bChapter /bb76 /b

    bra’s /bPOV

    His voice was a low murmur, just enough for us to hear. The others were too far gone in their own thoughts, but I caught it clear enough.

    “Seriously?” I shot a nce at Thorne, disbelief still rippling through me. “You suspect him? Do you have any proof!”

    Thorne didn’t flinch. His face, calm and unreadabile, gave nothing away.

    “No proof. That’s the beauty of it. We wait, let him make a mistake,”

    I bcrossed /bmy arms, the biting cold grawing at my skin. “But how do you expect to catch him in the act? He’s got the upper hand now it be ages before he slips up.”

    A quick, calcted look crossed his face. “Thave a n. But I need your helpb./b”

    bTraised /ban eyebrow, intrigued despite myself. “What kind of n?”

    He leaned in, whispering so only I could hear, his breath warm against my ear. The intensity in his eyes held me, the cold of the air forgotten.

    “That’s… pretty brilliant.” I said, stepping back and meeting his gaze. “But are you sure about telling me? What if I’m the one working with the mole?”

    I forced augh, trying to lighten the btension/b, but the way he looked at me bmade /bmy heart skip. His expression wastone–cold.

    “So, are you?”

    His voice was steady, but there bwas /bsomething underneath. It bsent /ba quick panic through

    “No! Of course not!” I stumbled over the words, catching my breath. “I was kidding… Probably not the right joke, huh?”

    A grin finally cracked across his face, the weight lifting from his shoulders. “Rx, ra, I was messing with you too.” bHis /bbhand /bbrushed the hair hom my face, fingers lingering as his eyes softened. “You bhave /bmy trust,pletely.”

    The relief washed over me in a flood. I stepped forward, closing the distance between usb, /band bwrapped /bmy arms around his waist. The anxiety that had been eating at me for bdays /bmelted away, leaving me with only the warmth of his body and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

    The next afternoon, we reached the Craglen Fortress, the bitter wind cutting through us. Thorne immediately gave orders to set up camp a few miles out and as the soldiers went to work, he led the Gammas up to ba /bhigh point to scout the fort

    The blizzard hit hard bas /bwe bascended/b. The wind whipped, sharp and relentless, and the snow was so thick it swallowed up the horizon. We were all squinting into the storm, trying to make out anything at all

    Bex, frustrated, lowered the telescope with ba /bsigh. “Can’t see a bdamn /bthing, it’s all just white.”

    “I’ll btry/b,” I said, taking the scope from him, I peered through, my fingers trembling in the cold. For what felt like forever, I searched thendscape, my eyes straining to bmake /bbout /bbany /bsign of life beyond the storm.

    Then, through the blur of white, something caught my eye. A figure on the rampart–small and far away, but there. They were waving.

    “Wait,” Imurmured. “I think I think they’re waving at us.”

    “Really!” Triss asked, eager “Are they signalingus? Asking for help?”

    “Under this weather? They should be frozen by now,” Theo chattered, shivering in his coat. He bwasn’t /bbuilt for this kind of cold.

    Thome’s voice cut through the cold, low and grim. “You’re right. They should be.”

    10:54: Wed, 30Jul & C

    badjusted /bthe scope again, my eyes namowing as I tried to focus. The wind made it impossible to hold steady, but her along moment. I fini clearly. Those weren’t people waving

    The figures hanging from the Ragpole–barely visible in the storm were bodies, head. Frozen,

    Triss’s voice cracked. “Oh my god.

    My heart drepped, fury rising in my

    y chest. It was a message. A warning.

    “They knew we wereing that muttered, lowering the telescope. “Let’s head back to camp”

    Back at the camp, we gathered in the warmth of an empty room, the tension thick between us. Thorne’s voice cut through the quiet like a de

    “We’ll attack Craglen Fortress tonight.”

    The shock in the room was palpable. We hadn’t expected him to move so quickly.

    Leven

    “But… aren’t we jumping the gun? Bex asked. “No preparation? We don’t even have a solid n yet.”

    ng time. Let’s go. Now

    Triss’s voice was sharp, frustration clear. “After seeing that? We’re bwasting /b

    Thorne nodded, but there was something in his eyes–a hardness, like he had already epted the gravity of what we were about to do. “You’re right But we can’t just rush in. The n will be sent to each of your phones tonight. Don’t share it with anyone. No one else can know.”

    Silence hung in the bair/b, thick and heavy

    Roman, his voice bsharp /bwith suspicion, broke the bquiet/b. “So, you think there’s a mole in the room, huh? That’s why we can’t even discuss it among ourselves?”

    Thorne’s response was calm, but firm. “bThat’s /bnot what I meant.”

    “Then what do you mean?” Roman spat, his tone hostile. “You’re acting like we can’t trust anyone.”

    Triss stood up, ning at Roman. “bDon’t /bturn this into something it’s not. We agreed to follow Thorne’s orders. Don’t make it personal.”

    “You calling me the male?” Roman growledb, /bstepping forward. “If I’m the mole, just say it!”

    Triss met his challenge head on. “So, are you?”

    “Enough!” ra snapped, stepping between them, her voice low but fierce. This isn’t the time. We’ve got rogues to deal with Let’s focus on that Whatever Thorne’s doing, he’s doing it for a reason. Trust him.

    Roman, fuming, red at the group but didn’t say another word. He stormed out of the tent, his boots pounding the snow.

    Thorne didn’t react. He just turned to the remaining Gammas, bhis /bvoice steady. “Keep the n to yourselves. Don’t let anyone try to get anything out of you. Stay alert. And good luck tonight.”

    The bhours /bcrawled by The camp fell silent, and bas /bdarkness descended, we geared bup/b. I made my way out of the tent, my soldiers trading behind man, Triss bgave /bme a quick nod as we crossed paths.

    “You ready?” she asked, her voice grim but determined.

    “As ready as ever be,” I answered, and we went our separate ways, her heading east and me heading west

    We trudged through the storm, moving closer to the fortress. The snow was relentless, biting at my skin, but we didn’t stop. Not yet.

    An hourter, we huddled in a small thicker of trees, the looming walls of Cragfen Fortress barely visible through the flurry

    “We wait for the signal,” Lordered.

    10:54 bWed/b, 30 Jul G ·

    “What signalb?/b” Vessa asked, confusion in her voice.

    “You’ll know when the timees,” I said, my voice barely audible above the wind

    The night dragged on. Time blurred. We all shivered, losing track of the hours as the snow piled higher Vessa kept checking her watch.

    “Why are we still waiting?” she finally asked, her frustration getting the best of her, “it’s 2 am

    The rogues have to be asleep by now.”

    “We stick to the bn/b,” I said, my voice firm. The weather was a beast, but we couldn’t let it break us. Not now

    By 3 a.m., the tension was unbearable. But then, suddenly, the distant sound of battle broke through the storm. The sh of steel, the groot of wolves. bwas /bhappening.

    C