Wren flinched hard when the gate guard's spear scraped against stone, and Talyn caught her elbow gently before she could bolt.
"You're safe here," Talyn said. "That's just the changing of the watch."
"Everything makes me flinch right now," Wren admitted, forcing her shoulders to relax. "I keep expecting more of them to appear."
They'd ridden hard for two days since the village attack, exhaustion and fear both etched into Wren's young face by the time Dustbridge's gate finally came into view. Kane met them personally, his expression softening with concern the moment he registered how shaken she looked.
"You're Wren," Kane said, keeping his voice deliberately gentle. "I'm Kane."
"I know who you are," Wren said, some of her earlier defiance returning despite her exhaustion. "The reason a
