LOGINChapter 137 "No."Elara looked up from the map."You're not sending that many soldiers.""I have to.""To the coast?""Yes.""The capital won't have enough left to hold if you do."We'd been arguing for nearly an hour.Neither of us had moved.The coastal signal had gone dark minutes after we'd learned the enemy was moving.Now, every decision felt like it was already too late."If the capital falls, the war is over," I said."If the coast falls, we lose more than territory."Elara's voice sharpened."We lose every pack that trusted us enough to send warriors there. Ashfall. Bramhollow. Renwick's people. I spent weeks convincing them we wouldn't abandon them the moment it became inconvenient.""And if the coast is exactly what they're using to pull us away from here?"She fell silent.She didn't have an easy answer.Neither did I."Send limited reinforcements," I said. "Keep the main force near the capital and border.""And when the coastal defenders send word that they can't hold?"
Chapter 136 "They'll attack the border again," a commander insisted, tapping the map. "We hold, we reinforce, and we finish what we started.""They already tested the border once," another countered. "Why walk into the same wall twice?"I stepped closer to the table."If you were attacking us, would you hit the strongest point twice?"Silence.Nobody had a good answer.Torin leaned over the map."They tested our response times. How quickly the packs coordinated. How fast Ren's scouts exposed their positions.""They saw exactly how we fight," I said. "And then they withdrew before committing anything close to their full strength.""So they're regrouping to hit us harder," the first commander argued."Or that was never the plan."Evelyne stepped forward, a bundle of reports in her hands."You're assuming the border wasn't the objective," someone said."I am.""What else would it be?"She spread the reports across the table."Their supply movement doesn't match a force preparing for a
Chapter 135 "We held the border."Torin fell into step beside me.I looked at him."How many didn't come back?"He hesitated."Still counting.""Then let's count faster."A commander approached with a report already in his hands."We need to reposition the eastern units before""Not now."He stopped."I want to see the wounded.""My Lady, the strategic situation""Can wait."I looked at the report in his hand."Names."His expression changed."I want the wounded treated, and I want the names of everyone we lost."He nodded."Yes, Lady Elara."The infirmary tents smelled of blood and burnt herbs.Healers moved between cots, carrying bandages, water, medicine.Somewhere nearby, someone was crying.I tried not to listen.I failed.A warrior with his arm bound in bloodied cloth recognized me and attempted to sit upright."You don't need to stand," I said quickly.He ignored me."We held."His voice was weak but proud.I looked at the bandage."At what cost?"He didn't answer immediately.
Chapter 133 "You came."Renwick was standing before I'd even finished crossing the threshold."I said I would.""That's already more than the last king did."The words landed harder than they should have.I had prepared an opening for this meeting.A careful speech about unity.About the Hollow Court.About the coalition we were building.I let all of it die before it reached my mouth."I came to listen."Renwick studied me."Then listen well."He gestured toward the chair across from him.Neither of us sat."Your coalition sounds impressive from the outside.""It's growing.""My people have heard impressive promises before.""What happened?"His jaw tightened."We held the western gate for six days."I waited."We were told reinforcements were coming."His voice remained controlled.But something underneath it wasn't."They never came.""How many were promised?""Six hundred soldiers."He looked directly at me."None arrived."The silence that followed felt heavier than the number i
Chapter 132 I was packing for Thornwood when the first messenger arrived."They've requested a meeting," he said.I looked up."Thornwood?""No."He hesitated."Bramhollow."I blinked."They contacted us?""Yes.""Why?""Word traveled from Ashfall."I stared at him."How many?""Three packs so far. All asking to speak with you."Three.It wasn't an army.It wasn't even close.But it was something.That didn't mean they trusted me."Maybe not," the messenger said, almost as though he'd read my thoughts. "But they want to hear you."That distinction mattered more than he knew.Bramhollow's Alpha didn't waste time."How many warriors can the crown actually provide?""Enough to matter. Not enough to make you dependent on us.""Who controls battlefield decisions on my territory?""You do.""And if we lose?"I held her gaze."Then we lose together."Her expression tightened."You're not asking for loyalty.""I'm asking for coordination. Intelligence. Mutual defense. Nothing more than what
Chapter 130 "What happened?"Kael was already crossing the room toward me."I need everyone to hear this.""Are you hurt?" Torin asked."No."I looked around the room.Kael. Yssa. Evelyne. Torin. Ren.Every face was waiting."But I saw something I don't think I was supposed to see."Kael stopped in front of me."Another vision?""The same one."I swallowed."Only this time, I saw more."Evelyne straightened."Did it show the enemy's next move?""No.""An attack?" Torin asked."No."I looked at Ren."Something about the First Moon Queen."His expression changed immediately."And the Hollow Court."The room went still.Yssa was the first to speak."Tell us everything. From the beginning."I closed my eyes, searching through the fragments."She was fighting it. The darkness. The manifestation whatever the Hollow Court actually is."I opened my eyes again."I assumed she won because she was powerful enough to defeat it.""And?" Kael asked."That wasn't how she won."Silence."Then how?"







