Chapter 23. The Path of Ash

The flames had not faded from the sky.

Even as dawn climbed over the ridgeline, they lingered there—veins of fire etched across the horizon, trailing smoke like ash spun into silk. Hollowridge had known war before. It had known blood, loss, and the long silence that followed.

But this was different.

This was prophecy given shape.

Seraya stood at the gates, unmoving, as the warfires behind her cast long, wavering shadows across the stone. Her soldiers waited in disciplined stillness, too quiet, as though even breathing too loudly might draw the mountain’s attention. No one spoke. No one shifted. Every gaze was fixed on the scarred ridge beyond the walls.

Mairead approached from the west wall, her armor dusted with ash, her expressi