Louis’s POV…..

The pool was supposed to be empty.

That was the entire point.

I’d waited until the sun climbed high enough that most warriors would be on patrol or buried in reconstruction work. The camp had settled into a rhythm lately—hammering, hauling, arguing, healing. Noise everywhere. Movement everywhere.

I needed quiet.

I needed water.

The natural pool sat hidden beyond a curtain of willow trees, fed by a slow underground spring that kept it cool even during the ...