The fortress never slept that night.
Warriors moved silently through the halls, sealing exits, locking down gates, carrying messages only to those Kade trusted. The air was thick with anticipation, and every flicker of torchlight felt like the calm before a storm.
I stood with Kade in the strategy room, the map of the fortress spread before us. His hand traced the eastern wing where Rhys had been killed.
“Maelor thinks we’ll stay on defense,” Kade said. His jaw was set, his voice low and sharp. “He thinks we’ll panic.”
I nodded. “So we show him he’s wrong.”
His eyes flicked to me, storm-blue and intense. “We need him to act first. We lure him into revealing himself.”
“And how do we do that?” I asked.
Kade leaned over the map, pointing to the east corridor. “We spread a rumor. Tell h
