ATASHA’S POV


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    “This has been going on for hours. If we don’t move now, I may not be able to stop him next time,” I said, keeping a hand around Cassian’s wrist until thest tremor left his muscles. Ever since I finished healing the soldiers, Cassian has been waking almost every hour. It’s clear now that soon, I may no longer be able to hold him down with my ability.


    Mendez checked the slit in the curtain, listening. “The numbers outside have dropped, but it’s still ugly. We’ll get openings between surges, not clean, just thinner. I’m afraid going out there-‘


    “I know… but do we really have a choice?” I pushed myself up from the bench and moved to the wall map pinned beside the storage chest. “If Cassian loses control here, he won’t just hurt the soldiers, he could expose his condition to our enemies. Leaving this ce takes priority. I traced a narrow route along the map, one that ran close to the inner ridge east of the main road. “You told me the beasts avoid this stretch most of the time?”


    “Most of the time,” Mendez repeated. “Red moon changes patterns.”


    “It’s still our best chance,” I said. “Prep everything. We leave as soon as we’re harnessed.”


    He held my stare for a beat, then nodded once. “Understood.”


    A knock hit the carriage door. “Enter,” I said.


    Grace slipped inside, hood down, cheeks flushed from the cold. “Your Highness. I came as soon as I received your letter.”


    “Perfect timing,” I said. “We’re leaving now.”


    She didn’t flinch. Mendez had told me earlier that Grace, and a few of the lieutenants knew more than most because their families served under Cassian’s grandmother. That exined the set of her jaw now.


    “Arms and harness in five,” she said, already turning. “I’ll fetch the kit.”


    We climbed down to the yard. Then I saw Sivi cross the boards toward me.


    “Your Highness.” He held out a stoppered sk the color of coal. The liquid clung to the ss like tar. “Take this,”


    “What is it?”


    “The blood of a grand alpha–beast we brought downst tide,” he said. “Old stock. There are


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    only two sks left in the vaults. We use it to break a chase or scatter weak packs. They hate the scent, turns them cautious.”


    I took the sk. It was heavy and cold. “Thank you.” I have read about this somewhere. Apparently, weaker beasts are scared of the really strong ones. So, they tend to avoid its smell. If we could use this to travel through that pathway, then perhaps… the trip would be a bit safer.


    “Smear it on the wheel hubs and the lead horses,” Sivi said. “Not on skin. It’ll burn.”


    I passed it to Grace. “Thin line on the hubs and traces. Keep it off the vents and wear gloves while applying it.”


    “On it,” she said, moving.


    Since Cassian was already secured inside the carriage, the only task left was to reinforce the restraints that Physician Mendez had insisted on. He exined it wasn’t an act of disrespect, but standard protocol.


    The restraints were padded and fastened tightly, designed to withstand the force of a full shift if Cassian thrashed. I inspected each buckle one by one, making sure nothing was loose, before sliding the inner bar into ce.


    “Side gate,” Sivi called. “Clear the yard!”


    Runners peeled thene open. We moved at a clipped pace toward the secondary exit, a squat, armored portal set into the wall’s base, high enough for a carriage, low enough to be defended from above.


    Winch teams hauled on chains. Iron teeth withdrew from the stone, and the gate groaned, opening a slit that widened into a ck mouth. Outside, the noise was immediate.


    The deep roars of beasts carried across the field, mixed with the harsh ng of weapons striking against flesh and bone. From the tower line came the steady roll of war drums, a signal to keep the formations tight and the soldiers alert. Every sound was a reminder that the battle outside the walls hadn’t slowed for even a moment.


    I stepped onto the running board. “Mendez,” I said quietly. “You can stay. The lines need a physician. I can handle him”


    He huffed once, then tugged his cor aside. A pale, ropey scar ran from just under his ear down into his shirt. “A witch put a de there years ago. I was cooling on the ground, dying, when the Lord pulled me back? He straightened the cor. “My work is with him. If he breathes, I’m beside him.”


    I nodded. “Then mount up.”


    :


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    We set our column into formation. There were only ten riders in total, chosen for speed over numbers. Rio took the lead at the front, while Grace held the rear. The others were veteran soldiers, their shields dented from old battles and theirnces tipped with fae stone for maximum impact. Two archers rode along the nks, quivers strapped tight to their saddles, ready to cover us from a distance.


    The formation wasn’t random. We kept our numbers small on purpose. Arger force would only draw more attention and increase the chance of provoking the beasts.


    Mendez climbed into the carriage opposite Cassian and I took the board beside the door where I could drop inside in a breath.


    “Move!” Rio barked.


    The side gate opened to full width. Cold air sted in, carrying the stink of blood, smoke, and something sour from the dead. As our wheels crossed the threshold, a shiver ran up my spine. The wall’s noise cut behind us, reced by the open field’s wider, emptier sound.


    Weirdly enough, I found myself smiling–tight, not from joy, but from a clean line between fear and perhaps insanity. Weeks ago, I wouldn’t have set foot in the North, much less asked for a seat at its borders. Now I was out in front of its gates with a sleeping lord in my carriage and a n that could get us all killed if I misjudged.


    But for some reason, the fear I expected never came. My pulse was steady, my breaths even. I knew what should terrify me, Cassian could strangle me the moment his eyes opened, just as he had before. A single mistake could cost me my life. And somewhere out there, outside this carriage, an entire horde of beasts was waiting, strong enough to tear through men twice my size. Any one of them could rip this column apart.


    This journey was dangerous in every sense, every step we took was shadowed by death. Yet instead of fear, I felt calm, almost stubbornly so. Maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe it was the certainty that if I broke now, everyone else would too.


    Soon enough, we angled along the ridge line, keeping the wheels on the firmer ground where the ck soil showed through the frost. Grace rode back and forth along the column, checking the smear on the hubs. The beast–blood left a dull sheen and a biting, metallic stink that made the horses toss their heads but kept their pace.


    We kept to the path that curved toward the northern outpost, the run Sivi had marked as “mostly avoided.” Mostly was all we had.


    I peered through the narrow slit of the carriage. Cassiany as he had before, hisshes unmoving, his mouth drawn in a firm line. He looked no different from a man in deep sleep, but I couldn’t tell if that was truly what it was. Was he resting peacefully, or trapped somewhere inside, struggling to wake? It was a question I had no way of answering.


    <b>11:23 </b>Wed, Sep 10


    “Beasts!” a shout from outside snapped me out of my thoughts.


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