Chapter 161

*Elora*

The blade still smoked.

I stood over the sentry’s body, the scent of seared flesh mingling with pine and blood and the bitter metal tang of war. His eyes were wide, frozen in that last moment of disbelief, and the sigil on the hilt of the dagger buried in his chest gleamed faintly—charred gold, half-melted, but unmistakable.

The Primal Council’s mark.

The silence around the clearing was he