Kingdom of Ash

—he’d been down for an hour.
Nothing had changed. Valg still swarmed
the walls and both the southern and western
gates; but Terrasen’s forces held them off. In
the skies, the number of Crochans and
Ironteeth had thinned, but barely. The
Thirteen were a distant, vicious cluster,
ripping apart whoever flew in their path.
And down at the river ... red blood stained
the snowy banks. Too much red blood.
He stumbled a step, losing sight of the
river for a moment while soldiers dispatched
the Valg grunts before him. When they
passed, Aedion could scarcely breathe while
he scanned the bloodied banks. Soldiers lay
dead all around, but—there. Closer to the city
walls than he’d realized.
White against the snow and ice, she still
fought. Blood leaking down her sides. Red
blood.