Chapter 138 - The Watcher’s Pact

Midnight cloaked the western valley in a veil of frost, the stars sharp above a rocky outcrop where Veyna crouched, her wolves silent at her side. The valley's keeps were distant, their firelight a faint glow, but her focus was on the shadowed camp below—a rival enclave, its bone tents and crude palisades marking strangers who'd watched Kael's empire too closely. Her bow was strung, quiver heavy, cloak dusted with snow, but her hunter's edge was tempered by caution. Kael was far, seeking the southern ruin's truth, and Rhea held the valley, leaving Veyna to scout this threat. Her wolves, Grim and Shade, pressed close, their breaths steaming, sensing her unease. Kael's trust anchored her, Lyra's fire a spark in her memory, but the enclave's intent tested her instincts. She brushed the ground, feeling Kael's golden veins, faint but steady, their warmth a whisper of EX: Gold Dominion, guiding her.