"You've seen it before," Liam said.
"During the last war. We never got this close—our forces were broken before we could attempt an assault on the capital." Her golden eyes were distant with memory. "I watched thousands die trying to breach just the outer wall. By the time we retreated, we'd lost two-thirds of our army and gained nothing."
"We won't retreat," Liam said.
"No," Lilith agreed. "We won't. Because we can't. There's nowhere to retreat to."
She was right. They were a hundred and fifty miles deep in enemy territory with four days of supplies and an exhausted army. Retreat meant slow death by starvation and harassment. The only path was forward.
Victory or extinction.
No middle ground.
"Tell me you have a plan," Lilith said. "Please tell me you have something more sophisticated than 'charge the walls and hope for miracles.'"
"I have something more sophisticated than that," Liam said.
"How much more sophisticated?"
"Enough to maybe work."
"That's not reassuring."
