LOGINThe first morning that truly feels like ours arrives without ceremony, sunlight spilling through the high windows of the packhouse in long gold streaks that do not carry tension with them, and I wake to warmth instead of anticipation, to quiet that does not ask to be tested.For a moment, I do not m
The days after the agreement do not rush forward, they unfold carefully, like something fragile that has chosen to exist and is waiting to see if it will be allowed to last, and I let them move at that pace instead of forcing momentum simply because I am used to it.Peace is not loud.It does not an
“He will not breach our lines under agreement, and we will not breach his.”“And if he does,” someone calls.“We respond united.”Silence follows, but it is not uncertain. It is grounded.“Trust did not fracture,” I say. “Because it was chosen.”The words settle deeper than strategy ever did. This w
The morning after the accord does not feel triumphant, it feels deliberate, and I wake before dawn out of habit rather than urgency, lying still while the bond hums calm and even instead of tight and braced. There is no flare. No runner. No distant howl testing our perimeter. Just wind moving throug
His gaze sharpens.“You could have rebuilt through alliance.”“I do not share power.”“That is why you fail.”The words land clean and unflinching.A low ripple passes through his ranks.He hears it.He sees it.“You think you have won because you held a few lines,” he says.“No,” I reply. “We won b
I wake before the sun rises, not because of noise, not because of movement, but because the pressure feels different this morning, and for the first time in weeks it does not feel like something building, it feels like something narrowing.Endurance cracks eventually.Varik carved that into our fenc
BEN POVYou know, after having my heart broken I told myself that I was never going to fall in love again. I was determined that I wasn’t going to get my heart stomped on again. My mother always told me that I fell in love way too hard. And I never saw a problem with that. Not until Ellen met that
LILLY POVWhen we got to the helicopter pad, Justin was already waiting for us and we got on board and found our seats before we put on our equipment and we lifted off. We always had to have a senior with us whenever we went on a mission and this time it was Justin. Even though he’s only 25. He’s n
“Alright. Let’s just walk away from her.” Ben said, grabbing my arm and pulling me down the other end of the hallway. She had no right to accuse me of being a traitor. I’ve been so loyal to the Hunters and it’s all I know. I lived with people before I came to the army base, but I wasn’t with them f
The following morning we had breakfast at the usual time and then Justin wanted us all to meet him in the shooting gallery. Ben and I were walking behind all the others but we weren’t holding hands this time. We weren’t really allowed to fraternize with each other. It was one of the big rules arou







