CHAPTER FORTY-TWO DefeatThe parting with Sorrel proved harder than I imagined. So many others had just disappeared, leaving me without a physical shell to grieve over. I tortured myself as the city buried its dead outside the walls. The remaining warriors dug through the snow for days before finding soil. I retained Kuiti’s chamber and mulled over the past weeks, pacing through the night and rejecting the help of maids who arrived in the restored uniform of Forlornn. Their attitude proved less hostile with their change of colours and they seemed eager to please. I sent them away, lighting the fire from supplies left outside the door and shucking human contact.
The room felt empty without Sorrel and Lily’s constant bickering. I wasted no time on tears, but felt utterly lost and without pur
