Sunlight couldn't pierce the shadow of war.

Dawn broke over a battlefield already soaked in blood.

Gideon's tunnel forces had done their damage. Twenty students dead. The wine cellar entrance collapsed to prevent more infiltration. Our carefully planned defenses shattered before the real assault even began.

"Regroup at the main courtyard!" I shouted over the chaos. "Fall back to secondary positions!"

Our wolves retreated in controlled panic. Not a rout but close. Gideon's forces pressed the ...