Roxie's POV
Tor did not sleep that night. None of us did.
I watched him in the courtyard while the strike team loaded their gear into the dark. He moved the way he always moved—quick, easy, sure—but the easiness had gone out of his hands. He checked his blade three times. He did not joke once. The boy who had filled every room he entered with bad humor had become a quiet, careful man with a single purpose written behind his eyes, and that change frightened me more than any dragon had.
I went to him. There was so much I wanted to say. *I'm sorry. It wasn't rogues. Your family deserved better. So did you.* But Tor saw all of it coming and shook his head once, gently, before I could begin.
"Don't, Roxie." His voice was soft. "If you say it kind, I'll fall apart, and I can't fall apart to
