Chapter 19: The Siege of Shadows
The first thing Kairo noticed was how wrong their footsteps sounded.
Varik’s soldiers emerged from the pools of vision-water, but their boots didn’t splash—didn’t even leave ripples. They were half-real, half-nightmare, their armor a shifting lattice of black metal and smoke. Wolves padded beside them, eyes pale like a winter moon.
The air tightened. Even the hunter that had led Kairo here bristled, lowering its head.
Kaelen’s voice was a low growl. “Those aren’t living.”
“No,” Lysandra whispered. “They’re bound souls. War shades. Pulled from the memories of the dead.”
Seris flexed her bowstring. “Perfect. Not creepy at all.”
The First Clash
The lead shade stepped forward, a towering man in spiked pauldrons, helm shaped like a snarling wolf. “The Al
