The mountains around Silver Crest got weirdly quiet after midnight. No horns. No warriors running drills. Not even a single alarm in the distance. Just cold wind twisting through the trees while moonlight washed over everything.
But deep down, something about that silence felt off. Heavy. Like it was waiting for something.
Liana stood at her window, staring out at the shadowy woods just beyond the walls. Kael’s promise kept echoing in her mind, over and over:
Anyone who wants you… will go through me.
The words unsettled her way more than they really should’ve. Thanks to their bond, she could sense he meant it—every single syllable. Kael wasn’t bluffing, or making some dramatic speech. He’d fight the whole continent if he had to.
Strangely, that prospect scared her more than the actual
