Chapter 17
They left before dawn.
Only six of them.
Elira. Kael. Two elite scouts. An old healer. And Arin is the youngest Moonblood tracker in a hundred years.
They traveled in light, cloaked in black and silence.
Because the capital wasn’t just a ruin anymore.
It was occupied.
The Hollow Eye’s Territory
By noon, they had reached the shattered outer wall of the capital.
Once a proud city of glass towers and spirit-fire lanterns.
Now it reeked of blood and burnt stone.
Banners bearing the Hollow Eye swayed from broken watchposts.
No guards.
No visible patrols.
But the shadows moved.
They slipped inside quietly, led by Arin.
Every step deeper into the capital felt like stepping into a grave.
The buildings groaned.
The wind whispered with a thousand mouths.
And beneath th
