I stepped over a broken shield, its edge cracked like brittle ice, and the blood beneath my boots was still warm.
Corpses lay scattered across the white fields, their forms limp and twisted, fur matted in red. Wolves, warriors, friends. The wind cut through my coat, but I hardly felt it. My hands trembled as I raised them in front of me, stained crimson.
"Elias!" I called, my voice hoarse from shouting. My heart pounded like a war drum in my chest. I pushed past the bodies, scanning faces, refusing to give in to the rising fear clawing its way up my throat.
He promised me he’d return from the meeting with Magnus. He promised.
A cough echoed behind a fallen tree, followed by a weak groan.
I ran.
He lay slumped against the base, his armor dented, dark blood soaking through the fabric o
