Chapter 31 ;- The Oath of Exile
Dawn did not rise gently over Ironfang,It peeled back the night like a wound.Mist clung low to the courtyard stones where blood had dried in dark constellations. The air still carried the metallic weight of battle. No one had slept. No one had truly rested. At the center of the courtyard, Lyra knelt, she didn't bow. she was not broken, just contained. Her wrists were bound in silver-threaded restraints not because she trembled, but because she did not. Her spine was straight. Her chin lifted. Her ash-blonde hair tangled by wind and war. Inside her, Leah stood awake and pacing. Do not lower your eyes, Leah murmured. Lyra didn’t. Ironfang’s warriors formed a wide circle around her blades lowered but within reach. Not fearful.Watchful. Eryx’s body was gone. Returned to the forest edge
- Writer
