*Maddy*

I hadn’t realized what changes had taken place in the city outside the castle since I first came to stay there. Even during my last trip into town to be fitted for a wedding dress with Ella, Rosie, and Hannah, there hadn’t been this many… people. Warriors, all of them. Some are so young they look barely old enough to be leaving their mothers, let alone going to war.

Isla sits between me and Ella in the backseat of the car as we drive toward the castle through the city center. She holds our hands and stares blankly out at the window at the armies gathered in camps in...