Chapter 7 - Fortifying the Stronghold
The next three days passed in a blur of frantic preparation and relentless labor.
The Bloodmoon Stronghold transformed from a quiet, subjugated fortress into a bristling war-camp. Loyal warriors who had spent months hiding in the shadows of Kale tyranny now moved with renewed purpose, sharpening swords, reinforcing timber barricades, and hauling barrels of pitch and oil up to the battlements.
Revna stood on the western parapet, watching the valley below.
The snow was falling heavily again, masking the landscape in a blanket of pristine white, but even through the blinding flakes, she could see the distant, moving specks of campfires dotting the treeline. The Kale army had arrived. They were surrounding the base of the mountain, cutting off all escape routes and setting up their heavy trebuchets.
"You shouldn't be out here in the cold wind," a deep, familiar voice murmured behind her.
Revna didn't turn as Fenrik stepped up beside her, draping an extra heavy wolf-fur pelt over her shoulders. He stood close, his body heat radiating against her back, his hand naturally finding its place over hers on the stone wall.
"The fresh air helps me think," Revna replied quietly. "And the little ones like the cold. They're restless."
"They take after their mother," Fenrik said softly, resting his chin briefly against her dark hair. "Stubborn, wild, and entirely unimpressed by danger."
"We're going to win this, Fenrik," Revna said, turning her head to look up at him. "The ancient guardian—it woke up fully when you broke the cell. It's tied to our bloodline, but it recognizes you as part of the pack now, too. When they breach the gates, they won't just be fighting an army. They'll be fighting the mountain itself."
Fenrik nodded grimly, though his jaw remained tight. "I know. But I refuse to let you or the pups take the front line. When the siege begins, you stay in the inner sanctum. That’s an order, Revna."
Revna opened her mouth to argue—the independent wild-runner in her bristling instantly at the command—but before she could snap back, a deafening explosion echoed from the valley below.
BOOM!
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The ground shook violently beneath their feet. A massive boulder, hurled from a Kale trebuchet, slammed squarely into the outer wooden palisade of the lower gate, sending a geyser of splinters and fire shooting into the twilight sky.
The siege of the Bloodmoon Stronghold had officially begun.
