Chapter 86

• Tessa's POV:
• Dawn had barely begun to touch the horizon when the silence broke, low growls rumbling in the distance. Not from enemies. This time, they were different.
• I turned slowly, blood still drying on my skin, my breath catching as dark shapes approached through the woods. They came without sound, seven in total, cloaked in deep gray robes, faces partially masked in silver. Their eyes glowed faintly with ancient magic, and the moment they stepped into the courtyard, the very air bent around them.