Chapter 58 – The Hollow Road Opens
They rode before dawn.
No banners. No horns. Just hooves pressing into frostbitten dirt and breath steaming in the dark. The Southern Gate of the Citadel opened without fanfare. Those stationed along the walls watched silently, weapons sheathed but eyes sharp.
Leon rode at the front.
Behind him, Marien, Kellen, two instructors, and five cadets. All chosen. All volunteers. Not a single one wore insignia.
They weren't a warband.
They were heading into the unknown.
The Breach Hills loomed ahead, jagged against the skyline. Fog crept between the rocks, cold and still. As they crossed the first ridge, Leon looked back. The Citadel shrank into the grey behind them.
No one spoke.
Midday brought bitter wind. The cliffs narrowed. Kellen dismounted and scouted ahead. Leon crouched at a fork in the path, fingers brushing fresh hoofmarks.
"Riders passed through here," he said.
Marien leaned in. "Same ones?"
