Leaving my old pack was harder than I thought it would be, but at the same time I felt like that chapter of my life was over. The bonds of shared struggle, of survival etched into every scar, had frayed when I chose a different path. As I rode beside Caspian, his hand occasionally brushing mine, and leaving tingles all over my skin, I clung to the truth that this ache was also a bittersweet beginning. The wind carried the scent of pine and something sweeter, promise, perhaps, as we journeyed toward a life I could barely imagine.
By dusk, the horizon shifted, and Caspian touched my cheek.
''Welcome to Sammah, your new country.''
I smiled and looked back out the widow. Two stone watchtowers loomed like sentinels over a border we'd crossed, and a village sprawled beneath us, its thatched r
