Nymera’s POV
We left at first light.
Twelve of us, cloaked in gray and red, riding fast through the last fringes of the dying forest that surrounded Hollowfang. The plan was simple: scout the Ashen Wastes before the army moved. Confirm if the old legends were true.
And if they were… find him.
The one Astra served. The one who marked me.
I kept my head low, my thoughts tighter. No one spoke much. Even Kaelith, usually quick to cut tension with a joke or jab, was quiet. Dain hadn’t said a word since we crossed the river.
I rode beside him anyway.
Every so often, I caught him looking at me. At the crescent scar burned into my shoulder. At the way my eyes flickered gold when I wasn't thinking about it.
I hated the way he looked at me now.
Like I was both weapon and weakness.
By the t
