Aria’s POV.....
The smell of blood clung to the air long after the last scream faded.
The celebration fire had burned down to embers, leaving only smoke and ruin. The courtyard that had been filled with laughter only hours ago was now scattered with bodies — some still, some groaning in pain. The rogues and vampires had withdrawn at dawn, vanishing into the forest as suddenly as they had come, but their mark remained everywhere.
I stood in the middle of it all, the cold morning breeze carrying ash through my white hair.
Kaelen barked orders to his warriors, his voice calm but heavy. “Secure the perimeter! No one leaves until every wounded is accounted for!”
Kael and Matilda moved among the fallen, checking pulses, helping the healers. Maya my friend limped beside them, her arm bandage
