Amara’s POV
Three days have passed since the trial.
Three days of patrols at the edges of Blackthorn territory, moving through shadowed forests thick with old magic and older grudges. The warriors assigned to my unit do not speak to me unless necessary, and their silence is caution, not cruelty.
I recognise it.
I once wore it myself.
“Movement,” one of them murmurs.
We freeze instantly.
The forest breathes around us, leaves whispering as moonlight filters weakly through the canopy. My senses stretch outward without conscious effort, awareness sharpening until every sound is a blade against my skin. There… a ripple too deliberate to be wind.
Rogues, they are not in a pack, they are definitely a scouting group, testing boundaries and hunting weakness.
The warriors tense, hands tigh
