The road was hard beneath our boots, frozen earth that cracked with every step. The air carried the sting of late winter, sharp enough to bite the lungs. Kody walked ahead, his stride clipped and alert, while his eyes scanned the trees like he expected trouble behind every trunk. Paul kept to my left, steady and broad, his silence as solid as the ground itself. We had left the valley before dawn, carrying little but knives, cloaks, and the weight of what we were going to do. Eryndor was not an easy man to find, but rumors had a way of carrying when it came to him. We followed them like threads across miles, two towns, three taverns, and half a dozen whispers. The last one was right. Darlith was a worn-down place, stone streets lined with smoke-stained timber, the air heavy with the smell o
