Etienne's return should have shaken the ground at Ravenshade's estate with the thunder of armored knights stepping on the soil and a hundred banners in her wake. Instead, the Ravenshade courtyard stood silent, the only sound the weary clop of a single horse. Dust clung to her cloak, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes burned with a mix of exhaustion, fury, and something Tristan had never seen in her before: fear.
When the news reached him, Tristan didn't wait for explanations. He sprinted through the halls, his heart pounding, nearly colliding with a startled servant before bursting out into the courtyard.
"Etienne!" His voice cracked with urgency as he caught sight of her sliding off her horse. "What happened? Where are the knights?"
She doesn't even look at him at first, only tugs off her gloves with trembling hands. When she finally spoke, her voice was flat, like someone trying not to scream. "Dead. All of them."
