Axel
The halls of our stronghold echoed with the sounds of suffering, a chorus of groans from those who had borne the brunt of battle. A miasma of sickness was in the air, a sinister reminder of the destruction that had swept through our home.
There, against the wall, I lay on my bed, my skin slick with perspiration. Jeremiah kept vigil at my side, deep in contemplation. A heavy silence hung between us, the sort that often follows the tumult of war, crackling with the tension of unsaid things.
A harsh truth clawed at my throat. "I've failed them—my people, my warriors," I confessed, the drag of my last cigarette punctuating the gravity of my words. "We would have been wiped out if not for the Weevuna's timely intervention. Xavier played a deadly game, cutting us off from our allies. No
