Nobody spoke for a long moment after Bellan said it.
"Solenne," Gad repeated. "You want to walk back into the place that destroyed everyone I knew."
"I want you to survive what's coming," Bellan said. "There's a difference."
Kestrel pushed through the group, having listened from the edge of the clearing. "You're all talking about a suicide run to enemy ground like it's a simple errand. Vesk knows this bloodline matters now. He'll have men watching those ruins."
"He might," Doran said. "Or he might assume nobody's foolish enough to go back."
"That's not reassurance."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Mira crossed her arms, eyes on Gad rather than the argument circling around them. "Before anyone decides anything, I want to know what happens to the rest of us. The people who just lost their ho
