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Chapter 68: The Black Harvest
The smell hit them first.
It drifted across the Wards with the wind—sweet at first, like burning resin, but heavy enough to curdle the stomach. By the time the rebel scouts stumbled back to the station, their eyes were wild, their skin pale.
“They’re not killing them anymore,” one choked out, trembling so violently Mira had to grip his shoulders to keep him upright. “They’re taking them.”
Dante was already on his feet. His chest still burned with the spiral mark, but adrenaline dulled the pain. “Taking who?”
The scout’s eyes rolled. “Spiralborne. Every stray, every sleeper we’ve hidden—they’re rounding them up. And not just soldiers. Children.”
The room went still. Aria pressed her hand against the wall, her breath shallow. “I felt it in the lattice
