Astrid
The journey back was nothing like the one that brought me here.
I wasn’t fleeing. I was leading.
The wind howled over the trees, but it didn’t bite me like before. Now, I walked wrapped in warmth and steel, a wolfpack of Yormsborg blood trailing behind. My cloak, black as midnight, billowed behind me like a shadow-given form.
The gate of Yormsborg creaked open like a sigh of relief, and the city breathed again.
The guards dropped to one knee. The nobles who once whispered in corners lowered their heads. Word of what happened in Castleburg had travelled faster than I had—blood always carries news. And mine had been spilt, avenged, and raised on a pyre of power.
When I entered the great hall, the scent of home hit me.
But it was Sebastian’s scent I searched for.
Freydis rushe
