Zephyrine


    +10 Free Coins


    Under my watchful gaze, the sun rose from the horizon, and with it came bitterness. Panic upon panic, wave after wave.


    Blue sat in silence, offering quiet support as only she could. Isolde joined her, the two of them keeping still, their presence a shield around me while I waited for words, for news, for anything.


    Morning settled in with the sound of my pack members beginning their daily routines. Isolde finally stood to prepare my bath when the faint creak of a weak carriage wheel reached us from outside.


    Blue rushed to the window, and in an instant her eyes widened in shock.


    Mydy, it’s your best friend… and Moon.” <fn3789> Official source is find[?]ovel</fn3789>


    “What?” The word escaped in disbelief. I didn’t wait for her to repeat it. I hurried to the window to see for myself. They had arrived.


    Dessyn and Moon climbed down from a battered carriage they must have rented and rushed straight into the hall. I turned sharply toward the door just as it opened. Dessyn burst in, fire in her eyes.


    Zephyr we need to hurry. Varyn won’tst this week in that ce. We need to go, we need to pull him out, we need to…”


    ‘Dessyn? Dessyn!” I snapped, and she froze, trembling. Whatever she had witnessed, she had held herself together until now.


    I swallowed hard, searching her eyes. Tears welled and trickled down her cheeks before she broke. With a strangled cry, she turned away, copsing onto my bed, burying her face in her palms. My heart shattered at the sound of her sobs, but I forced myself to hold steady, looking instead to Moon.


    In the darkest ce you can imagine,” he began quietly. “We got in as designers for prisoners and ves. Our clothes were cheap enough to pass without suspicion, but Zephyr, your brother cannot be taken without war.”


    A chill swept down my spine, rooting me still.


    “There is an underground chamber where only condemned ves are kept. No one has been sentenced there in ten years. Whoever is locked in never survives the week. That’s where your brother is.” His eyes hardened as he delivered the blow. “The ce is surrounded. Every corner is guarded. I’ve seen you fight on the battlefield, Zephyr, but you can’t take them alone.”


    “How many?” The question left me as a whisper, my body trembling. “I am an Ashmere. No matter how many we lost in thest war, others will march beside me. Tell me, how many soldiers of stone guard that ce?”


    He held my gaze, swallowing before he answered.


    “On the surface, about one thousand five hundred. Another five hundred guard the path to the underground. If we start a battle, your brother will be killed before we reach him. It’s… almost impossible.”


    7:27 pm P p p p


    +10 Free Coins


    Goosebumps prickled my skin. I turned away, forcing air into my lungs as I walked to the dresser and sat down, my mind racing, ticking through possibilities.


    “What if we divide the forces? Send some inside first, before the real battle outside even begins?”


    Moon met my gaze and sighed shakily.


    “Then whoever you send in must be skilled enough. If not, we lose everything.”


    His words, truth as bitter as iron, hung heavy in the air, when a soft knock came at the door. Isolde went to answer, and there stood a messenger from the Imperium Council. She bowed before extending a scroll, her voice tight.


    “You are wanted in the Wolf Fortress before noon.” She turned away as quickly as she came, leaving confusion gnawing at me.


    Isolde passed me the scroll. I unfolded it slowly, and the words carved ice straight into my


    veins.


    Zephyrine Ashmere, daughter of Vale Ashmere and Seraphine Ashmere, you are hereby summoned by the Imperium Council to listen to the imperium council verdict.’


    An order thate so early, so brazen. Darkness coiled in my chest. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I turned to Isolde.


    “I will take my bath.”


    She nodded reluctantly and slipped away to prepare it. Moon stepped forward, eyes clouded with concern.


    “Zephyr, I don’t think you should go. Maybe it’s a trap. How will they agree so fast?”


    I shook my head gently and sighed. Perhaps they are remorseful now, perhaps they wish to do what is right. Perhaps.


    1:27 pm P P P P