The ride back to the capital was silent.
No one spoke.
There was nothing to say.
The village—what had once been a village—was lost. Not burned, not raided, but something worse. Consumed. Zenia had found a way to take entire populations and turn them into something… other.
And it wasn’t just the people.
The land itself felt wrong, the soil twisted, the air thick with a lingering energy that sent a cold shiver down Caroline’s spine. She had faced Zenia before, had fought her, had let her go, and now—
Now she understood.
Zenia hadn’t disappeared.
She had ascended.
And she wasn’t hiding anymore.
She was waiting.
For them.
For her.
Caroline’s grip tightened on the reins of her horse as they neared the city gates. The capital loomed ahead, its towering walls casting long shadows ove
