When the fort came into view, chaos was the only word that fit.

  The gate had been breached. Cain, Jenna, and Illara were locked in combat at the opening, desperately holding the line. Only seven guards remained standing.

  Joan lay slumped against a nearby tree, an arrow buried in her shoulder and another in her leg. She wasn’t moving.

  Four other guards lay scattered across the ground, their faces horribly melted away, bone visible beneath ruined flesh.

  Drisnil walked forward slowly, Percy’s severed head held high.

  “I’ve killed Percy,” she shouted. “Surrender now and you’ll live!”

  The guards at the breach turned toward us.

  One of them roared and charged.

  When he closed the distance, Drisnil hurled Percy’s head straight at him. Instinctively, the man dropped his sword and caught it.

  That moment was all she needed.

  Her rapier shot forward and pierced his forehead.

  He was dead before he hit the ground.

  Drisnil turned to the remaining guards.

  “Anyone else feel like dying today?”

  The last of them hesitated only a moment before throwing down their weapons.

  Cain and Jenna quickly stepped forward to gather the surrendered swords.

  No one from our camp was cheering.

  No one even looked relieved.

  The silence struck me as strange.

  I took control of Drisnil’s body again. Wrapping a bandage around my leg and arm to help prevent the wounds opening again.

  Stepping around the fallen guard — and Percy’s severed head — I walked back toward the fort. A small smile began to form despite everything.

  We survived.

  Illara suddenly ran from the gate and disappeared back inside the fort.

  I blinked in confusion.

  Wouldn’t she be happy to see me?

  Had I done something wrong?

  Cain and Jenna were already binding the surrendered guards and forcing them inside the fort. Neither of them acknowledged me as I passed.

  That felt wrong too.

  Inside the walls, the damage became clearer.

  Several more guards lay dead in the ditch outside the palisade, bodies tangled among the sharpened stakes.

  The children were huddled together inside one of the tents, clutching spears with white knuckles. Their eyes were wide with terror.

  The thought struck me then — if the guards had broken through completely, we would have expected children to fight.

  The idea made my stomach twist.

  I scanned the camp.

  The ground was littered with arrows.

  Faie sat near the fire pit, staring at the cold ashes, her shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

  “Faie,” I said quietly. “Are you alright?”

  She looked up at me.

  “You really need to talk to Illara.”

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  Then she looked back down into the dead fire.

  I found Illara near the far side of the camp.

  She was crouched beside a body.

  Sera and Ash stood nearby, watching in silence.

  I took a few steps closer.

  And then the truth struck me.

  Illara.

  A body.

  There was only one person missing.

  Theo.

  His lifeless form came into view.

  Two arrows protruded from his chest — one buried deep in his stomach, the other through his heart.

  His eyes stared blankly upward.

  Illara sat beside him, quietly sobbing as she held his hand.

  Sera spoke softly behind her.

  “He stepped in front of me,” she said. “To protect me.”

  Her voice trembled.

  “I don’t think I’d still be alive if he hadn’t…”

  Ash wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

  I placed a hand gently on Illara’s shoulder.

  She stood immediately and threw her arms around me, sobbing into my shoulder.

  Tears welled in my eyes.

  Theo — the boy I had watched grow from a na?ve teenager into a devoted father — was gone.

  Now he lay in the dirt.

  His final act had been protecting Sera.

  I gently released Illara. As much as I wanted to stay with her, there was still work to do. I needed something to occupy my mind.

  I walked back out toward the battlefield and began checking for survivors.

  I started with the guards in the ditch. Their wounds were clearly fatal, but I climbed down anyway, giving each body a light kick to check for movement.

  None responded.

  Next were the men with the melted faces. Their eyes were glassy and lifeless, half their features burned away to bone.

  I chose not to look too closely.

  Another guard lay nearby with an arrow buried in his chest. His eyes were closed. I knelt beside him and pressed two fingers to his neck.

  No pulse.

  Finally, I approached Joan.

  She still sat slumped against the tree where I had seen her earlier, head drooped forward, eyes closed.

  Her weapon rested loosely in her hand.

  I kicked it away before kneeling beside her and reaching for her neck.

  For a moment I felt nothing.

  Then, faintly, beneath my fingertips—

  a heartbeat.

  She was alive.

  Drisnil’s voice whispered in the back of my mind.

  Finish her. No one will know.

  I pulled my hand away immediately.

  That was not something I could do.

  I stood and ran to find Jenna.

  Jenna was still organizing the prisoners when I found her.

  “Jenna,” I said, “their cleric is still alive. She likely needs urgent attention.”

  Jenna looked up at me, clearly exhausted.

  “Fine. Take me to her.”

  I led Jenna back to where Joan was slumped against the tree.

  Jenna knelt beside her and began casting a healing miracle.

  “Pull the arrows out,” she said calmly.

  I grabbed the first arrow and tore it free. The wound immediately began to close beneath the glow of Jenna’s magic.

  The second arrow was lodged deeper in Joan’s shoulder. I gripped it with both hands and yanked it out.

  Blood flowed for only a moment before the magic sealed the wound.

  Healing magic had a way of making the impossible seem perfectly normal.

  “She should be stable now,” Jenna said. “Help me carry her back to camp.”

  I nodded.

  Jenna cut through the straps of Joan’s armour with a knife, quickly stripping it away so we could lift her.

  Even without the armour, Joan was heavy. She was a tall, muscular woman, and by the time we reached the fort my arms were already aching.

  Faie noticed immediately who we were carrying.

  “Oh good,” she said with clear relief. “It would have been a terrible waste if such a fine specimen had died.”

  We laid Joan down on one of the beds.

  “She’ll likely need a long rest before she wakes,” Jenna said. “But someone should keep watch.”

  With that, Jenna left the tent.

  Faie and I remained.

  “Hey Faie,” I said, “I’m going to check on Illara. Are you alright here?”

  Faie nodded without hesitation.

  “Yes. I will ensure this fine lady is well cared for.”

  The way she said that made me slightly uneasy.

  Still, Illara needed me more right now.

  I found her sitting quietly in our tent.

  I sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  She leaned into me.

  “I can’t believe Dad is gone,” she whispered. “It doesn’t feel real. He’s always been there.”

  I gently ran my fingers through her hair.

  “It’s not fair,” she continued. “Why did they have to kill him? He did nothing wrong.”

  “They were manipulated by frightened men willing to lie and destroy others to protect themselves,” I said quietly. “One of those men has already paid for it. Now we just need to make sure the other one faces justice too.”

  Illara took my hand and held it tightly.

  “Thank you for being here, Geoff,” she said softly. “I really needed that.”