The camp did not sleep that night.
Even after the storm finally broke apart and drifted beyond the mountains, leaving only cold mist and dripping pine trees behind, nobody truly relaxed. Fires burned throughout the settlement, casting restless shadows across muddy pathways while exhausted refugees huddled beneath makeshift shelters. Wolves moved through the camp carrying supplies, checking watch rotations, reinforcing barriers, and preparing for possibilities nobody wanted to name aloud.
The Alliance had arrived.
Not with an army.
Not yet.
Three representatives beneath a white banner.
And somehow that felt more dangerous.
Nyra stood near the edge of the command shelter, watching activity spread throughout the clearing. Her body still felt wrong. The exhaustion from healing Jarek had
