Chapter 30: Fury at the Gates
Sophia whirled around, her heart slamming against her ribs like a caged beast. The hand on her shoulder belonged to a man in battered armor, his frown carving deep lines into a youthful face.
He couldn't have been more than twenty, with unruly brown hair spilling from under his helmet and freckles scattered across his nose like stars in a winter sky. His hazel eyes held irritation laced with urgency, but no malice, just the strain of a young man thrust into a role too heavy for his years.
"Who are you?" Sophia stammered, her voice a whisper swallowed by the chaos around them, the clank of armor, the shouts of warriors positioning on the walls.
Her curiosity, that relentless spark, refused to let her retreat. She had to know what was out there, what had turned the pack into this storm of steel and resolve.