Dawn broke like a dull blade over the ruined square. The first pale light crept across broken stones, glinting off pools of dried blood and the shattered fountain where Kael’s chained had sworn themselves to him. The air was thick with silence, the kind of silence that clings after s*******r, where every shadow seemed to hold a memory of screams.
Kael stood at the edge of the fountain, cloak stirring in the faint breeze. His gaze was fixed eastward, where the Broken Men had fallen beneath his hand. His eyes burned crimson still, faintly glowing in the gray light, and deep in his chest the shard pulsed, slow and steady, as though savoring the aftermath.
Behind him, his followers collapsed into the square like revenants returning from battle. Their clothes were torn, their faces smeared wi
