The war room felt as though it had frozen in time, the weight of Lord Stormrider's words crushing every breath from the air.
Rowena's heart sank, her chest tightening with despair. The thought of thousands of draconians flooding her kingdom's lands was a nightmare made real. Her fists clenched against the edges of the stone table, her knuckles white as she stared at the grim faces of her advisors.
"Your Majesty?" Stormrider's voice trembled with urgency as he once again called to her, his eyes and those of everyone in the room searching hers for direction.
For a moment, Rowena felt the cracks of hopelessness creeping into her resolve. The suddenness of the attack, the sheer number of enemies, and the realization that the kingdom might fall—it all pressed down on her like an unrelenting storm.
All the plans she had to fight the draconians turned out to be useless in the face of this surprise attack.