Zander turned to him fully. “Send First Guild to create a perimeter around the city. Crownwatch will maintain order. From this moment forward, the village is under Crown Law. Lock it down—restricted movement and business suspension until further notice. Anyone trying to leave without approval gets detained.”
The major nodded again. “I’ll alert the commanders.”
The tension crackled between them—less about authority, more about the reality of every life hanging in the balance.
Before Zander could say more, a shadow fell across the stone path. My sister’s footsteps were soft, but her presence commanded notice. Veyna moved with a wary grace, still thinner than she should be, but stronger somehow in her quiet resolve.
“I heard the commotion,” she said, her voice calm but serious. “You’re preparing for war.”
Zander gave a curt nod. “We don’t have a choice.”
Veyna’s lavender eyes shifted to me. “Then I’m going with you.”
“No,” I said quickly, turning to Veyna. “You’re too weak. You haven’t even recovered from the last?—”
A voice cut through the thick tension behind me. “Are you going to introduce us, or do I have to guess who the brooding girl is?”
I spun around. Solei stood with her arms crossed, daggers at her hips, her honey-blond hair braided down her back, eyes cool and calculating.
Veyna’s gaze sharpened. “Who is she?”
I exhaled slowly. “This is my sister.”
Veyna blinked. “Our mother had no other children.”
I winced. “Solei’s father adopted me when I was sold. She taught me to fight. To steal. To survive.”
Solei’s expression softened slightly, though her eyes never left Veyna’s. “She was mine before she belonged to anyone else.”
Veyna regarded Solei for a long, quiet moment, something unreadable flickering across her features. “I see.”
I stepped between them slightly, my voice dipping low. “Why are you here?”
“Cyran sent me.” Solei’s tone was blunt. “We offer assistance.”
Zander and Major Ledor stiffened nearby.
“It appears any alliances the Crimson Sigil made were just smoke and lies. They’re killing anyone who won’t bow to their banner… or the Blood Fae.”
Veyna looked up sharply. “Even their own?”
“Especially their own,” Solei said.
Zander’s eyes met mine, grim understanding written across every sharp line of his face.
This wasn’t just war. This was extermination.
“What of your people?” I asked.
Solei’s face was pale beneath her sun-worn skin, but her voice was steady. “Order members are being assassinated in every town now occupied by the Crimson Sigil. Those that haven’t been killed have gone into hiding.”
My gut twisted. “What about the Varnari?”
“They’re being slaughtered,” she said without flinching. “Cyran believes the Varnari were a tool—a ruse. A convenient way to gather anyone with magic, get them to rise up against the crown. Now that your own people have turned on each other, the continent is ripe for invasion.”
“And Theron is suspiciously absent,” I muttered, my voice as bitter as ash.
Solei nodded, her eyes shadowed. “He isn’t with the enemy forces. I’d know.”
