Lucian's Pov
The stench of smoke clung to everything.
I moved through the ruins of the fortress like a shadow—slow, aching, half-alive. Every step felt heavier than the last. The fires were out now, or most of them, leaving the air filled with the bitter scent of charred stone and scorched bodies. Blood painted the courtyard. Some of it was ours. Some of it was theirs. All of it was too much.
I wiped my face with a bloodied hand and didn't bother to check if the blood was mine. The exhaustion was starting to throb behind my eyes. I had seen too much today. Done too much. Lost too much.
Kael wasn't among the dead we buried.
His body had been taken away, respectfully, by Corin and Sera. I hadn't gone with them. I couldn't. My hands were still shaking from the battle, from what he'd done, from the fact that none of us had expected it. That betrayal had turned into sacrifice. It still didn't feel real.
