The war room was colder than usual, or maybe that was just my blood running ice at the thought of what Gideon was planning.

I spread maps across the table, marking every village in the eastern territories. Fifteen settlements. Maybe two thousand people total. Most of them families of students currently trapped inside the academy walls.

"He's going for maximum psychological damage," Caleb said, placing red markers on the most vulnerable villages. "Hit the families, make the students choose ...