Early that morning, Medea left the palace with her cloak trailing behind her as she walked towards the barracks. The air was cool and crisp, and the sky was a soft shade of gold and pink.
Zarpha's streets were busy with the sound of merchants setting up their stalls, kids running through the alleys, and the steady beat of soldiers' hooves on cobblestones as they moved through the city.
But none of that mattered to Medea. Her mind was fixed on one thing: the barracks.
She had heard the soldiers of Zarpha were well-trained, and she wanted to see them in action for herself. Not because she doubted their skill, but because she wanted to know where they stood compared to her own expertise.
And if war was coming, as Adrian suspected, then knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the army could be crucial if they were to be allies.
