CHAPTER 28:
The sun climbed high above the treeline, but it did not feel warm. It cast long, pale light over the field we had fought so hard to hold, illuminating the cost of our victory in stark, unflinching detail. Bodies littered the grass—some theirs, some ours. The air smelled of iron, burnt earth, and the sharp, bitter residue of dark magic that lingered long after the Hollow had shattered. I stood at the edge of the clearing, knees weak, my hands still trembling from the effort of holding that shield, watching the others move through the wreckage. There was no cheering. No celebration. Only the quiet, heavy work of counting the dead and tending to the wounded.
Kael walked up beside me, his step slower than before, his face pale and drawn. The mark on his chest was still visible th
