Lahat ng Kabanata ng THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate : Kabanata 41

~ RAE’S POV ~Mara sat beside me, wrapped in her cloak, her hood pulled low. “You sure this is the right place?” she asked, pointing at the valley ahead.“Yes,” I said. “It matches what the courier described.”Below us, the settlement stretched between two ridges. From above, it looked like a scatter of dark roofs and pale smoke. Wooden walls surrounded part of it, uneven but strong. People moved through the snow, carrying tools and firewood.“It doesn’t look broken,” Mara said.“Not anymore,” I murmured.When we reached the first gate, a young guard stepped forward. His face was red from the cold, his breath visible. “Who goes there?”“Rae of North Ridge,” I said. “Healer, sent by the council.”The boy blinked, then nodded quickly. “We were told to expect you. I’ll fetch the overseer.”We waited near the gate. The cold bit at my fingers, but my heart was steady. I had imagined this place a hundred times — the border where everything had once fallen apart. Seeing it rebuilt made somet