The next letter from Alden was less formal.
More smudged.
More him.
Lila knew before opening it that this one had been written in a hurry, probably between drills, with someone yelling at him to get back to training.
She smiled before she even read it.
Camp is still intense. I can now spar with two opponents without falling on my face. Mostly.
I wanted to tell you something before Lyra hears it from someone else and makes it a festival.
There’s a girl here. Her name is Saria. She’s eleven too. She’s an Alpha heir from the northern valley.
We’re not mates or anything. We’re just… together a lot.
She beats me at strategy puzzles and says I overthink emotional responses.
I told her Mama says empathy isn’t weakness.
She said she’d like Mama.
Please tell Lyra not to start planning o
