The moon hung heavy over the battlefield.

Blood stained the grass beneath our feet, and the cold wind carried the distant howls of wolves already fallen. Behind me, the camp stirred, warriors armoring up, healers whispering frantic prayers, and the scent of steel, sweat, and fear blending into one thick cloud of urgency.

But I stood still.

Because tonight wasn’t just a battle.

It was a reckoning.

The war Thad had promised was here.

And my heart beat for more than just survival.

...