Damien’s POV….

The air before war always felt heavier than the battle itself.

It clung to the lungs. Sat on the shoulders. Made every breath deliberate.

I stood at the front of my troops as the last of the safe-pack convoys vanished beyond the wards. The land beneath my boots trembled faintly, a constant reminder that the world itself was being wounded somewhere far beyond our sight.

My warriors stood in perfect formation—rows upon rows of hardened fighters, armor strapped ...