Sera's Pov
The days after the battle passed in a blur of ash, blood, and silent grief.
Lucian and I barely rested. There was always another name to record, another body to bury, another wounded wolf crying out in pain or fear. We worked alongside the others, sleeves rolled up, hands covered in earth and blood. We carried the broken. We cleaned the bloodied. We stood in the shadows of the fallen.
It was the least we could do.
Each grave we filled reminded me that Velka had to be stopped. Kael too. The weight of two weeks' absence pressed heavy on both of us. The fortress had endured, barely, but the cracks ran deep. No one said it aloud, but I could feel it—some of them had nearly given up. The king gone. Their warriors scattered. Their trust fraying.
So we worked with them. Ate with them. Rebuilt with them.
We reminded them we were here now.
