Sera's POV
The battle ended as suddenly as it began.
One moment, we were fighting—blades clashing, wolves howling, blood spraying across the snow in arcs of crimson. The Arbiters had regrouped after our flank attack, forming a desperate circle, fighting with the strength of those who knew they had nothing left to lose. I'd been locked in combat with a massive wolf, his blade seeking my throat, my sword barely holding him back.
The next moment, he was gone.
Not dead. Not fallen. Just... gone, running with the others, streaming back through the pass like the cowards they were, leaving their dead behind. The remaining Arbiters broke all at once, their discipline shattering like glass, and suddenly the battlefield was filled with the sound of retreat.
The silence that followed was deafeni
