The world was still burning when dawn broke.

A thin veil of smoke rolled across the Moonshadow valley, turning the rising sun into a pale disc of blood-red light. The air reeked of ash and iron. Every step on the scorched earth whispered with the ghosts of the fallen.

Inside the healer’s hall, the silence was thick enough to smother breath.

Bella stirred before her eyes opened. Her body felt heavy, carved from stone and ache. When she finally blinked against the dim light, ...