bChapter /bb74 /b

The crack of dawn caw the packhouse empty, its shadow fading as thest of the soldiers filed out, their boots crunching over the frost. They had a long journey ahead – Cos Fortress was 800 miles away, and at this pace, we’d be there in two bdays/b, ghee or take..

The road took us north, and the temperature dropped faster than I could track. A cold wind gnawed at my skin, sharp and relentless. The trees here were sparse, bent over by the wind like tired old soldiers. At one point, Hooked up and was taken aback to see frost lining the branches. It was so cold Frould almost feel their biting into my bones.

But the cold wasn’t the worst of it.

As we moved forward, we started running into refugees groups of them, ragged and pale, with nowhere left to go. Their eyes were hollow, haunted. Some of them, I could tell, had once lived in Craglen Fortress. But the rogues bhad /btaken it all–burned their hornes to the ground, ughtered the innocent.

One woman, clutching a child to her chest, told Thorne, “It was hell. They came in the night, set fire

fire to everything. We tried to fight, but the rogues captured the men… They stripped them, left them to freeze.” She swallowed hard, the grief in her voice as bsharp /bas the air “They called it… making “human popsicles.” We barely made it out.”

Achill ran through the camp. It was the kind of story that made even the hardened soldiers falter for a second.

The Craglen Fortress has guards, right?” Thomme asked, his voice controlled, though the tension was palpable

The woman’sugh was bitter. “The rogues mixed in with bus/b. They looked just like bus/bb. /bWhen they attacked… there was no way to tell who was one of

them.”

My stomach twisted. bPrisca /bhad warned me about these rogues. Cunning, deceptive. They weren’t bas /bskilled as we were, but they sure knew how to

exploit weakness.

Thorne turned to his captains, his face hard. He made the decision bto /bsend a group bof /bsoldiers back with the refugees, to make sure they got some help. bWe /bcouldn’t leave them stranded, not atter what they’d been through.

to our camp, my heart heavy with the stories I’d

The day bfaded /binto night, and we made camp. Thorne went off to handle the refugees, and i returned to our car heard.

Ast walked back toward the campfire, I spotted Jory leaning against a tree. He was waiting for me.

“I heard,” he said softly, his voice carrying in the stillness of the woods. “What those people said about the rogues. About how brutal bthey /bbwere/b.”

I bdidn’t /banswer at first. My chest tightened as I looked at him, trying to figure out what to say.

“What happened to them…” He paused, his eyes darkening “Used to be my life. My daily life.” His words were heavy with something couldn’t quite ce.

“So, what?” I snapped, “You still think I’m going to question your loyalty?”

His eyes flickered with something–regret, maybe? “I’m basking /bif you are. After hearing that…..

Iturned away, my mind racing, “You should’ve told me sooner, bJory/b,” Thissed. “The minute you joined our army, byou /bshould’ve told me everything. Not wait until you became captain and I defended you in front of everyone.”

“If told you back then, would you have trusted me?” His voice was low, almost ba /bchallenge. “We both know you wouldn’t have. Look at ho looks at the rogues They don’t care. You wouldn’t either.”

I spun on him, fury flooding my veins. “You can’tpare yourself to them, Jory. Don’t. Not when you know how twisted they are?”

wed, su

“But I’m not like them,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Before I could pond, a voice cut through the tension, sharp and using “What’s going on here?”

Both of us jerked around, and there stood Bex, a few paces away, his arms crossed and his gage hand. “What are you two arguing about?”

Jnry Lace stiffened, and before he could answer, I stepped in. “It’s nothing,” I said, forcing my voice to sound casual “Just going over some ns for tomorrow, Jery had questions

Beveyed us both, suspicion flickering in his eyes. But after a beat, he shrugged. “Well, the others and I are cooking dinner. You want to join us?”

Inodded, eager to escape the awkwardness. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

He turned to leave, but as soon as he was out of earshot, I turned back to Jory “Listen, I can’t keep this a secret anymore. Tomorrow, I’m telling Thome He’ll decide what happens”

Jory looked at me, panic Rashing across his face. “You’re going to tell him? Are you insane? He’ll tear me apart in an instanti”

“I’m not going to let him kill you.” I snapped, “But Thorne needs to know. He’s the leader”

Jory‘ grip on my arm tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might yank me back. “Please, ra… don’t do this.”

But shook him have to

I didn’t give him a chance to argue further. Turning on my heel, I walked toward the campfire, where the other Gammas sat, staring into the fire, their faces weary

Theo groaned as I sat down beside Triss. “God, these cookies are dry. My tongue’s going to fall off,” he grumbled.

Triss chuckled. “You’ve never had field rations before?”

“Of course, I have!” Theo bscoffed/b. “But this? This is trash. I’ve had better at Fenreach Pack, and that ce was bbarely /bscraping by.”

I took ba /bbite, agreeing with Theo’s assessment. The cookies bwere /bbawful/b, but I didn’t mind. I’d eaten worse when I was living with the Diaz family. scavenging for whatever scraps I could find

Roman said suddenly, his cold eyes locking onto mine. “heard you had a little… disagreement with Jory. You bsure /beverything’s fine?”

I met his gaze, refusing to back down. “It’s fine.”

Roman’s bgaze /bhardened. “You know we’re not supposed to trust him, right? Not with everything going on. He’s our prime suspect”

Tet

my can down with a thud.

“I don’t need you to tell me how to handle my soldiers, Roman.”

The fire crackled between bus/bb, /band the tension built up like a storm ready to break. Triss tugged at my sleeve, breaking the silence. “Hey, you want to take

this back to the bent?”

I grabbed the food and stood up, my temper still simmering. This followed me quietly-

“You know he’s just being a grumpy old man,” Triss whispered. “Honestly, I think he’s the one you should be watching, not Jory.”

Ismiled a little despite myself.

But right now, I can’t think straight.”

We didn’t say much aber that I went back to the tent andid down, btrying /bto bshake /boff the constant tension. But sleep didn’te es

– gued me, dark band /btwisted, and strange sounds dritted in from outside.

Suddenly, I snapped awake, heart pounding. I reached for the shlight by my bed and flicked it on.

And there, in the shadow of my tent, stood Jory. A knife gleamed in his hand.

b2/3 /b