The wind shifted as they reached the outer edge of Blackthorn's high ridged path. Birds scattered from the tall ash trees as the heavy thudding of hooves settled into a tense silence. One by one, the riders slowed, forming a rough circle before a flattened clearing paved with old moss-stained stones. Everyone gathered in a small circle and then one could see the little divide between those from Ironshade and those from Dawnbreak.
Darius dismounted first. He handed his reins to a nearby stablehand and surveyed the surroundings with sharp, practiced eyes. The wind tugged at the ends of his red hair, but his focus remained ahead. He could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on his chest, but it was not the delegation that bothered him.
It was her. Serena.
His thoughts veered again, unruly as the tides. Blonde hair, always slightly undone no matter how tightly they pinned it. Eyes like the forest floor just before spring, bright, but edged with something unreadable.
