Kingdom of Ash

waiting and dreading.
She’d gladly take days of pacing instead of
what approached them.
“Fifty thousand,” Ansel said, throwing a
wry glance to Rolfe.
Lysandra swallowed against the tightness
in her throat. Evangeline pressed her face into
Lysandra’s side.
And then the witch towers took form.
Like massive lances jutting from the
horizon, they appeared through the gray
morning light. Three of them, spread out
equally amid the army that continued to flow
behind them.
Even Ansel stopped counting now.
“I did not think it would be so terrible,”
Evangeline whispered, hands digging into
Lysandra’s heavy cloak. “I did not think it
would be so wretched.”
Lysandra pressed a kiss to the top of her