Chapter 161

Author POV

The first death did not announce itself.

There was no scream, no struggle, no blood spilled across stone. One moment the northern sentry stood watch beneath the Moon, alert and breathing. The next, he was on the ground—eyes wide, body untouched, life gone as if it had simply been taken back.

By the time the alarm sounded, the Moon was already high.

Caleb arrived first. Kaia was only a step behind him.

The healer knelt beside the body, hands shaking as she pressed ...