The scent of war arrived before the soldiers did.
Thorne stood on the northern watchtower, arms crossed over his chest, wind tugging at the long braid down his back. Below, the forest was alive with motion. Birds fleeing west. A silence in the underbrush that only meant one thing—predators were near.
Behind him, the Academy buzzed with preparation.
Not drills. Not games.
This was real.
Steel was sharpened. Wards reinforced. Every trainee was summoned, even those too young to know the taste of blood. Aria stood at the center of it all, heart steady, voice calm. Every time someone looked at her, they saw not the girl who’d lied her way into the Academy—but the warrior who’d earned her place.
“You should rest,” Kade said, handing her a waterskin as the sun dipped behind the trees.
“I d
