~Under the Northern Sky~

ELRICH

A week after the lock of hair arrived, the keep felt both armored and fragile. We doubled the patrols until officers blurred into one another. Sentries stood at every gate, torches flaring into the night like a shameful attempt to hold back the dark. Still, Eira would not be hidden. She moved through the halls with the same calmness she had at the naming, wrapping her cloak tight but lifting her chin so the whole place knew she was still here.

“You can’t ...