The final days before the operation felt like an eternity. Camilla couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to change—something larger than the battles they had fought or the orders they had followed. Every conversation, every strategy meeting, had revolved around the same thing: victory. The Citadel's forces were preparing to strike at the heart of the insurgents' last stronghold. There would be no more negotiations. No more truce. The Senate had made their demands clear.
But something felt different to Camilla. The air inside the Citadel felt charged, as if a storm was looming on the horizon, and it wasn't just the war that was coming to a head. It was her relationship with Aiden. The bond between them—though unspoken—was palpable, even in the quietest moments. Every glance,
