The Gathering Tempest
The communicator went silent, but Julius's words burned in my mind. "I killed her myself. Serena is dead." I stood in the council chamber, my hands steady. No trembling. No fear. Just a cold, hard certainty that had been building for months. Years, even. I was done running. Done hiding. Done losing people I loved. I walked out of the chamber, my steps measured. The settlement was quiet, the people asleep. They didn't know what was coming. But I did. And I was going to stop it. --- I found the survivors at dawn. They gathered in the main hall, their faces filled with fear and exhaustion. There were fewer of them now. So many had been lost. But those who remained were still fighting. I looked at them, at the faces of my people. They were tired, beaten, but determined. They'd come so
- Writer
