Dawn broke slowly over the horizon-the light was a thin, pale thing as if loath to touch the very ground soaked in blood. We stumbled back to the fortress, limbs bruised and souls stretched to breaking. The weight of what we had done—and what was yet to come—pressed heavily upon us all.
Chris was waiting at the gates, his injuries forgotten in his insistence to see us return. His face lit with relief when he saw me, but it quickly hardened when he noticed the blood on my armor and the exhaustion in my eyes.
"You're alive," he said, his voice thick with a mixture of relief and reproach. "Barely."
I tried to smile, but my knees nearly buckled under the release of adrenaline. He steadied me, his arms powerful despite his own weakness.
"I'm fine," I stammered, though even my ears didn't believe me. "We accomplished everything we came here to do. Blackwood's camp is thrown into chaos. Their siege engines are destroyed. One of their mages is dead."
"One," Chris repeated, searching my eyes. "And the others?"
"Still out there," I said, my voice grim. "But we've bought ourselves some time. They will move slower, be less coordinated. It's not a victory, but it's an opportunity."
Chris was the one who led me to a bench by an inner courtyard, where healers swarmed over us. Tarek had a laceration right across the ribs, Rynor had his shoulder smashed on one side, and Lira's arm oozed blood because of a graze that narrowly missed the arteries; however, we lived. Miraculously, we returned.
As the healers labored over us, Sir Alden approached, his gilded armor catching the weak morning light. He passed by us and cast a look of no discernible emotion over us before speaking.
"You've done more than I thought possible," he said, voice carried with hard-won respect. "The Blackwood Legion will be furious. We can expect retaliation."
"Let them come," Rynor growled, voice rough but defiant. "We'll cut them down like we did last night."
"No," I said, my voice firm despite my weariness. "That's exactly what they'll expect. They'll regroup and come at us stronger, angrier. We need to stay ahead of them."
Sir Alden frowned. "What are you suggesting?"
I met his gaze, unflinching. "We need allies. Reinforcements. Supplies. The southern provinces are too far, and even if they answer, it might be too late. But there's another option."
His eyes narrowed. "The Wraithwood?"
A chill seemed to settle over the group at the mention of the accursed forest that lay to the north. Tales of the Wraithwood went back as far as the kingdom itself: a place of ghostly hurrahs and lost souls, where no man returned unchanged.
"You can't be serious," Chris said, his voice sharp with disbelief.
"I am," I said, my voice firm. "The Wraithwood is closer than any other ally. They say there's a tribe that lives on its edges—warriors who have survived the dangers of the forest. If we can get them to fight with us, it'll be a game changer. "
"And if the rumors are wrong?" Sir Alden asked.
I hesitated, the weight of the risk very apparent in my mind. "Then we've wasted time we do not have. But inaction is a greater risk. Blackwood's forces are too strong for us to face alone. We need aid."
The silence that followed was oppressive, each one weighing the gamble.
"I'll go," Lira said suddenly, her voice quiet but resolute. "If there's a chance-any chance-we can find help there, we have to take it."
"I'm going too," Tarek added, though his face was pale from blood loss. "I know the northern trails better than anyone."
Chris looked at me, his eyes fierce. "You can't go. You're barely standing. If something happens to you—"
"That's exactly why I have to go," I interrupted. "If something happens, the Wraithwood will need someone who knows how to lead."
"I'll lead here," Chris said, his voice unyielding. "I may be injured, but I can still command. You go to the Wraithwood. But promise me you'll come back."
His words were so heavy, I could feel them settle over me like a shroud. "I will," I said, though uncertainty in my heart made the words sound like a lie.
By midday, the plan was set: Sir Alden would oversee the defenses, Chris would rally the remaining troops, and I would lead the expedition into Wraithwood.
I stood atop the fortress walls, looking out across the scarred battlefield, preparing to leave. The marks of the last battle were still fresh, but the looming threat of the next one was already casting its shadow.
"We're walking into the unknown," Lira said, joining me at the wall. "You really think the Wraithwood holds the answers we need?"
"I don't know," I said. "But if we don't try, this war will swallow us all."
She nodded, her eyes drifting away. "Then let's make it worthwhile."
With the sun setting below, sending the world to bathe in golden amber and red, we ventured off in the direction of the Wraithwood, the road before us shrouded in gloom and laced with peril.
And yet, in the face of hopelessness, hope became our momentum.