Chapter 28 – Embers in the Fog
The mist was gone—but it left behind a silence that clung like frost to the bones.
On the blackstone walls, Valtor's claws gripped the battlements, his eyes sweeping the treeline with slow, brutal precision. No movement. No sound. Only the ragged breathing of his soldiers and the faint hiss of torches reigniting, their flames weak against the lingering dread.
"Hold your lines," he barked, voice hoarse but firm. "No one moves until I say."
Below, the men obeyed without question, shields raised, eyes darting between one another as if waiting for the mist to return.
Kaela crouched lower, golden eyes narrowed to slits. Her daggers were still slick with black blood, but her body had gone unnaturally still—like a predator frozen mid-stalk.
"It's too quiet," she whispered.
Lilith stepped forward, her boots silent on the stone, cloak trailing like smoke. Her crimson gaze roved the edges of the warding runes, lips tightening as she traced the cracks spidering through their glow.
"They hit the wards hard," she muttered. "Stronger than before. The next time... they may not hold."
Angela's voice rose, small and uncertain, from behind. "What... what was that thing? The one with the eyes?"
Lilith didn't answer immediately. Her fingers hovered over a rune, tracing the scorch marks left by dark magic. Finally, she murmured, "Not a beast. Not a soldier. A message."
Valtor's tail lashed the air once, sharp and agitated. "And the message is clear. They're coming again."