The days after the battle were a time of reckoning.
Wounded healed. Dead were mourned. Stories were told and retold around fires, of bravery and sacrifice, of loss and survival. The alliance held, strengthened by shared blood and shared grief. Warriors who had once been enemies now sat together, sharing meals and memories. The valley slowly returned to life.
But beneath the surface, secrets stirred.
Elara noticed it first—the way Sera's eyes would dart away when certain topics arose, the way she tensed when mountain tribes were mentioned, the way she fell silent whenever the past was discussed. At first, Elara dismissed it as trauma, as the natural reaction of someone who had lost everything. Sera had seen her people fall, her brother turn against her, her world crumble. Of course she w
