The battlefield had been reduced to smoldering shadows, the air heavy with ash and the metallic sting of blood, but in the heart of Hollow Mountain, in the chamber where Lisa’s cries had echoed moments earlier, there was a silence so profound it seemed to banish the chaos outside.

Lisa, drenched in sweat and with her hair plastered to her temples, lay cradling the small bundle against her chest. Her usual sharp tongue was absent, her fierce wit softened by something far more powerful. Raw ...