Mary Ann’s POV
The northern settlement looked different from the reports.
On paper, Hollowbrook was a collection of damaged farms, weakened roads, and food shortages. The figures told me how many families needed grain, how many planting beds had failed, and how much timber would be required before winter.
The reports did not describe the silence.
They did not explain how people stopped talking when our vehicle entered the settlement. They did not show the blackened walls of homes that had been burned during the recent border clashes or the children standing barefoot beside broken fences.
Kylian glanced toward me as the driver slowed near the central square.
“You are quiet.”
“I am looking.”
“At what?”
“Everything the reports missed.”
He followed my gaze toward a roofless house nea
