*Shadow Pack Borderlands ---- Night*

Greenwood's runners had returned with grim reports, and Shadow Pack's scouts swore they saw Elira's sigils burned into the snow.

Luca tightened the straps on his bracers. Beside him, Thalia sharpened her twin blades on a whetstone. Sparks flickered in the dark between them.

"You are grinding too fast," he said without looking up.

She didn't pause. "Maybe you are too slow."

A few warriors nearby exchanged wary glances and ...