Chapter 16 The Gathering Storm

• The road to Noctaris was scorched.
• Charred trees lined the path like grave markers, their blackened arms twisted skyward as though mourning the fallen. The scent of ash and blood still clung to the air, and the once-glorious fields that surrounded the capital had turned to a battlefield of ruin. Elara rode beside Kael in silence, her fingers clenched around the reins of her steed as the weight of the kingdom’s collapse pressed heavier with every passing mile.
• Kael’s jaw was tense. His golden eyes swept over the destruction, each detail carved into memory with grim precision. Though his armor bore the scuffs and cracks of battle, it was his silence that revealed the deeper wound.