Chapter 12 - The Shadow of the Iron-Tooth Legion
Two days later, King Cassian and Elara led a heavily armored elite vanguard toward the jagged peaks of the northern border. The wind screamed through the canyons, biting at exposed skin and howling like an injured wolf.
They set up camp at the base of Whispering Gorge, a notorious choke point where the mercenaries were rumored to store their stolen archives.
Inside the royal command tent, the brazier crackled, casting dancing shadows across the tent walls. Cassian sharpened his broadsword with steady, rhythmic strokes, his mind calculating every tactical advantage.
“You’re thinking about the trap at the gorge,” Elara said, pouring two cups of hot spiced tea and handing one to him.
Cassian paused, looking up at her. The woman standing before him now was infinitely stronger, braver, and more formidable than the frightened girl who had fled into the night five years ago. She was his true Luna in every sense of the word.
“I am thinking about how close I came to losing everything because I trusted a corrupted system,” Cassian murmured, setting his sword aside and taking her hand. “I let pride and political pressure blind me. If you hadn’t survived... if our children hadn’t been protected by Gabriel...”
“Don’t look backward, Cassian,” Elara interrupted softly, squeezing his hand. “We are here now. And tonight, we finish what Isolda and the Legion started.”
Just then, the tent flap flew open. Captain Thorne, head of the royal guard, stepped inside, his expression grim.
“My King, my Lady. Our scouts caught a runner trying to slip through the gorge toward the northern strongholds. He carried this.”
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Thorne handed a heavy leather-bound ledger to Elara. She flipped open the cover, her breath catching in her throat. Inside were meticulous records of every forged seal, every bribed judge, and every illegal land grab orchestrated by Isolda and the Iron-Tooth Legion over the past decade.
“It’s all here,” Elara whispered. “The absolute proof of Elias’s innocence, and the names of every high-ranking noble who helped frame him.”
