Seraphine's POV
The “Double Bend” looked exactly like it did on the map: two stone ledges, a shallow, pebbly channel between them, alder trees above. The plan was simple. Archers in the trees. Interceptors waiting in two narrow side cuts. Cassian on the ridge. Darius farther back to oversee everything. The signal would be two short whistles—then the trap would close around the “Fox.”
I watched from the inner bridge with two guards and the healer beside me. My injured shoulder no longer hurt, but my stomach was tight.
“You can see everything from here,” one guard said. “If he gives the call, you pull back. Understood?”
“Understood. I’m not stupid.”
Below us, Cassian moved his people with quick hand signs. Darius stood half in cover; from the side I could see the hard line of his jaw. H
