Chapter 56 The Ashes

• The scent of ash still lingered in the wind, but the smoke had cleared.
• The castle courtyard buzzed with labor. Stone was being hauled. Walls were being patched. Villagers and guards worked side by side, sweat-drenched and tired but determined. The damage left behind by the attack was extensive, but not unhealable. Not when fire hadn’t won. Not when they had risen from it.
• Espen stood barefoot in the grass, hair swept up in a loose braid, her sleeves rolled past her elbows as she directed a group of workers toward the cracked southern gate. The curve of her lips was soft, but her gaze was sharp, commanding. Regal, in a way that made Mikko's heart kick in his chest.