Ashenveil buried its dead, and after that there was a strange emptiness that no one seemed prepared to face.
This was the part Vael had never been warned about. She had spent six weeks locked into preparation for conflict. Every move, every calculation, every alliance had been shaped around war. She had built the trap, guided a kingdom through tension, read the enemy’s patterns, and ultimately ended a force that had hunted Ashenveil for two long years. She had been ready for battles, strategy, and sacrifice. What she had not been ready for was the morning after it all ended the silence that followed when there was nothing left to defend against, nothing left to brace for.
Ashenveil felt that absence deeply.
For two years, the kingdom had revolved around danger. The constant watch along
