Aiden’s POV

The familiar walls of the stronghold were strangely quiet in the wake of battle, whispers that resembled a storm only recently stilled. We quickly recycled, resting and treating exceeding casualties. We had won, but it was a fragile kind of victory, the calm before yet another storm.

The constant was Hayley beside me. Her determination and courage stood out to me like a light in all of the craziness; you could not help but look up to her for that. We cleared that stronghold, worked our way back through the mountain paths, and I lived in hope there. Rapinzel, as it was known to some, but later writers...