Chapter 80
- The fortress wore silence like mourning cloth.
- Rain had ceased before dawn, but the sky still hung heavy and colorless. Mist clung to the ramparts, weaving through the banners until the wolves embroidered there looked like fading memories. The pack moved quietly through the courtyards—too quietly. Conversations ended when Ariana passed; even those who bowed did so without meeting her eyes.
- She felt it all—the uncertainty, the unease, the way the air itself seemed to vibrate with waiting. They had heard the rumor already: Wind’s Pack is marching south.