POV: Lyra

The journey north took eight days.

We traveled through the forest and over the foothills and across the neutral lands that separated our territory from the mountains. The warriors moved in formation behind me with their weapons drawn and their senses sharp. Jaden rode at my side. Becca rode behind us with the healers and the supplies.

The land changed as we moved north.

The trees grew taller and the air grew colder and the sky grew grey with clouds that hung low and heavy over the mountains. The path narrowed and climbed and wound through passes I had never seen before.

On the eighth day we crested...