Claire's POV

The glass turned icy under my palm by the time the riders showed up.

Dozens of hooves hammered the courtyard, the noise climbing the walls to fill the wing. The sky beyond the rooftops began to gray. Sunlight bled over the trees, silhouetting the torches as they snaked toward the gate.

Elara stepped up beside me. “He’s sending an army out there,” she murmured.

"Sure looks that way."

She shot me a look, waiting for me to spill, but I kept my eyes on the courtyard. I gave her nothing.

The column rode out under the Silvermoon banner, loud enough to wake the dead.

Every face down there...