The dawn came sharp and cold, the kind that cut through armor and bone alike. Mist hung heavy over the fields, a ghostly shroud that dulled the horizon and muffled the sounds of the waking army beyond the walls.
Kael stood upon the battlements of the western wall, cloak snapping in the biting wind. His crimson eyes scanned the hazy expanse. He could feel it—the tension, the quiet before a storm. The enemy wasn’t retreating; they were shifting. Preparing.
Below him, the defenders of the Hollow moved with the uneasy rhythm of exhaustion. Armor clinked. Orders were barked. Fires burned low in iron braziers as the soldiers warmed their hands, their faces pale from sleeplessness. The night’s infiltration had left everyone raw.
Lira climbed the stone steps to where Kael stood. Her hair was ti
