Chapter 15 The Fire That Follows

• They moved before dawn.
• No horns. No banners. No war cries to shake the trees. Just boots in mud, breath in fog, and the sound of fate drawing closer.
• Kael rode at the front, armor dark as coal, the sword at his hip no longer a relic but a promise. Behind him, the resistance moved like a shadow—silent, sharp, ready. They had no kingdom behind them. No gods to bless their march. Just a prince once cursed and a girl with fire in her hands.