The gates of the Exiled Lands had never been this quiet. No orders being shouted, no footsteps on stone, not even the breeze moving through the courtyard.
Just hundreds of warriors standing behind Kael, armor catching the cold morning light until it hurt to look at. The air was heavy, it sat on my chest like a weight. Everyone knew what was coming, we could feel it in the way no one was talking.
The Moon Temple had arrived. I stood beside Kael, staring at the army waiting beyond the gates, their armor reflected the sunlight until white spots danced in my vision. Their shields were carved with ancient moon markings, the same ones Elara had shown us in the hall, traced in silver and old blood.
They didn’t look like rescuers, they looked like hunters. Patient, waiting, and somehow, with th
