The camp fell silent when Ivy and Kael rode through the gates.
They were supposed to be dead.
Instead, they returned side by side—alive, glowing with a power that made even seasoned warriors take a step back.
But something in the air had shifted.
Even before Ivy stepped into the war tent, she felt it.
Whispers.
Eyes that looked away too quickly.
Tension thick enough to taste.
Ember met them at the council table.
Her expression was pale, tight.
“You need to see this.”
She dropped a scroll onto the table. Blood-specked, half-burnt, written in old dialect.
Kael leaned in.
“It’s a war directive,” Ember said. “From within our ranks.”
Ivy frowned. “What do you mean?”
Ember turned the scroll.
“Someone here… someone on our side… has been feeding the Vampire Queen our positions for
