from the children's wing: a ward crystal had flickered—too briefly to be windblown, too distinctly to be a trick of light.
Zephyr sprinted toward her, followed by Rennan and a pair of scouts. Outside the wing's double doors, hemaleth residue stained the stone floor. Footprints—small, deliberate—led down the corridor toward the isolation wards. The ward crystal lay shattered in fragments at the threshold.
Elara appeared at his side, gauntlet raised. "They bypassed the outer wards," she said. "I'll withhold the healing wards here—let darkness chase them."
Zephyr pressed a finger to the fragment, sensing its lingering echo. He whispered the purge incantation, and the fragment's glow dimmed into harmless ash. "They know our layers," he growled. "Time to force them into the open."
They moved as a single unit down the corridor. Malfunctioning lights splashed jagged shadows across broken benches and overturned carts; a lone nurse's satchel lay unzipped in the hall. As they neared the main treatment hall, the hush was broken by a distant clang—metal striking stone—and the low growl of someone closing in.
Zephyr turned a corner into the bay-lit room and found two figures crouched by the node amplifier, their faces hidden beneath dark hoods. One reached for a control panel while the other prepared a vial of tainted blood. Before they could react, Rook's blade swept out: the attacker froze, a silver arc grazing his cheek. Rennan tackled the second, crushing the vial under his armored gauntlet.
Zephyr advanced on the first figure. "Show yourself."
The hood fell back to reveal Mira, the young healer he had once interrogated in the Council Chamber. Her eyes flashed with desperation and shame. "I—I thought… I could help my brother survive."
She held up the vial—now empty—and Zephyr felt his anger coalesce into sorrow. Mira's motives had been personal, born of love twisted by fear. "You've already poisoned this place," he said quietly. "But you can still make amends."
She dropped to her knees, tears shining. "I'm sorry."
Zephyr nodded to Elara. With a soft chant, she restored the final ward over the node. Its hum steadied. Elara turned to the others. "Contain her gently. We'll decide her path in the Council."
Rook and a pair of scouts bound Mira's wrists with ribboned wards. Rennan checked the node's seals. "No further breaches. But the third strike was almost our last."
Corin approached with the lead Covenant healer. "The patients are safe. Tainted blood was never introduced. The Accord held."
Zephyr exhaled, relief mingling with fatigue. He picked up a shard of the shattered ward crystal, weighing it in his hand. Each fragment a reminder that vigilance must never wane.
Outside, dawn's first light crept through the shelter's windows. Zephyr addressed his companions in the hushed glow. "Three attacks, three betrayals—Moonfall, Nightshade, Harbor Paws. All tested our unity. But we stood together."
Elara laid a hand on his arm. "And we will stand again, should any ember of deceit survive."
Rook sheathed her blade. "Let's bring Mira back, so she learns to channel her devotion to healing, not desperation."
Zephyr nodded. "Tonight's embers have been quenched. But the Accord grows stronger for every test."
As the sun rose over Aurex Bay, Zephyr looked toward the Silverfang Hold on the distant hill—its walls reborn in resilience and hope. The Bloodwolf turned, the primer scroll at his side, ready to write the next chapter in the ever-burning promise of blood and moon united.