Ottilie yanked her horse to a dead stop at the ridge overlooking the village, and her stomach dropped at what lay below.
"They're already here," Ottilie said, voice tight.
Talyn pulled up beside her, scanning the scene fast. Concord fighters moved through the village with disciplined ease, no urgency in their posture, the kind of calm that only came from a location already fully secured.
"No fighting," Talyn said. "No resistance visible. They took it clean."
"Or they were already here before the main force even arrived," Osric said grimly, studying the positioning. "A smaller advance team, positioned in secret, waiting."
Senna, dismounting to check on Wren, found her staring down at the village with visible horror. "That's her cottage. The one with the blue door."
"We need to confirm
