Rylan grinned, sharp and real this time. "I've got a few ideas involving fire and narrow passes."
Lila tugged my sleeve. "We fight together?"
I knelt so our eyes met. "Always. Our family stands as one. That's the part they'll never understand."
Thorne reached out and patted my cheek with a sticky hand, as if sealing the promise. Elara copied him from Rylan's arms, both of them watching me with complete faith. That trust settled deep in my bones, stronger than fear, stronger than rage.
I rose and faced the north again. The horizon looked the same as yesterday, yet everything had changed. Columns of enemies marched toward us carrying ancient hatred and a ritual that demanded my babies' blood. They believed the curse belonged to them by right.
They were wrong.
