Malcolm nodded once at her.
Iyisha swallowed and nodded back.
He opened the door.
Cold rushed in immediately, sharp enough to sting, the heat from the cabin gone in a breath. Iyisha stepped out slowly, boots crunching on gravel, her body shuddering as the air cut through her clothes. She wrapped her arms around herself without thinking, jaw clenched hard to keep her teeth from chattering.
Only then did she really see them.
There were more than twenty men spread across the road and the bridge approach, filling the space without crowding it, positioned like they knew exactly how much ground each of them needed. Most were older, faces lined and weather worn, hair threaded with gray or cut short and practical. These were not young raiders running on hunger and impulse.
They looked fed.
