(Caspian's POV)
The blizzard thinned our line of guards. Some fell behind; the rest rode with their heads down and ice crusted over their cloaks. Days passed before black spires appeared through the snow.
We slept in turns beneath overturned shields, following the pull I remembered from the severed tether. Food froze inside our packs. Two horses went lame, and their riders continued on foot.
The Vampire King's castle stood behind an iron-bound gate.
“Halt.” My guards stopped beside me and reached for their weapons.
I removed my armor instead. The Hero Alpha crest landed faceup in the snow. I dropped the sword that had killed a thousand shadow beasts beside it.
My guards had carried that crest through every Ashford victory. One reached for the sword before it fell, then stopped when h
