The deafening sound of galloping hooves filled the air as a battalion of knights thundered toward Kaiya and Liam. Their armor glinted under the stormy sky, swords raised, ready to strike.
Kaiya's breath hitched. "Liam, move!"
Liam grabbed her wrist, yanking her into a sprint just as the first arrow sliced through the air, embedding itself in the ground inches from where they had stood. The battlefield stretched endlessly ahead, warriors clashing in a blur of metal and blood.
"This is insane!" Liam shouted over the chaos.
Kaiya's mind raced. If they didn't find a way out, they were going to die in a war that wasn't even theirs. But before she could think of a plan—
A knight cut off their path, dismounting his black warhorse in one swift motion. His golden eyes locked onto Kaiya with a terrifying intensity.
"You," he said, his voice deep and commanding. "You do not belong in this time."
Liam stepped in front of Kaiya instinctively. "And who the hell are you?"
The knight removed his helmet, revealing dark, tousled hair and sharp, regal features. "Prince Adrien of Valtheris," he said. "And you just stepped into the most dangerous night in history."
Kaiya's stomach twisted. She knew that name.
Prince Adrien—the lost heir of Valtheris. The one who disappeared the night his kingdom fell.
But he wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be dead.
A sudden chill ran through her veins. If he was alive… then something was very, very wrong with time itself.
Before she could say another word, another voice rang out across the battlefield.
"Well, well," Zane's unmistakable smirk carried through the air as he emerged from the shadows, holding the Paradox Chronicle in his hands. "Looks like we have a paradox to fix."
Kaiya's blood ran cold.
The game of time had just gotten deadlier.