The sky bled red over the ridge.
Wolves lined the stone path with stiff spines and narrowed eyes. Every guard on duty was armed, even those Kael usually trusted with nothing but their teeth. The tension snapped in the air like pulled wire.
The Veyne banner flapped in the wind—a black sun splitting open over a white crest.
They were here.
Kael stood beside me on the cliff ledge, his face carved in steel. Unmoving. Cold.
“They didn’t bring just warriors,” Dren muttered behind us. “They brought an army.”
I could see it.
More than two dozen riders crossing through the dark line of pine. Not scouts. Not envoys.
An execution squad.
A tall man in armour with gold trim rode in front. His long, dark hair had silver streaks in it now, and his jawline was sharper than I remembered.
My fath
