# Chapter 56

Arianna woke to chaos.

Shouts erupted outside her tent well before dawn, followed by the unmistakable sounds of combat—snarls, impacts, the clash of bodies colliding. She was on her feet instantly, reaching for the knife she'd kept at her bedside despite the supposed neutrality of the mediation site.

Helena burst through the tent entrance, blood streaking her face from a gash above her eye. "We're under attack. Viktor's forces—they came at us in the dark, claiming we violated the mediation terms."

"That's insane. We've been in our tents all night—"

"Someone set fire to their supply cache. They're claiming it was us, using it as justification to...