The fortress courtyard became a hospital.
Wounded wolves everywhere. Healers running between bodies. Blood staining the snow.
Riley moved through it all in a daze. Helping where she could. Holding hands of the dying.
"You're the queen," one young wolf whispered. Barely seventeen. A gash across his chest. "You saved us."
"I brought you into this," Riley said, her throat tight.
"You gave us... a choice." His hand gripped hers. Weakening. "That's worth... dying for."
He went still.
Riley closed his eyes. Gentle. Reverent.
How many? How many had died for her revolution?
"Riley." Scarlett's voice. Urgent. Scared.
Riley looked up. Scarlett never sounded scared.
"It's Noah."
Riley ran.
Noah lay on a makeshift table. His chest torn open. A massive wound. Too much blood.
"No, no, no—"
