登入I hefted the cold, rough-hewn handle of the axe.
"Nera." Someone called. I ignored them
I swung, the blade whistling through the humid, pine-scented air. Crack. Impact vibrated through my palms.
"Nera."
Again my name continued to ignore it as sweat
My dear Nera,Happy twentieth birthday.I have started this letter more times than I care to admit. There are battles I have walked into with less hesitation than it has taken me to put these words to paper. You would probably find that amusing.I do not.There are things about your life you do not know. Things you were never supposed to have to know. We told ourselves keeping them from you would protect you. For a long time, I believed we were right.I no longer do.Before anything else, I need you to listen to me.Be careful who you trust.The Seekers are not what they were when I founded them. We have grown too large. There
I hefted the cold, rough-hewn handle of the axe."Nera." Someone called. I ignored themI swung, the blade whistling through the humid, pine-scented air. Crack. Impact vibrated through my palms."Nera."Again my name continued to ignore it as sweat stung my eyes."Nera.""What?" I spun.Carlin stood several yards away, and just like that, everything I'd managed to bury beneath aching muscles came rushing back. He looked terrible; mud covered his trousers, blood stained one sleeve, and his hair was a mess. Moreover, there were shadows beneath his eyes that hadn't been there the last time I saw him.
I didn't know what to do with myself, which was the worst part. There should have been something—someone to fight or someone to chase—some outlet I could stab until the anger stopped burning beneath my skin. Instead, there was only Garret, who was dead, along with so many bodies.I stood near the edge of the ruined camp, watching two Seekers carry another covered body toward the growing line. I didn't know who was beneath the blanket, though someone surely did, and someone would eventually. As I stood there, my fingers tightened around the crumpled note in my hand.I will keep killing everyone you care about.I shoved it into my pocket. I couldn't look at it anymore."Nera?" Zin stood a few steps behind me. I hadn't heard her approach.
The smell reached us before the camp did, a mix of smoke and blood with something worse beneath both. I pulled my cloak over my nose, but it did nothing; the smell seemed to settle against the back of my throat instead. Perhaps that was why none of us had spoken for the last half mile. Even Zin.The trees thinned ahead, reminding me of riding through them the last time we'd been here. Back then, Bella had gone rigid, and Carlin had told me to stay behind him. The smoke had been wrong then too, thick and heavy, while Garret shouted orders as people ran around us before finally telling us to leave.Go.I tightened my hands around the reins as the western camp—or what remained of it—appeared between the trees."Oh, gods," Ev whispered.
“The Western Camp.” I stared at Zin.Of all the things I expected her to say, that wasn’t one of them.“You want to go there?”“I thought that was obvious.”“It wasn’t.”Zin glanced toward the camp gates. “Then I’m losing my touch.”I folded my arms. “Carlin just left with a recovery group.”“I noticed.”“He told me they’re searching.”“I heard.”“And you want us t
By the time I found Carlin again, my headache had become the least important thing in the world. The room was crowded. Seekers stood shoulder to shoulder around a long wooden table, some still wearing armor. Mud covered boots. Bandages wrapped arms and heads. One man had dried blood streaked across the side of his face, and I couldn't tell whether it belonged to him.No one spoke above a murmur. Carlin stood near the back. Ev was beside him. Zeph stood on her other side, arms folded tightly across his chest. I slipped through the doorway. Carlin noticed me immediately.Of course he did.His eyes traveled over me, probably checking that I'd managed to dress myself without falling over, before settling on my face.I moved beside him. "What happened?"
My parents sat at the head of the hall, commanding every gaze. Father’s broad shoulders filled his high-backed chair, Mother’s poise as sharp as any blade. Both wore deep green trimmed with brown. The colors of House Verden, echoing the forests that bound our lands. Father’s gaze pinned me the mome
The tea room glowed with firelight and polite chatter, silver spoons clinking gently against porcelain cups. Yet despite the warmth, my father’s cold anger clung to me like frost, coiling tighter the longer I lingered at his side. Something gnawed at him beneath that regal composure, and I
That was a clear threat. My stomach knotted so tightly I thought I might be sick. The murderous glint in Remier’s eyes almost pinned me in place. Move. I had to move. By the grace of the goddess, my legs obeyed, carrying me down the corridor toward my father’s study.Knock. Knock. Knock“Come in.”
After that tense moment, my father dismissed me with a flick of his hand, ordering me back to my chambers as though I were a disobedient child. Humiliation burned through me hotter than the hearthfires, my fists clenching at my sides as I stormed away, my footsteps snapping against the cold stone f







