Sasha’s Pov
The village still smoked not from fire, but from the aftermath.
The kind of heat that lingered in bones, not buildings. Though no flame had touched Gryewatch’s stone walls, the people stared as if I’d scorched the place with my very breath.
And maybe, in a way, I had.
The Hollow King was gone, his form dissolved into fog and ember, but his shadow hadn’t left. It clung to the soil, sank into the roots, pressed into the silence like soot woven into skin. The world hadn’t exhaled yet. Neither had I.
Alex stood beside me, his hand clutching mine tightly, the other resting near the hilt of his blade, ready, tense. The steady weight of him kept me grounded.
Then... hooves.
Distant, but thunderous. Steady as a war drum.
Metal struck dirt. Armor rattled.
Commands, barked in cl
