The Deep Ones came from the east like a silver tide.
Thousands of them. Their eyes burned with cold light, their hands crackled with the Deepening's power. They marched in silence, their feet trampling the fields that had taken decades to farm.
Elara stood on the wall, watching.
"How many?" James asked.
"Too many to count."
"We have two thousand defenders. Maybe three."
"It's not enough."
"It never is."
---
Taylor stood beside her daughter.
"The Deep Ones who stayed—the ones who chose the changed void—they'll fight with us?"
"They've already taken positions on the north wall."
"Can we trust them?"
"They chose hope. Same as us."
Taylor looked at the silver tide.
"Hope is fragile."
"Hope is all we have."
---
Kaela stood at the gate.
She was seven years old. Her grey eyes w
