CHAPTER 30:
Dawn broke pale and grey, the sky streaked with thin, wispy clouds that drifted slow and low over the treetops. The house woke early, voices low and steady, no shouting, no panic, just the quiet, purposeful rhythm of people who knew what they had to do. Torin sat at the kitchen table when I walked in, a mug in his hands, speaking in low tones to Knox and Liam, maps spread out between them, their fingers tracing lines across worn parchment. He looked up when I entered, nodding once, respectful but not deferential, like he already understood we were equals in this fight.
“We were just going over the patrol routes,” Knox said, pushing a second map toward me. “Torin knows every trail, every hollow, every hidden camp for fifty miles in every direction. He says there are three more
