Chapter 278: Without Him
The air inside the makeshift command warehouse was thick with the suffocating smell of smoke, drying blood, and pulverized stone.
Aegon, Reina, Lucien, and Nyx stood around the heavy wooden map table. They were battered and exhausted. Aegon's crimson armor was heavily dented from the crush of the Capital infantry.
Reina leaned on her ice axe, her hands trembling from severe mana depletion. They had survived the largest assault of the siege, but the victory felt hollow in the chilling silence that followed.
Draven walked through the heavy wooden doors.
He did not walk with his usual crisp, unbothered stride. His boots dragged slightly against the floorboards. His black coat was covered in a thick layer of gray dust. He stopped at the head of the table and looked at his squad. His gray eyes were flat and freezing behind the white porcelain mask.
He did not sugarcoat the news. He did not offer a gentle preamble.
