But even steel bends under too much pressure.
By the afternoon, I was exhausted. My stomach churned from the bitter coffee I hadn't finished. The messages from the infirmary blurred into each other. One of the newer recruits,a girl named Lysa,had collapsed from dehydration and infection. She looked too young to hold a blade, let alone die for a cause that was drowning us all.
Kira had been distant all day. I caught glimpses of her across the yard, eyes shadowed, lips set in a tight line. She didn't meet my gaze. That unsettled me more than the threat of an ambush. There was something in her silence. Something that pressed at the edge of my ribs like guilt I hadn't earned yet.
Evening came, but there was no rest. Just more paperwork. More decisions. More unanswered questions.
And finally, when the sun vanished behind thick clouds and the air cooled to a bite, I stepped out onto the terrace, desperate for stillness.
That's when I noticed it.
The rain hadn't stopped for hours.
