KAEL
Riven’s laughter rang out in the clearing, small and bright, like sunlight poking through clouds that had overstayed their welcome. She clutched a flat stone in her tiny hand, tossed it in the air and caught it with the ease of someone who had played it a hundred times before.
I tried to match her smile, but my heart was somewhere else entirely. Even the trespassers we had caught the night before, were still locked up in prison awaiting my final decision.
Morning in camp was never really quiet, but today, it was, because of what happened to Zane. The smell of wood smoke clung to the air, mixing with the damp earthy smell of soil that had seen too much rain lately.
Inside me, was a different kind of storm.
Zane’s pale and unconscious face was still burned into my mind. The weight
