(Ava’s POV)
The map spread out across my table looked more like a battleground than parchment. Every red mark was a suspicion. Every route, a risk. And every circle drawn in charcoal was a camp possibly crawling with Hollow Fang mercs—Caleb’s private ghosts.
I traced one particular outpost with my finger. Nestled against the border like a festering wound, it was far too quiet for a supposedly abandoned encampment. Reports of flickering lights and faint smoke hadn’t gone unnoticed by my scouts.
Tonight, I would stop waiting. Tonight, I would move.
I glanced up as Emily entered the room, silent as always, but with that sharpness in her eyes that told me she already knew I wasn’t planning something routine.
“Who else?” I asked.
“Maric and Lyle. They’re in.”
Good. Both were younger but
