The Fated Series
Ashes at Dawn
The smoke still hung over Crescent when dawn broke, a gray veil drifting low across the hills as if the Moon Goddess herself had lowered her head in mourning. The air stank of burned timber and blood. Wolves patrolled the perimeter, some limping, some barely upright, but all stubbornly clinging to their duty. Crescent’s once-proud courtyard was now a triage yard. Blankets, makeshift cots, and the faint copper tang of spilled life covered the stones that only yesterday had been scrubbed for wedding preparations.