The night was thick with anticipation, the kind that crawled beneath your skin and refused to settle. Over the Lockwood estate, the wind howled like it carried the warnings of ghosts. Inside the great hall, silence stretched thin, too fragile to last.
Valentina stood in front of the map-lined wall, her fingers tracing the red string that connected the faces and files of the enemies they’d marked. Her eyes, tired but burning, scanned for any weakness in their design. Adrian entered without a sound, the weight of the past days evident in his hardened expression.
"He’s not going to wait," Adrian said quietly. "If we stall any longer, we risk giving him the upper hand."
Valentina turned, locking eyes with him. "Then we strike before dawn."
Zora, having returned from the southern front, ste
